My question involves criminal law for the state of: Missouri
This is one of the most absurd things I've ever seen. I found out this year (2014) that on July 29 of LAST year (2013) a police officer in my home town claimed he had seen me driving a black suv (I owned a silver suv at the time), recognized me from an arrest he had made three years prior (bogus arrest, charges were dropped), and decided to run my name through their system and it came back saying my license was suspended. The information states that a few minutes had elapsed and he couldn't find me to pull me over once he had been notified of the license suspension status. So he files the charge of driving while suspended based on that testimony alone, there was no traffic stop, no ticket written to me, and I didn't find out about this until early this year. The prosecutor waited three months to even file the charges, I could not be served a summons because I didn't even live in the state of Missouri so the court issued a warrant for failure to appear on a court date of which I had absolutely no knowledge. Once I discovered this I called the prosecutor to address the issue and tell my side of the story (I lived in a different state) and try to take care of this stupid thing to no avail - I was told the only way I could deal with it was to show up physically to court. I told them to put me on the docket and traveled from Kansas to Missouri to try to take care of it. I didn't know what to expect in the court room, I was told by an assistant prosecutor they typically offer a lesser charge if your license is reinstated; they did not offer me a lesser charge. The AP said they would not offer me a lesser charge because too much time had elapsed since the ticket (that I was never given) was written. I entered a plea of NOT GUILTY and went on my way. I've since gone through the discovery process, motioned for a jury trial, had the case certified and it's scheduled for trial - IN NOVEMBER. All of this nonsense is really causing me trouble because "pending charges" basically halt the job search process in my line of work. Note that I did confirm my license was suspended at the time, I did not know it at the time. I was required to carry sr22 insurance in 2012 because I refused to provide a sample at a DWI stop - I was NOT charged with dwi. So the license had been suspended because I missed an insurance payment and they notified the state. I thought it was taken care of when the insurance company told me all I had to do was get my insurance current and they would notify the state and the license would no longer be suspended- which I did. What I did not know at the time was that I also had to pay a $20 reinstatement fee. I was actually carrying insurance on my silver suv at the time this ticket was written and I was being accused of driving a black suv.
SO THE QUESTION: Is there any way I can speed this stupid thing up? Trial sooner? Move to dismiss based on insufficient evidence? anything? I can't hire a lawyer, and no public defender is possible because the "max penalty" the court imposes is a fine - EVEN THOUGH if you're found guilty of this, the dept of revenue suspends your license for a year based on their points system. The law regarding this is as follows...
302.321. 1. A person commits the crime of driving while revoked if such person operates a motor vehicle on a highway when such person's license or driving privilege has been cancelled, suspended, or revoked under the laws of this state or any other state and acts with criminal negligence with respect to knowledge of the fact that such person's driving privilege has been cancelled, suspended, or revoked.
This is one of the most absurd things I've ever seen. I found out this year (2014) that on July 29 of LAST year (2013) a police officer in my home town claimed he had seen me driving a black suv (I owned a silver suv at the time), recognized me from an arrest he had made three years prior (bogus arrest, charges were dropped), and decided to run my name through their system and it came back saying my license was suspended. The information states that a few minutes had elapsed and he couldn't find me to pull me over once he had been notified of the license suspension status. So he files the charge of driving while suspended based on that testimony alone, there was no traffic stop, no ticket written to me, and I didn't find out about this until early this year. The prosecutor waited three months to even file the charges, I could not be served a summons because I didn't even live in the state of Missouri so the court issued a warrant for failure to appear on a court date of which I had absolutely no knowledge. Once I discovered this I called the prosecutor to address the issue and tell my side of the story (I lived in a different state) and try to take care of this stupid thing to no avail - I was told the only way I could deal with it was to show up physically to court. I told them to put me on the docket and traveled from Kansas to Missouri to try to take care of it. I didn't know what to expect in the court room, I was told by an assistant prosecutor they typically offer a lesser charge if your license is reinstated; they did not offer me a lesser charge. The AP said they would not offer me a lesser charge because too much time had elapsed since the ticket (that I was never given) was written. I entered a plea of NOT GUILTY and went on my way. I've since gone through the discovery process, motioned for a jury trial, had the case certified and it's scheduled for trial - IN NOVEMBER. All of this nonsense is really causing me trouble because "pending charges" basically halt the job search process in my line of work. Note that I did confirm my license was suspended at the time, I did not know it at the time. I was required to carry sr22 insurance in 2012 because I refused to provide a sample at a DWI stop - I was NOT charged with dwi. So the license had been suspended because I missed an insurance payment and they notified the state. I thought it was taken care of when the insurance company told me all I had to do was get my insurance current and they would notify the state and the license would no longer be suspended- which I did. What I did not know at the time was that I also had to pay a $20 reinstatement fee. I was actually carrying insurance on my silver suv at the time this ticket was written and I was being accused of driving a black suv.
SO THE QUESTION: Is there any way I can speed this stupid thing up? Trial sooner? Move to dismiss based on insufficient evidence? anything? I can't hire a lawyer, and no public defender is possible because the "max penalty" the court imposes is a fine - EVEN THOUGH if you're found guilty of this, the dept of revenue suspends your license for a year based on their points system. The law regarding this is as follows...
302.321. 1. A person commits the crime of driving while revoked if such person operates a motor vehicle on a highway when such person's license or driving privilege has been cancelled, suspended, or revoked under the laws of this state or any other state and acts with criminal negligence with respect to knowledge of the fact that such person's driving privilege has been cancelled, suspended, or revoked.
Other Offenses: Charged for Driving While Suspended Based Solely on Officer's Testimony
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