Bucks County License Suspension Appeal Lawyer

The American lifestyle for the most part requires the transportation of a car. It is hard to imagine surviving our bustling, modern society without one. So when you get a notice from the Pennsylvania State Department of Transportation that they will be suspending your driving privileges, the news can be overwhelmingly devastating, and you may be wondering how you are going to be able to cope with your daily lifestyle. How will you get to work or school? Go to the grocery store? Visit friends? Take your kids where they need to go? If the state of Pennsylvania has informed you via PennDOT that your driving privileges are being suspended, the time to act is now. If you’re a Bucks County resident and have received a letter in the mail from PennDOT telling you that they are going to suspend your license, it is imperative you take action. In Pennsylvania, it is essential you file an appeal prior to the suspension going into effect. This will be your only opportunity to contest a license suspension. Filing an appeal of your suspension is a complicated and very technical process. In many cases, your suspension may be a result of a conviction of a motor vehicle offense, such as Reckless Driving. PennDOT Suspension Appeals entail a multi-step process which usually involves filing two separate appeals: (1) an appeal of your suspension in civil court and (2) an appeal of the violation that led to your suspension in criminal court. As a result, Suspension Appeals require multiple court appearances and a technical understanding of the procedure. For these reasons, it is not recommended you undertake this task without the assistance of an experienced attorney.

How the Process Works

Before you can appear in civil court to deal with your suspension appeal, it is necessary to first successfully appeal the underlying traffic or criminal citation. To succeed in an appeal of a license suspension, you must provide legal grounds to avoid a suspension, and that usually means fighting the citation that led to your suspension. Once PennDOT mails you a notice of suspension, you have 30 days from the date provided on the notice to file an appeal. This deadline approaches faster than you think. In many cases, appealing the suspension will stay the start date of the suspension until the underlying ticket is resolved.

The Criminal or Traffic Appeal

When you are found guilty or plead guilty to a traffic citation, you have thirty days to file an appeal. However, in some circumstances, you don’t receive the notice of suspension or discover the effect of the citation until after the thirty-day window has passed. In these cases, an appeal is still possible. Please refer to our Nunc Pro Tunc page for more information. Once a traffic appeal is successfully filed, you will have the opportunity to either negotiate a plea with the prosecutor so that the plea will not result in a suspension penalty, or fight the charges at trial. If successful in your Criminal or traffic appeal, you can be successful in your license appeal.

The Civil Appeal

A License Suspension appeal is a trial. Attorneys for PennDOT will put on evidence against you, and will present testimony to prove that your suspension is proper. You and your attorney must be prepared for this eventuality. That said, if you win your traffic appeal, there may be no need for a trial, as PennDOT may withdraw their suspension and the PennDOT attorneys will dismiss their case. Remember, the rules of the court still apply, so though you've won your criminal appeal, you will still require counsel to enter documents into evidence and put forth your case.

Why Do I Need an Attorney?

At The Law Offices of Greg Prosmushkin, P.C., our experienced Bucks County attorneys have handled countless PennDOT cases, from Richboro to Feasterville and everywhere in between, in both the civil and criminal division. With offices in Southampton, we are ready to serve our community and help you with your traffic issues. If you received a notice of suspension from PennDOT, hiring an intelligent and experienced lawyer is a good first step in protecting your rights and your driver's license. This content was written on behalf of Greg Prosmushkin.