Florida Courts Can Suspend Your Driver’s License At The Drop Of A Hat

The weather and scenery in Florida are so beautiful that few things can spoil your good mood.  Trying to get through a day in Florida without your car is a major annoyance, though.  Think about the last time you had to go without a car for a few days, either because it was in the shop or because one of your family members was borrowing it.  How much more time and money did it cost you to accomplish the tasks that are easy when your car is with you?  If it was a case of your car being in the shop, did you have to wait longer than necessary to pick it up because it took you that much longer to get the money you needed to pay for it?  Imagine if you were in this position because the court suspended your driver’s license and you would have to pay $1,500 to the DMV to reinstate your driver’s license, plus whatever additional money to resolve whatever other matter prompted the court to suspend your license in the first place.  It would be a major financial hardship.  It is just another example of the system punishing people for being poor (or, more specifically, for not being rich, since many people in this situation have full-time jobs and can make ends meet when they don’t have a criminal case and a driver’s license suspension to deal with), and it happens all the time in Florida.  The best way to protect yourself from this injustice is to hire a Tampa criminal defense lawyer.

Reasons That Florida Can Suspend Your Driver’s License

Florida law allows the court to suspend your driver’s license for a whole host of reasons, and only some of them relate to unsafe driving or traffic court violations.  For example, if you get multiple traffic tickets within a short span of time, the traffic court will suspend your license.  12 points on your record within one year gets you a one-month suspension, while 18 points on your license within 18 months results in a three-month suspension, and 24 points in three years results in a one-year loss of driving privileges.  This is reason enough to hire a criminal defense lawyer for traffic court, even if the ticket you are challenging will not, by itself, result in a driver’s license suspension.

Even worse, though, the court can suspend your license when you have followed traffic laws to the letter since the day you passed the road test.  Driver’s license suspension is part of the penalty for drug possession convictions, even if you don’t go to jail.  Likewise, the court can suspend your license for unpaid criminal fines or unpaid child support.

Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven

A criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing the possibility of driver’s license suspension because of a criminal case or traffic infraction.  Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.

Sources:

flhsmv.gov/driver-licenses-id-cards/driver-license-suspensions-revocations/points-point-suspensions/

vera.org/news/drivers-license-suspensions-for-unpaid-debt