Baltimore, MD asked in Traffic Tickets for Maryland

Q: Statue of limitation of points application for tickets in MD? State trying to give points from 20 yr old tickets I paid.

I came back to the states and applied for a DL however, I found my information had been used fraudulently and tickets acquired. I paid the tickets to clear the record and get a DL. Now 6 months after having a legal DL MVA is coming after me to revoke my license because of those 20 year old tickets I paid off and cleared. Note that when I paid the old tickets well over a year ago no indication was made that I would be penalized with points for any reason. Is this legal and why let me go through the entire process of acquiring a DL if the state had reason to try and revoke the DL at a later time just cause they are greedy.

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1 Lawyer Answer
Mark Oakley
Mark Oakley
Answered
  • Criminal Law Lawyer
  • Rockville, MD
  • Licensed in Maryland

A: Yes, they can do this. You MUST request a hearing within the time frame provided in the notice of revocation, and pay the fee. At the hearing, you can explain everything, and provide whatever proof you have that the tickets were not yours. The ALJ does not have to revoke you or even suspend you, or may modify the suspension to a nominal time period (15 days). better than a revocation. Simultaneously, you could try filing a motion in the District Court where you reside to schedule a trial on the tickets you paid, to contest that you were the person cited for those violations. You should have done that originally rather than pay them, so now it may be more difficult to achieve. i would recommend using a lawyer. The MVA can suspend a driver's license for 8 points accumulated during any 2 year period, or revoke for 12 points. Because points are not assessed until you are convicted, paying the outstanding fines caused convictions that resulted in points which were assessed as of the date of violation (not the date you pay), and those points expire 2 years from the date of violation. That means you do not have "current" points, but you received convictions that triggered their assessment against your license in the past, for which the MVA never held (or had an opportunity to hold) a hearing based on accumulation of points. If the MVA were not permitted to suspend or revoke your license in this instance, then you see what any driver would do when they received tickets: simply not pay and wait long enough until paying does not cause them any risk of suspension. That loophole cannot be allowed. Request the MVA hearing, and hire a lawyer to represent you at the hearing as well as possibly file a motion to contest the paid tickets in court.

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