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Short version - Two days ago I was and cited for Driving While License Suspended in the 3rd degree. I have a court appearance scheduled for tomorrow morning and I am unsure if I should plead guilty or not guilty and ask for a public defender.
Long version - In August of 2009 I was pulled over for making an illegal turn and received a ticket. A few days later my car blew a head gasket and was scrapped. A week later I moved to a very bike friendly city where a car doesn't make much sense. I picked up a bicycle started using that and the bus system for my commute. I let my license expire and picked up an ID card about a year later as I had been doing just fine without a car where I was located.
Fast forward almost seven years to July 1st of 2016, my girlfriend and I have moved back to the same city I received the previously mentioned ticket. While I plan on continuing commuting by bike, my girlfriend decides a new car is needed for her commute and purchases a vehicle. After some talk we decide it's probably best I get my license renewed so I can drive the car if needed. On July 5th, we had to run to the store a mile away to get a strap wrench for a pesky shower head. I end up driving (with my girlfriend in the passenger seat) so I can get a little practice in with the new car before I retake the driving test. This is the first time I've driven a car in almost seven years. The car has automatic headlights and I don't think to hit the switch for the tail lights. Less than a block from our parking lot, I am pulled over for driving without tail lights. I inform the officer my license is expired and hand over my ID, girlfriend's license, insurance and registration. He runs my info and informs me that my license was suspended in November of 2009 for a failure to pay the aforementioned ticket (spaced it with everything that was going on). He then cites me for DWLS and turns my girlfriend's car over to her. I assume I didn't receive the notice that my license was suspended as I had already moved by then and I didn't update my address at the DMV until almost a year later.
So, I'm obviously guilty... Is that what I plead? I don't want to waste tax money just for the hell of it but I've always been told you should always plead "not guilty" and ask for a lawyer.
I understand my best option would be to pay off the ticket from 2009 and show that to the judge when I go in tomorrow. Unfortunately, that is just not possible in my current situation. I have a little north of $30,000 in medical bills and my wages are being garnished so I receive very little take home pay.
*Edit The DA recommended amending the charge to "Driving without a valid license" and a $125 fine if I agreed to plead guilty, which I did.
In June of this year, I plead guilty to driving with license suspended 3rd degree. In exchange for my guilty plea, my sentencing was delayed 90 days providing me the chance to regain my license before sentencing. According to the Judge, if I am fully re licensed by my next court date I will pay a fine and be done with it. My question is, what is likely to happen if I do not manage to get my license back in time. I hvae no prior criminal history. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Driving with a suspended license in the third degree is a misdemeanor offense in Washington. (http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.20.342)Misdemeanors are punishable by a maximum penalty of up to 90 days in jail and $1,000 in fines. (http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/resources/washington-misdemeanor-crimes-class-and-sentences.htm)
The maximum penalty, however, is not a likely punishment. You'd have to ask a local defense attorney about the likely outcome.
You hopefully already know this, but you can go to a DOL office and get a list of issues holding up your license. They may charge you a few bucks to do it. Usually it's all unpaid tickets from various courts. Your best move is to go in with that list and tell the judge "I didn't get it all fixed but I've fixed this, this, and this and if you give me another 90 days I can fix the rest of it."
Judges and prosecutors don't care much about DWLS 3; they just want to see you get licensed so it won't keep happening. They will generally work with you if you're serious about getting your license back and need more time.
Most judges won't impose jail time on a first DWLS3 with no prior record, but some might give you a day. The big penalty is having it on your record- it's not the crime of the century but who needs that?