- August 19, 2016 |
- Category: DUI and Courtroom Process
I recently had a conversation with a New York driver who was charged and convicted of DUI while in Columbus Ohio watching an Ohio State game. We’ll call her Hilary. The facts of her case were not particularly egregious and she was sentenced accordingly. Her sentence included suspended jail time, three days in a treatment program, a $500 fine and a one-year out of state driver’s license suspension. After Hilary finished court and returned to New York, she was unaware of how to obtain driving privileges. Instead of contacting an experienced DUI lawyer in New York to figure out what to do, she simply ignored the license suspension and continued driving.
After about two or three weeks of being home in New York, a state trooper pulled Hilary over for a minor traffic violation. As the officer approached her vehicle, Hilary began to freak out about the out of state DUI license suspension that was issued in her Ohio DUI case. She was scared of being ticketed for driving under a DUI suspension and possibly arrested. When the officer arrived at her car, he predictably asked her for license and proof of insurance. Hilary dutifully complied, giving the officer both. The officer returned to his cruiser for what seemed like an eternity, after which he came back to her vehicle, issued her a warning for speeding and let her continue on her way. The officer even said he was giving her a break because of her impeccable driving record. Thrilled but perplexed, Hilary contacted the New York Department of Motor Vehicles to find out if she somehow had a valid New York driver’s license despite the out of state DUI suspension from Ohio. She was elated to learn that she still had a valid license.
Hilary rushed home and called me wanting to know how she had been so lucky? Here is what I told her: First, it is important to recognize that, on their own, states do not have the authority to suspend a driver’s license issued by another state. That means an Ohio court cannot suspend a driver’s license issued by the state of New York. That being said, most states in the country, including New York, are members of the Interstate Driver’s License Compact. The Compact is legislation between states that says New York will enforce Ohio’s DUI law by suspending a New York license when the license holder, in this case Hilary, is issued an out of state license suspension by an Ohio court.
But…..it’s important to remember that the wheels of justice turn slowly and sometimes not at all. Clearly, the Compact requires the states to communicate with one another but it is vague as to how quickly the information should be reported. Specifically, the Compact states that “the licensing authority of a party state shall report each conviction of a person from another party state occurring within its jurisdiction to the licensing authority of the home state of the licensee. Such report shall clearly identify the person convicted; describe the violation specifying the section of the statute, code, or ordinance violated; identify the court in which action was taken; indicate whether a plea of guilty or not guilty was entered, or the security; and shall include any special findings made in connection therewith.”
Again there is no specificity in regards to how quickly the out of state Ohio DUI suspension is to be reported to New York. I’ve seen cases where the state of Ohio reports a DUI conviction to a defendant’s home state in as little as three or four weeks. I’ve also seen cases where the out of state Ohio DUI suspension takes six months to be reported or never gets reported at all. You just never know. In this case, Hilary was lucky, however, the suspension is likely to find her eventually.
So how is Hilary supposed to know when her suspension goes into effect? Here is what I told her: Once New York receives notification of the out of state Ohio DUI license suspension, the New York Bureau of Motor Vehicles will send formal notification to her explaining the she is subject to a DUI license suspension. The notification will inform her that the out of state DUI license suspension will commence in approximately thirty to sixty days. However, the notice also gives Hilary the opportunity to appeal or contest the suspension. At that point, Hilary can contact a top DUI lawyer where she lives to go to court to appeal the suspension. Many times, an experienced DUI attorney can get the out of state DUI suspension terminated or significantly shortened. At the very least, the DUI lawyer can obtain driving privileges so that the driver can go to/from work, school and medical appointments.
