Driver's License Suspended?

RESTORATION OF YOUR SUSPENDED DRIVERS LICENSE

If you have a driver licensing problem, you know what a real headache that can be. It is a cloud over your head that can stay there for years. As time goes by, and the problem gets worse, people often throw their hands up and decide that there is nothing that can be done. They decide to try to live with it.

If this describes you, do not despair.  This law firm will help you and the cost is much less than you think.

Thomas Ivory of Greenblatt, Funt & Flores, has been a trial lawyer for twelve years practicing in state and federal courts in Philadelphia, as well as surrounding counties. Mr. Ivory practices criminal law, DUI and traffic and vehicle offenses. He is an expert at getting our clients' licenses restored. Please feel free to contact Thomas Ivory at your convenience or call our office to schedule a free consultation at 215.972.1600.

It is important not meekly to accept any penalty from any authority, including PennDoT or the courts without question. Almost any penalty can be challenged.

If your Pennsylvania Driving privilege is suspended, your situation falls into one of three categories. You are either long term suspended, short term suspended or indefinitely suspended. In any of these situations, our law firm can help.

SHORT TERM SUSPENDED

If you receive a suspension notice from PENNDOT for a driving offense, it will typically give you the date of the offense and the start date of the suspension which could be in the very near future.  The letter will instruct you to turn your license over to PENNDOT.  What do you do?

1. Do not panic.   Your driving privilege can be saved.

2. Send your driver’s license in to PennDot at P.O Box 68693 , Harrisburg , Pa 17106-8693 .  You should send it by certified mail with a dated cover letter, preferably on an attorney’s letterhead in case there is ever a question whether you sent it in.  Note that although a suspension may be effective, you usually will not get credit for your time served unless you have acknowledged your suspension by sending in your driver’s license.  If you do not have a license, go to the PennDot website, get a DL16 form, and send that in.  It may not be necessary to surrender your license if you:

3. File an appeal of the Suspension  in order to postpone (or “stay”) the imposition of the suspension.  This will give you time to sort out the problem that led to the suspension in the first place.

Please note carefully that if you are in this situation, you need to file two appeals: the appeal of the suspension in civil court and the appeal of the underlying conviction in criminal court. Greenblatt, Funt & Flores can handle the filing of these appeals without the necessity of your appearing in court until the matter is ready for a hearing (and maybe not even then).

4. File an appeal of the conviction.  The following is a list of several offenses that carry suspensions.  There are others.

• Driving while suspended (one year of suspension);
• Driving while suspended for DUI. (one year of suspension) Call me immediately if you receive a traffic ticket before getting your driving privilege restored after a DUI even if you have served the DUI suspension itself.  The penalty for this offense includes significant mandatory prison sentences in addition to suspension time.
• Driving without a license in certain circumstances (6 months.)
• Driving without insurance (3 months.)
• Reckless driving (6 months.)
• Improper passing of a school bus (90 days.)
• Accumulation of points (varying amounts of suspension time.)
• Some speeding offenses (varying amounts of suspension time.)

Generally speaking, your appeal of your suspension in civil court will not be successful unless you successfully appeal the underlying conviction in criminal court.  Within (30) days of your conviction in the original trial court, you are entitled to a new trial with the police officer present in the Court of Common Pleas.  That is the next highest court above Philadelphia Traffic Court or the District Courts in the counties surrounding Philadelphia . 

You received the conviction in one of three ways: You went to trial and the Traffic Court or District Court Judge found you guilty; you paid the fine or entered into a payment plan without being aware of the consequences or you failed to appear for your trial. In any of these circumstances, you have thirty days from the date you were convicted to appeal. It is possible to appeal later than thirty days in many circumstances; however the court has to issue a ruling permitting the late appeal. If you have any questions, contact Thomas Ivory of Greenblatt, Funt & Flores, via our quick-response contact form or call our office at 215.972.1600.

Your expert traffic attorney should get a date for your new trial on appeal that is earlier than the date of your suspension appeal because when you go before the judge in civil court, you will first have to have successfully appealed the conviction.  Without that, your suspension will be upheld. If it is not possible to obtain a date for your suspension appeal that is later than the date for your conviction appeal, the suspension appeal should be postponed. You should discuss this with your attorney.

