Charged for Driving While Suspended Based Solely on Officer's Testimony

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.

So your license WAS in fact suspended at the time.

Not knowing that fact is no defense. And kudos to the police officer for recognizing you and remembering your name to find this.

As to your question "Is there any way I can speed this stupid thing up?" Yes. Of course there is. You can take responsibility for the fact that your license was in fact suspended and you were in fact driving and you can plead no contest or guilty.

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Quoting DeputyDog

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So your license WAS in fact suspended at the time.

Not knowing that fact is no defense. And kudos to the police officer for recognizing you and remembering your name to find this.

As to your question "Is there any way I can speed this stupid thing up?" Yes. Of course there is. You can take responsibility for the fact that your license was in fact suspended and you were in fact driving and you can plead no contest or guilty.

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did you even read the law? or the story? that sounds like the kind of canned response i'd get if i did shell out hundreds for some cheap lawyer. the burden is on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that i committed this crime, not on myself to prove that i didn't. all the prosecution has is testimony from a police officer who thinks he recognized me from years before when he arrested me on charges that were later thrown out because no crime had been committed. and if not knowing is no defense then how exactly would you interpret the part of the law that states "and acts with criminal negligence with respect to knowledge of the fact that such person's driving privilege has been cancelled, suspended, or revoked"?

The officer will testify that he saw you driving the vehicle and after running you, found that you were suspended. That is all the evidence they need to file charges. A good attorney can probably get you off by attacking the officer's identification as well as the application of the statute. Absent an attorney, you are likely going to be toast.

P.S. Paragraphs for God's sake. Your opening post is pretty near unreadable.

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Quoting djt434s

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did you even read the law? or the story? that sounds like the kind of canned response i'd get if i did shell out hundreds for some cheap lawyer. the burden is on the state to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that i committed this crime, not on myself to prove that i didn't. all the prosecution has is testimony from a police officer who thinks he recognized me from years before when he arrested me on charges that were later thrown out because no crime had been committed. and if not knowing is no defense then how exactly would you interpret the part of the law that states "and acts with criminal negligence with respect to knowledge of the fact that such person's driving privilege has been cancelled, suspended, or revoked"?

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You get the answers as we see them, not as you want them.

You are trying to "worm out" of your responsibility here. You are not innocent, you admit you are not innocent, but you just want to "beat it."

Well you don't have a great chance of that. Even if the cop was WRONG about who you were, and stopped the wrong person in error, but then found that YOU in fact were suspended, the stop would STILL be good, because all he needs to have is reasonable suspicion to stop a car. So his ID of you is meaningless. He thought he recognized you; he was right. Even if he was wrong, he had a good reason to stop the car.

You're not getting this thrown out.

If you want to pony up and pay a lawyer and hope for a miracle, you are free to do so. MAYBE a good attorney could concoct some argument that a judge will buy and "get you off." Without a lawyer? You have nothing to even HOPE to stand on. You have nothing to stand on WITH a lawyer, but a really good one might make it at least APPEAR that you possibly have something to stand on.

You can talk all you want about how you don't have to prove anything and they have to prove your guilt. Fine. Just go into court, your word against his, and come back and let me know how that works out.

With a lawyer: You stand .5% chance of beating this.

Without a lawyer: You stand a 0.00% chance of beating this.

I'm curious OP, why were you not notified of the suspension? Did you move and not update your address? Did you move and not forward your mail?

evidently i didn't make myself clear. there was no stop, and i never admitted i'm not innocent. as i stated before, he thought he recognized me so he ran the information, and later filed a report without me ever knowing about of any of it.

You are correct. I'd forgotten that he didn't stop you.

Not that it changes much. He recognized you, and you actually were suspended at the time.

I still don't think you really stand any chance even with a lawyer. He'll just say that he was absolutely sure it was you, the prosecution will submit that you actually were under suspension at the time, and they'll say "what a coincidence!"

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Quoting free9man

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I'm curious OP, why were you not notified of the suspension? Did you move and not update your address? Did you move and not forward your mail?

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when my license was suspended i was notified by my insurance company because i had missed a payment and if you do that, they notify your state which results in a suspension. so I brought my insurance current by paying them and they said they'd notify the state that my sr22 insurance was up to date and it would be reinstated. after this, i did have several address changes because i came off of active duty and ended up moving to a different state. after finding out about all of this, i found out my license had not been reinstated because i never paid a $20 reinstatement fee (that i did not know about). still, none of this changes the fact that i didn't even live in missouri at the time, i was never pulled over, etc.

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Quoting DeputyDog

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You are correct. I'd forgotten that he didn't stop you.

Not that it changes much. He recognized you, and you actually were suspended at the time.

I still don't think you really stand any chance even with a lawyer. He'll just say that he was absolutely sure it was you, the prosecution will submit that you actually were under suspension at the time, and they'll say "what a coincidence!"

