If you are stopped while driving a vehicle and are found to be without a license, you have will be charged with driving without a license. Here are four facts a Minneapolis criminal defense lawyer wants you to know about this charge.
First, the penalties depend upon the situation. If you are stopped and do you not have a license because your license is expired, for example, or because you never applied for a license, you have broken the law. Driving with an expired license is a misdemeanor. You may be fined; the fee is not to exceed $200.
Second, if you are driving without a license because your license was cancelled revoked, or suspended by the authorities, you have committed a misdemeanor. It rises to a gross misdemeanor if the suspension was due to a driving under the influence (DUI) conviction. For a first-time offense, you can be fined up to a maximum of $1,000.
Third, if you are stopped and do not have the license with you (or cannot find it), you may be charged with an infraction. If at a later point you can prove you did have a license but did not have physical proof of it with you, the infraction may be dismissed. It is possible you will be fined up to $100.
Fourth, there are some instances where people do not have to have a Minnesota driver’s license. These instances include but are not limited to 1) people who are driving or operating a vehicle owned by the United States government while they are employed by the government; 2) a nonresident who has a valid nonresident driver’s license; or 3) someone driving a farm tractor temporarily on a highway.
Please contact us about your case.