Can a Cop Pull You Over Just to Check Your License
Video – click to watch instead of reading.
Did you know that information technology's possible to trounce a driving on suspended law-breaking if the officer did not have a legal reason to pull you over?
In society to be convicted of driving on a suspended license in Virginia, the officeholder must have a legal reason to pull yous over.
This defense applies to many traffic related violations, but if you're charged with driving on a suspended license, information technology tin be one of the key sources of victory.
Charged with driving on a suspended license in VA? Contact my office now for complimentary answers
How to Crush Driving on Suspended License Ticket in Virginia Article Contents
Jump-to the data you lot need:
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- What happens when the police pull you over while your license is suspended?
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- Just what if the officer didn't take a legal reason to pull you over?
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- Did the cease occur at a checkpoint?
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- Recent Case Effect: Illegal Stop Suppressed, Beating Customer's Misdemeanor Charges
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- Video
What happens when the police pull yous over while your license is suspended?
The main reason police stop people is when they have reasonable articulable suspension that you've committed some type of crime or traffic infraction. That gives them a reason to pull you over.
Typically what happens is they first inquire for your license and registration. If your license is suspended people sometimes volition just say "I don't accept a license" or "I'm suspended."
That usually leads to driving on a suspended ticket.
Only what if the officer didn't have a legal reason to pull you over?
Does that mean that they could still win their case? Fortunately, the answer is no. They need a legal reason to stop you. The cop can't just pull y'all over to bank check your license.
That doesn't mean they take to be able to testify you committed an crime, that but ways they have to have reasonable suspicion. Reasonable suspicion is more than a hunch but it'south no concrete prove.
1 consequence that we can fight sometimes for a traffic stop for driving on suspended is if the officer claims that he ran your tags. Sometimes officers randomly run a license plate to see if information technology'due south all valid, and the registered possessor comes dorsum suspended.
Then they check DMV's description for the registered owner and they see if the person driving roughly matches that description. If information technology all lines upwards, they initiate a traffic cease for driving on the suspended person.
Only what if the descriptions don't friction match?
Maybe it'south a person of a unlike gender, a different race, or some other obvious characteristic that the officeholder got wrong. In those cases nosotros accept a stiff argument that the officer did non have reasonable articulable suspicion.
Now, if information technology's a discrepancy about the elevation of the people, that fault wouldn't be evident if somebody'southward backside the bicycle of a car.
Simply something very clear like race or gender probably would not be reasonable to make that kind of mistake. We can contend to accept the case thrown out. That'due south the cool matter about fighting the bodily traffic cease itself. If we win the finish, the case goes abroad.
Contempo Case Effect: Illegal Finish Suppressed, Beating Client'south Misdemeanor Charges
(Cases depend upon unique facts. Past cases exercise not guarantee time to come outcomes.)
THE STORY: I represented a client who was charged with a variety of misdemeanor offenses related to license and registration: no valid Virginia license, no insurance, and no vehicle registration.
One uncomplicated question that I always ask officers in these cases is: Why did you stop my client?
In this example, the sole reason that the officer pulled over my client was for a "Texas buyer'south tag." It'due south a temporary vehicle registration from the state of Texas. It was properly mounted on the vehicle, and information technology nothing about the buyer's tag itself appeared to exist invalid.
I objected to any further evidence coming in at the trial, arguing that the officer's end violated my client's Quaternary Amendment correct against unreasonable searches and seizures.
The judge was intrigued about the issue, and the judge himself inquired if there was anything in particular about THIS Texas buyer'south tag that appeared illegal earlier the officer stopped my client.
The officeholder replied well-nigh his experience with Texas buyer's tag and that nearly of them are illegal, co-ordinate to the officeholder's data. However, the officer admitted that this detail tag did Not take any private indication of illegality.
The gauge granted my move to suppress, and no further evidence came in against my customer.
CASE OUTCOME: NOT Guilty. The gauge dismissed all charges against my client, saving him from whatever convictions, fines, or DMV fees.
Did the end occur at a checkpoint?