On appeal of your conviction, your expert traffic attorney will negotiate with the District Attorney to receive a reduced charge that does not carry a suspension; one which carries a shorter suspension or one which carries fewer or no points.  If you wish to go to trial, or your attorney feels that trial is advisable and the police officer does not appear, you will usually be found not guilty.  You may also have a winning legal or factual trial issue on appeal.  You should discuss this with your attorney that specializes in traffic law.

When your suspension appeal date comes around, you or your lawyer simply shows up for court with proof of your favorable result on the conviction appeal and your suspension or points will either be reduced or eliminated.

INDEFINITE SUSPENSION

Indefinite suspensions are the easiest suspensions to have lifted.  If you have one of these, it is probably because you have received a traffic ticket and you either have not entered a plea of guilty or not guilty or, having been convicted, have not paid or appealed.

Indefinite suspensions are themselves easy to have removed. However you should be very careful in how you deal with them. If you have a ticket for a suspension–carrying offense and you pay the ticket, PennDot will remove the indefinite suspension but it will then impose a term suspension for the term called for by the law. The correct way to have an indefinite suspension removed is to respond by pleading not guilty and by scheduling a court date. If you show up for court you will often get a good plea offer that will save your drivers license or you could win at trial. If not, you can file an immediate appeal for a new trial. If you pay the fine without entering a plea of not guilty, the court staff will enter a guilty verdict into the record and, if your offense carries a suspension, your suspension will follow from PennDot in the mail. If you have any questions about which tickets carry points or suspensions and which do not, contact Mr. Thomas Ivory of Greenblatt, Funt & Flores.

Indefinite suspensions can come about because of a legal judgment arising out of a lawsuit following a traffic accident where the judgment is not paid. If this is your situation, you should contact Greenblatt, Funt & Flores at your earliest convenience. If the judgment is old, it is usually not feasible to re-open the lawsuit as the legal costs would not be justified in view of the unlikeliness of success. However, Mr. Ivory can negotiate on your behalf with the insurance company or lawyer that holds the judgment that is creating a lien on your driving privilege to get a reduction in the amount owed. Ownership of the judgment may have changed hands several times since the civil court ruled against you. The current holder of the judgment may have “purchased” the judgment from the original holder of the judgment. They may be very willing to do a deal to get some return on their investment.

Indefinite suspensions can also arise out of unpaid parking tickets. If you have unpaid Philadelphia parking tickets, you should contact the Philadelphia Parking Authority: www.philapark.org  (215) 683-9600.  Ask for a hearing to appeal all your tickets.  The hearing officer will often offer to drop your finance charges in return for a settlement of your fines.  This could save you a great deal of money in addition to removing the hold on your driving privilege.  You do not usually need a lawyer for this purpose.  However, if you have this problem along with other driver’s licensing problems, Mr. Ivory can handle it as part of his representation of you.

LONG TERM SUSPENSION

If you have been getting tickets for a long time, your suspensions have been accumulating and you think nothing can be done, do not despair.  The first thing to know is that there is always something that can be done to make your situation better.  It is often possible even to have your driving privilege restored immediately or within a few months.  In many situations, it is possible to appeal these tickets, even if years have gone by.

If you have an accumulation of old tickets, you may not have been convicted on them. You just need to plead not guilty and get a court date to get the indefinite suspensions lifted. Then go to court. If this is done properly, your driving privilege should be restored for the time being until you have your court date. If you receive any suspension-carrying convictions on these tickets, you can appeal for a new trial and hold on to your new drivers license in the meantime. There are several legal challenges available to old tickets. You should discuss these with a knowledgeable attorney who specializes in Traffic and Motor Vehicle Law.

In most situations, with the help of Greenblatt, Funt & Flores, our clients get their driver’s license restored quickly or immediately. You should start by giving us a call and coming to our office for an interview. Quite often, you can often get an appointment the same day of your call. There is no charge for a consultation. Our fees are reasonable and payment plans are also available. For your convenience, our firm accepts most major credit cards.