Driving with a Suspended License

One of the most common calls our Westchester, New York and Fairfield County attorneys get involves driver’s license suspensions.

Our New York, Stamford and White Plains criminal defense attorneys will tell you that it’s a crime in both New York and Connecticut to operate a car when you know or have reason to know that your driver’s license is suspended.

There are different reasons for having a driver’s license suspended or revoked by the DMV.

The reasons for having your license suspended or revoked range from the least serious (such as a failure to appear for a speeding ticket in Court) to the most serious (like having your license revoked indefinitely due to too many DWIs).

Our White Plains, New York and Larchmont traffic ticket attorneys will tell you that aggravated unlicensed operation in the third degree under NYS VTL 511(1)(A) is a crime which needs to be taken seriously.

However, it can usually be pled down to a lesser, noncriminal violation depending on the circumstances.

Our White Plains and Manhattan criminal defense lawyers most commonly see driving with a suspended license charges under 511(1)(A) arise out of the failure to appear for a Court appearance on a common traffic ticket, like a stop sign, or the failure to pay a court-imposed fine.

Aggravated unlicensed operation in the second degree under NYS VTL 511(2) is a much more serious crime.

Our White Plains and Larchmont criminal defense attorneys typically see this crime arise out of situations in which a person is convicted of DWI, their license is then revoked or suspended at sentence, but the person drives following the suspension or revocation.

511(2) is also charged when a person has a prior 511(1) conviction within the preceding 18 months.

A person convicted of 511(2) faces the possibility of up to six months in prison or up to two years probation. Moreover, our Manhattan, Fairfield and Westchester County criminal defense lawyers will explain to you that jail is frequently imposed in the most serious cases of 511(2), while it’s almost never imposed for a 511(1) conviction.

Aggravated unlicensed operation in the third degree, or 511(3), is the most serious driver’s license suspension related offense and is a felony, unlike the preceding two sections.

Our Manhattan, Stamford and White Plains driver’s license suspension lawyers will explain to you that we most often see 511(3) in situations in which a person is charged with DWI and thereafter drives with a license which is either suspended or revoked under 511(2).

It can also arise from driving with a license suspended on ten or more dates.

Accordingly, if you or someone you know has been charged with a driving-related offense and their license has been either suspended or revoked, contact our White Plains, Manhattan and Larchmont criminal defense attorneys at your earliest convenience.

The call is absolutely free and our attorneys are standing by 24/7 to assist you.