zudnic
06-13-2007, 12:32 PM
Long story. My Brother lives in Vancouver, BC so his drivers license is offcourse issued by BC. He had a very minor ticket that he failed to appear and forgot to pay. Washington State suspends licenses for doing this and to get non-residents they issue a WA license in their name and suspend that. He borrowed my car that was missing the front license plate and was pulled over and Cop found suspended WA license on the computer. He was charged for driving while suspended with a possible 90 days in jail.
I helped him defend himself in court and he was found guilty with no jail time, in fact the motion we filed to get the charges dropped gave a good arguement. Washington is a member of the non-resident violator compact and by state law they have to notify the home jurisdiction and your home state decides if your license gets suspended or not. The prosecution argued that BC is under a foreign nation (Canada) and a state cannot communicate with a foreign power. Judge did'nt give jail time because it was not my Brothers fault they could'nt give BC notice. He was found guilty under a WA law that say's the state can withdraw the driving privilege of a non-resident.
Long story short he did not comply with the court order to become currently licensed in the State of Washington. Plus he had to pay all his fines, including the fine for driving while suspended. Washington must give due process before they can take a drivers license away. The court notified the Washington Department of Licensing (DOL)that he has not complied with the Court, obtain a WA license. DOL sends you notice and you can request a DOL review if you believe the action they are about to take is wrong. Brother requested a review.
The court motion was my research and we had my attorney write it up, because I'm not a lawyer. The review however can be argued by a lawyer, self defense or a family member on your behalf. I argued it for him via letter on his behalf. My arguement was so good that DOL's legal department forwarded it to the state attorney general. Well the state attorney general not only gave his opinion, under state law if a arm of the states policy is challenged and may significantly change a policy that adversely effects the state, its forwarded to the state Supreme Court for their review. So my letter is being considered for state Supreme Court review and consideration for a ruling!
Pretty cool when your not a lawyer. Maybe I should have gone to law school. One point is a WA driver's license is not valid under state law unless its signed by the licensee. :D
I helped him defend himself in court and he was found guilty with no jail time, in fact the motion we filed to get the charges dropped gave a good arguement. Washington is a member of the non-resident violator compact and by state law they have to notify the home jurisdiction and your home state decides if your license gets suspended or not. The prosecution argued that BC is under a foreign nation (Canada) and a state cannot communicate with a foreign power. Judge did'nt give jail time because it was not my Brothers fault they could'nt give BC notice. He was found guilty under a WA law that say's the state can withdraw the driving privilege of a non-resident.
Long story short he did not comply with the court order to become currently licensed in the State of Washington. Plus he had to pay all his fines, including the fine for driving while suspended. Washington must give due process before they can take a drivers license away. The court notified the Washington Department of Licensing (DOL)that he has not complied with the Court, obtain a WA license. DOL sends you notice and you can request a DOL review if you believe the action they are about to take is wrong. Brother requested a review.
The court motion was my research and we had my attorney write it up, because I'm not a lawyer. The review however can be argued by a lawyer, self defense or a family member on your behalf. I argued it for him via letter on his behalf. My arguement was so good that DOL's legal department forwarded it to the state attorney general. Well the state attorney general not only gave his opinion, under state law if a arm of the states policy is challenged and may significantly change a policy that adversely effects the state, its forwarded to the state Supreme Court for their review. So my letter is being considered for state Supreme Court review and consideration for a ruling!
Pretty cool when your not a lawyer. Maybe I should have gone to law school. One point is a WA driver's license is not valid under state law unless its signed by the licensee. :D