Another source for potentially beating a driving on suspended case relating to the stop is if the stop occurred at a checkpoint.
The police all over Virginia use traffic safety checkpoints to look for people who are driving on suspended, people with equipment violations, and, of course, people who are driving while intoxicated.
If you roll upward to a checkpoint and tell them that you're suspended, they're going to enquire yous to pull over to the side, and you're going to get charged for driving on suspended.
Just does that mean in court?
Just the fact that they had a checkpoint does not mean the checkpoint was done properly. There are strict rules and regulations in Virginia nigh how the checkpoint has to exist operated. And again, this goes back to the unprepared attorney.
I've seen many colleagues come into court to fight their client'southward driving on suspended case, to notice out that they were stopped at a checkpoint. They're completely unprepared to argue about the checkpoint itself.
And quite frankly, that's simply horrible. If I ever know that a client was stopped at a checkpoint or road block, I come up into court with a pile of research, ready to argue and endeavour to trounce the case.
In a lot of cases there is an argument to be made about the checkpoint. Nosotros may not win the statement because sometimes it'south uncertain well-nigh what verbal paperwork the officers had and what exactly the requirements under law are.
However, there'due south ordinarily some type of argument nosotros tin can brand about the checkpoint. At the very least information technology can cast doubt in the prosecutor's heed about their case, and that can exist enough to secure a favorable deal for your case.
Video
Video Transcription
Did you know you tin shell a driving on suspended crime if the officeholder did non have a practiced reason to pull you over? Let'south find out what that means. Hi, I'm Andrew Flusche, your Virginia traffic attorney.
One of the kickoff things we have to expect at for a driving on suspended offense where the officer actually pulls you over, is did he take a skillful reason or not to make that traffic terminate.
Before we go on to that, allow'south pause and look at this. What we're talking about here are cases where the officer actually turns on their blue lights or their siren or something and actually stops your vehicle.
If you were involved in an accident and they simply come up and inquire for your license, that's a different scenario. It's also a different scenario if you're stopped at a checkpoint or a roadblock, and another scenario would be if you actually just stopped your auto yourself and the officer comes up and starts to talk to you like at a shop or something.
What nosotros're talking well-nigh here are cases where the officer actually initiates their emergency equipment on their cruiser and makes you pull over.
They have to have a legal reason to practice that and what they exercise is reasonable, articularable suspicion that you violated some law or traffic offense or that some other criminal action is afoot.
Essentially, it normally means that they need to accept some mode to betoken out what constabulary that they could say you were violating when they turned on their blue lights.
In some cases, they pull you over only because they know you and they know that you were suspended, merely that's not always adept plenty because if you're suspended for something like fines and costs where whatsoever day you can go down to the courthouse and pay money and be unsuspended if you can get the money.
That might not exist a proficient reason to pull you over considering at any given fourth dimension your license could be fixed.
However, if it'south a case where an officeholder knows that you're suspended for DUI and you're suspended for an entire year and they had only checked your license the week before and remembered that was you and yous're suspended for DUI for the next 12 months, then a gauge would probable say that they're allowed to pull yous over for that if they tin personally identify they saw you driving again.
There's definitely a lot of factors to expect at and this is why, if you're charged for driving on suspended, you should definitely contact me and so I can help you analyze the legal reason they pulled you lot over, whether or not information technology is legal or not and whether or not we may take a defense force there, because if we can fight that and win that effect, then we win the case because it was an illegal seizure in example where they pulled you over.
If you lot're charged with driving on suspended, definitely request my free study on driving on suspended cases and contact my role then I could try to assistance yous with the example.
Can a Cop Pull You Over Just to Check Your License?
Contact a Virginia Defense Attorney Today
If you are facing a ticket for driving on a suspended license in Virginia, don't hesitate to reach out to me. You tin contact me online, or call me at 540.300.2837 to get answers to your questions.
Andrew Flusche
Source: https://www.andrewflusche.com/blog/driving-on-suspended-secret-the-officer-must-have-a-legal-reason-to-stop/
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