NOTICE OF MY LICENSE SUSPENSION IS NOT A DEFENSE

THE BELTZ LAW FIRM

214-321-4105

 

Have you ever been pulled over for a traffic violation to find out that your license is invalid?  You didn’t know that it was suspended because you claim that you never received the notice of suspension from the Department of Public Safety (DPS). Regardless of your pleas to the police officer, you are issued a ticket for Driving While License Invalid (DWLI). Now what?  Well, there is an excuse under the laws of Texas, its just not a good one!

 

Read carefully:

 

Sec. 521.457.  DRIVING WHILE LICENSE INVALID. (a) A person commits an offense if the person operates a motor vehicle on a highway:

(1)  after the person’s driver’s license has been canceled under this chapter if the person does not have a license that was subsequently issued under this chapter;

(2)  during a period that the person’s driver’s license or privilege is suspended or revoked under any law of this state;

(3)  while the person’s driver’s license is expired if the license expired during a period of suspension; or

(4)  after renewal of the person’s driver’s license has been denied under any law of this state, if the person does not have a driver’s license subsequently issued under this chapter.

(b)  A person commits an offense if the person is the subject of an order issued under any law of this state that prohibits the person from obtaining a driver’s license and the person operates a motor vehicle on a highway.

(c)  It is not a defense to prosecution under this section that the person did not receive actual notice of a suspension imposed as a result of a conviction for an offense under Section 521.341.

(d)  Except as provided by Subsection (c), it is an affirmative defense to prosecution of an offense, other than an offense under Section 521.341, that the person did not receive actual notice of a cancellation, suspension, revocation, or prohibition order relating to the person’s license. For purposes of this section, actual notice is presumed if the notice was mailed in accordance with law.

(e)  Except as provided by Subsections (f), (f-1), and (f-2), an offense under this section is a Class C misdemeanor.

(f)  An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the person:

(1)  has previously been convicted of an offense under this section or an offense under Section 601.371(a), as that law existed before September 1, 2003; or

(2)  at the time of the offense, was operating the motor vehicle in violation of Section 601.191.

(f-1)  If it is shown on the trial of an offense under this section that the license of the person has previously been suspended as the result of an offense involving the operation of a motor vehicle while intoxicated, the offense is a Class B misdemeanor.

(f-2)  An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor if it is shown on the trial of the offense that at the time of the offense the person was operating the motor vehicle in violation of Section 601.191 and caused or was at fault in a motor vehicle accident that resulted in serious bodily injury to or the death of another person.

(g)  For purposes of this section, a conviction for an offense that involves operation of a motor vehicle after August 31, 1987, is a final conviction, regardless of whether the sentence for the conviction is probated.

Sure, you can plead that you did not receive “actual” notice of the suspension. Unfortunately, as long as DPS claims that they sent you the notice of suspension in accordance with the law, then you are PRESUMED to have received it.  So, like I said, there is an excuse, it just can’t be used (for the most part).

Regardless of your situation, our office can provide services to defend you against a DWLI, provide information about your drivers license status, and guide you to restoring your full driving privileges. Just call!!