Suspended License
A person will get a suspended drivers license from the Secretary of State upon receiving information from the Court that some type of penalty has occurred that requires driving privileges to be suspended. There are many traffic and criminal offenses that require a drives license suspension. These include:
- too many convictions for moving violations,
- failure to pay a court fine,
- a no insurance conviction,
- a summary suspension arising from a DUI arrest,
- being behind in child support obligations,
- underage drinking, or
- possession fake id.
This list does not include all of the reasons that can cause a drivers license suspension, but they are the most common.
Revocation vs. Suspension
Unlike a revocation of a drivers license, suspension expires after a set period of time or the reason for the suspension has been fixed. Such as, payment of past due fines, if that was the reason for the suspension.
Reinstatement fee
A reinstatement fee always needs to be paid to the Secretary of State once the suspension period is over, or the reason for the suspension has been cleared, before the suspension will actually be removed. Many people make the mistake of not paying the reinstatement fee believing the reason for the suspension is behind them. But, their drivers license will remain suspended until the reinstatement fee is paid.
Case Resolution
It can be difficult to beat a suspended license charge. All the State needs to prove is that the accused was driving a vehicle upon a public road at a time a valid license suspension was in place. If the case can be proven, it is important to resolve the case for a sentence of court supervision. This avoids any conviction and any extension of the period of license suspension.
An attorney who practices regularly in the aggravated traffic courts of Will County will know the personalities of the prosecutor and judge, which is always important in getting the best outcome.