Q: Can I get a charge of driving with a suspended license plate thrown out if I show proof of insurance prior to the stop?
I got a court date and a $1000 charge for driving with a suspended license plate. The plate was suspended for lack of insurance. Shortly after my license plate was threatened with suspension, I acquired insurance. I had no knowledge that my plates were suspended until the officer who pulled me over told me. I had no idea that I had to go to the DMV and get them reinstated. Also, the officer pulled me over for no other reason than the suspended plates. I wasn't speeding, swerving, or anything suspicious (I'm not sure if just running plates for the sake of running plates is normal or not).
So to recap: I had insurance 3 months prior to the stop, was made aware that the plate was suspended, went and reinstated the plates the next day (Monday), and am now finding out that I will owe $1000 for this misunderstanding. I have all of the insurance documents, as well as proof of the reinstatement. Can I get it thrown out or at the very least reduced?
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A: They probably required you to obtain a special type of insurance called SR 22. If you only had regular insurance and they wanted SR 22, that would not have fixed the problem
W. Scott Hanken agrees with this answer
A: Unfortunately, law enforcement often times runs registration numbers to determine license validity and compliance issues. While after-acquisition and/or compliance is not a complete defense, in most counties I practice in an infraction like yours would be dismissed for “compliance”. I hope this assists you.
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