Having a driver’s license is a privilege, not a right. In order to obtain a license, a person must
pass a written and behind the wheel test and pay the appropriate fees. In order to keep the license, a driver must remain law-abiding.
There are several ways to lose a drivers license: Too many moving traffic violations; one driving while impaired; failing to
stay current on child support; failing to pay a fine for a traffic violation
are just some of the ways a persons license may become suspended or revoked.
I routinely preside over cases where a person is charged
with such a driver’s license violation.
Besides paying a fine, the person finds that his or her license is
suspended, revoked or cancelled by the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for
an additional period of time. In rural Minnesota, without
readily available public transportation, the result may be that a job will be
lost because the person cannot drive to work.
Some years back, I started noting pleas of guilty on these
cases and then setting sentencing out four to eight weeks. I told the defendants that if they came back
at sentencing with a valid driver’s license, I’d do my best to see that they
would keep it. If they were successful
in having their driving privileges reinstated, I would not accept the guilty
plea, assess costs (often in the approximate amount of the fine) and continue
the case for one year. If there were no
further drivers license or insurance violations, the charges would be dismissed
and the license would not be suspended for an additional time.
For several months, I kept track to see what happened in
those driver’s license cases. I found
that just about one-half of the defendants were able to get a valid drivers
license and could therefore drive legally again. I thought that was pretty good – one half of
the people who had these kinds of tickets became legal again and were able to
keep their jobs, provide transportation for their families and would not be
tempted to drive illegally. I thought
that was a fair trade-off for not putting a conviction on their record.
In time, many prosecutors came to adopt this practice. The Sibley County Attorney’s office, in
particular, makes agreements with defendants to help them get their licenses back
even before they come into court.
In these cases, I believe second chances are well worth the
effort!
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Next week: One Day at
a Time