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so based on your opinion here, what's to keep a disgruntled cop from randomly running names of his past failed convictions and making up a story that might be impossible to prove or disprove and arresting these people without actually arresting them?

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just a reminder - it is not against any law to have a suspended drivers license. it is against the law to drive on public roads, while you have a suspended license, and you know that you have a suspended license.

why would someone carry insurance on a vehicle exclusively for himself, and pay for that insurance every month while driving around knowingly illegally because he had not paid a $20 reinstatement fee?

1. The fact that when he writes a citation he is attesting, under penalty of perjury, that what he claims is true. Cops don't take that lightly. The world is not full of dirty cops who lie.

2. Why would people do any of the seemingly nonsensical things they do? Why do people purchase $400 worth of clothes and then steal a $19 sweater on the way out the door? That happens all the time.

You are arguing this case here on the forum. Argue your points in court. I'm just telling you that you're going to lose. You can talk all day about theory, and how things should be, and how the state has to prove your guilt, and how the officer's word shouldn't be considered "proof beyond a reasonable doubt."

But officer's testimony IS considered "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" every day, in courtrooms across this country. It's up to the judge or jury.

Go make your case. But I'm not optimistic that you'll win.

It sounds like you're saying the officer couldn't have seen you driving on a suspended license because you were living in a different state at the time of the alleged incident. If I were you I'd be figuring out exactly what I had been doing that day and gather any and all proof that I was in a different state at the time. Then I'd beg and borrow the money to hire a lawyer to present my case.

He doesn't even to "run you" before you're stopped. All he needs is an articulable suspicion that a crime had been committed. He's allowed to stop you, ask for license and registration, and then confirm it. And yes his "expert witness" testimony is more than enough to convict you. You don't even have any (not overly credible) story to tell that is exculpatory.

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Quoting flyingron

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He doesn't even to "run you" before you're stopped. All he needs is an articulable suspicion that a crime had been committed. He's allowed to stop you, ask for license and registration, and then confirm it. And yes his "expert witness" testimony is more than enough to convict you. You don't even have any (not overly credible) story to tell that is exculpatory.

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I kind of disagree. He said that he lived in a different state, and drove a different car than the car described by the officer. If he has any proof that he couldn't have been in the state the officers claims he was in, he could get this thrown out.

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Quoting flyingron

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He doesn't even to "run you" before you're stopped. All he needs is an articulable suspicion that a crime had been committed. He's allowed to stop you, ask for license and registration, and then confirm it. And yes his "expert witness" testimony is more than enough to convict you. You don't even have any (not overly credible) story to tell that is exculpatory.

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there was no stop, no stop was made, no license/registration was ever collected or confirmed - there was zero confirmation process. he simlply says he saw me, and created this charge out of thin air and sent it on to the prosecutor.

If I may say so, the TV shows CSI and L&O have a lot to answer for...

I'd like to know where you live in Kansas.

Everyone is harping on the "living in another state" thing. You do realize that the two biggest cities in MO are St. Louis and Kansas City, right? Both metro areas straddle MO and another state, namely Kansas and Illinois.

When I lived in KC it was a common occurrence to come home from work, go out with my wife to the mall/shopping and have dinner (in KANSAS, i.e. "another state,") and return home in the evening.

In other words, it wasn't really like "going to another state!" It was more like "going 5 miles into the western suburbs." Those suburbs just happened to be in a different state.

OP: How far over the line do you live? You never stated that, but seem fixated upon it as if it's some piece of evidence.

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Quoting DeputyDog

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I'd like to know where you live in Kansas.

Everyone is harping on the "living in another state" thing. You do realize that the two biggest cities in MO are St. Louis and Kansas City, right? Both metro areas straddle MO and another state, namely Kansas and Illinois.

When I lived in KC it was a common occurrence to come home from work, go out with my wife to the mall/shopping and have dinner (in KANSAS, i.e. "another state,") and return home in the evening.

In other words, it wasn't really like "going to another state!" It was more like "going 5 miles into the western suburbs." Those suburbs just happened to be in a different state.

OP: How far over the line do you live? You never stated that, but seem fixated upon it as if it's some piece of evidence.

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excellent point. i live in central kansas, this has taken place in central missouri. six hours to drive/eight hours to take a train. naturally i've been scouring for hard proof i was in kansas at the time to no avail. bank records show transactions in both missouri and kansas because my wife and i were one in each state at the time, i have a lease on a kansas property that started aug 1 but that doesn't PROVE i was there the last day of july, and the lessor hasn't been cooperative - doesn't want to be involved.

my biggest point i'm trying to make is that my identity was not, in any way confirmed. he says he saw me driving a vehicle which i didn't own, obviously wasn't in a situation where he made close enough contact to even pull me over to properly identify this person he thought was me - and had it even been me, question me on the status of my driver license to make a judgement call as to whether i even knew it was suspended; his filed information even says i knew i was driving on a suspended license though he didn't even stop/speak to this person he claims was me.