Hi
I have a company vehicle which is registered under my name but which is used by an employee. It seems the employee recieved a parking ticket earlier in the year however she claims she never recieved the ticket.
I moved house last year and updated my driving licence at the DMV with my new address. However the DMV did not update the information on their system and hence all demands for payment of the fine were sent to my old address. Mail is only forwarded on to a new address for the first three months after you move.
During the summer I was pulled over and advised that I was driving under a suspended licence. Of course I was shocked as I had no knowledge of the ticket in question.
I paid $100 dollars online to retract the suspension but still had to go to court.
On the court date I explained my position to the prosecutor before going before the judge. I was sure that he would show some commonsense and realise I was an innocent partty in all this. However it was quite the contrary. The prosecutor was obviously uninterested He was however willing to "reduce" the punishment from a 1 year suspension and fine to a $500 fine. I was left with the impression that if I chanced my luck in the court that I could face the possibility of losing my licence for a year. I commute to work in my car every day and could not afford to be without my licence. I therefore accepted the $500 fine.
In retrospect I should have asked for another court date and hired a lawyer.
My question is this - is there any right to appeal a fine after it has already been paid. I truly believe this is a miscarriage of justice. If I could prove that the DMV had not updated my address on their system and showed that there was no way for me to have known about this ticket, would this have helped?
I appreciate any advice you may offer.
Thanks.
I have a company vehicle which is registered under my name but which is used by an employee. It seems the employee recieved a parking ticket earlier in the year however she claims she never recieved the ticket.
I moved house last year and updated my driving licence at the DMV with my new address. However the DMV did not update the information on their system and hence all demands for payment of the fine were sent to my old address. Mail is only forwarded on to a new address for the first three months after you move.
During the summer I was pulled over and advised that I was driving under a suspended licence. Of course I was shocked as I had no knowledge of the ticket in question.
I paid $100 dollars online to retract the suspension but still had to go to court.
On the court date I explained my position to the prosecutor before going before the judge. I was sure that he would show some commonsense and realise I was an innocent partty in all this. However it was quite the contrary. The prosecutor was obviously uninterested He was however willing to "reduce" the punishment from a 1 year suspension and fine to a $500 fine. I was left with the impression that if I chanced my luck in the court that I could face the possibility of losing my licence for a year. I commute to work in my car every day and could not afford to be without my licence. I therefore accepted the $500 fine.
In retrospect I should have asked for another court date and hired a lawyer.
My question is this - is there any right to appeal a fine after it has already been paid. I truly believe this is a miscarriage of justice. If I could prove that the DMV had not updated my address on their system and showed that there was no way for me to have known about this ticket, would this have helped?
I appreciate any advice you may offer.
Thanks.
