Legal Question in Traffic Law in Colorado

driving under suspended lisence

3 years ago my husband got pulled over in westminster, the cop could not distinguish if my husband was driving under a suspended license or not so he gave him a speeding ticket and told his friend to continue driving home. 3 months later, he got pulled over in Alamosa and was told his license was suspended. The cop took the license and let my husband continue driving. He then got pulled over in Fairplay. today, we had to appear in court and he got 10 days in jail.(which, honestly he should have done 3 years ago.) We have another court date set for April 7th, for the same offense of driving under suspended license. Will my husband do more jail time and if so how long????


Asked on 4/07/04, 9:03 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

David Colt Colt Law Firm, P.C.

Re: driving under suspended lisence

Hello. (Note: For the purposes of this answer, I am assuming your husband's license was suspended for a reason other than a DUI/DWAI/Expressed Consent refusal reason. I assume this because of the information provided in your question. If it turns out that your husband's license was suspended because of a DUI/DWAI/Expressed consent refusal, this answer does not apply and the answer to the question becomes a lot more complicated).

The penalty for driving under suspension is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 5 days nor more than 6 months and a discretionary fine of $50 to $500. The minimum sentence (5 days) cannot be suspended by the court, so if your husband is found guilty or pleads guilty, he will be sentenced to at least 5 days. Because he has a previous conviction with a sentence of 10 days, the judge may give a sentence of 10 days or longer. The maximum sentence that a judge can give for driving under suspension is 6 months.

Additionally, upon the second conviction of driving under suspension, your husband's license may be suspended for an additional period of 3 years.

I hope that this information helps you. David Colt

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Answered on 4/13/04, 8:27 pm


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