Driving with a Suspended License

What happens when you are driving with a suspended or revoked license in California?

You are charged with the criminal offense under CAV Code 14601 and §14602.6. According to the first part of VC 14601. a

“No person shall drive a motor vehicle at any time when that person’s driving privilege is suspended or revoked for reckless driving in violation of Section 23103, 23104, or 23105, any reason listed in subdivision (a) or (c) of Section 12806 authorizing the department to refuse to issue a license, negligent or incompetent operation of a motor vehicle as prescribed in subdivision (e) of Section 12809, or negligent operation as prescribed in Section 12810.5, if the person so driving has knowledge of the suspension or revocation.”

How Are Driving While Suspended Charges Proven?

To prove charges of DWS against a driver, the DMV or law enforcement must prove three points laid out in the VC 14601.a which include,

  • The person was driving a motor vehicle.
  • The person’s driving license was suspended or revoked at the time of operating vehicle.
  • The person had known about the suspension and revoking of license.

What Does Knowledge of License Suspension Mean?

One of the most important parts of this clause is that the driver must know about suspension of knowledge. It is presumed that the driver has knowledge of suspension of license if,

  • California’s DMV authority issued a written notice to the driver and mailed it to the driver’s most recent address enlisted with department and mail is not returned as unclaimed or undelivered.
  • The police officer or law enforcement officer informed you in person and served the notice of suspension at the time of your arrest and confiscation of your license for DUI or any other driving charges.
  • A judge personally informs the driver in the courtroom about the suspension of license.

Penalties for Driving While Suspended

There are strict penalties when you are convicted of driving with a suspended license. There are both financial penalty and jail time, and in case of recurrent offense, you can also be put on probation. The penalties for DWS are

  • First Offense: $300-$1000 fines and jailtime ranging from 5 days to 6 months
  • Second offense*: $500-$1000 monetary fines and jail time ranging from 10 days to 1 year

*A second offense is when the offense happened within five years of the first offense.

What Are Available Defenses?

For us, the criminal defense lawyers at David S. Chesley’s Law office, every case of driving while suspended require attention and investigation to find the best approach to defense. We thoroughly examine your case and circumstances along with going into the history of license suspension. Based on the facts, we identify the loopholes in prosecutor’s case and manipulate them for a successful defense. The commonly available defenses in such cases are

  • Proving that you did not have prior knowledge of suspension.
  • You were driving under restricted license clause which enables you to drive to and from the workplace, university or school.
  • The suspension of your license was unlawful and illegal.

If you have a court date for driving while suspended license, you can contact us today for legal representation.