I got several tickets in Pennsylvania when I was younger. Some of the tickets were for speeding, no registration, suspended license, and driving too fast. I never got notice of these tickets before I moved to Florida. I had my florida license for the last 8 years but now Florida DMV will not renew my license because of these tickets in PA. Don't the courts have to throw them out because they are more than 10 years old?
A: It is possible, but you may need help or have a hearing to make it happen.
You need to clear the PA tickets before Florida will issue you or renew your license. Be careful on how you clear them...driving under suspension carries a minimum of a year of license suspension in Pennsylvania and driving with no insurance and suspended registration carres 3 months each.
There are a number of ways to clear the tickets in PA and one of them is asking for dismissal due to age but it is not automatic. This is done at the discretion of the judge in each district court. If you were already found guilty of the tickets there is no longer a statute of limitations on the collection of fines/fees and assessment of additional penalties like license suspension or revocation issued by PennDOT.
Reading through the following PA code carefully you will see that after three years the judge has the OPTION to dismiss a ticket and remove the indefinite suspension as long as you don't run afoul of any of the limitation of §5554. You moved from Pennsylvania so you may no longer be granted relief from these citations under §5553. If you were to hire someone knowledgeable they may be able to make an argument based on more specific details of your situation. At License Restoration Services I deal with this type of issue regularly and in most cases we have been able to get these issues resolved without additional suspension time.
(a) General rule.--Except as provided in subsection (b) or (c), proceedings for summary offenses under Title 75 (relating to vehicles) must be commenced within 30 days after the commission of the alleged offense or within 30 days after the discovery of the commission of the offense or the identity of the offender, whichever is later, and not thereafter.
(b) Minor offenses.--(Deleted by amendment).
(c) Exceptions.--
(1) Where proceedings are timely commenced against a person reasonably believed to have committed the summary offense or offenses charged and it subsequently appears that a person other than the person charged is the offender, proceedings may be commenced against the other person within 30 days after the identity of the person is discovered and not thereafter.
(2) Proceedings for summary offenses under Title 75 may be commenced within 365 days after the commission of the offense, the discovery of the commission of the offense or the discovery of the identity of the offender, whichever is later, and not thereafter if the offense involved an accident resulting in the bodily injury or death of any person.
(3) Where a police officer reasonably believes that there are multiple summary offenses arising out of the same conduct or the same criminal episode and that an offense under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1543 (relating to driving while operating privilege is suspended or revoked) has occurred, proceedings on all summary offenses arising from the conduct or episode may be commenced at the same time and must be commenced within 30 days after the commission of the alleged offenses or within 30 days after the discovery of the commission of the offenses or the identity of the offender or within 30 days after the police officer receives verification of the basis for the suspension from the Department of Transportation as required under 75 Pa.C.S. § 1543(d), whichever is later, and not thereafter.
(d) Local ordinances on overtime parking.--Local ordinances pertaining to overtime parking shall be subject to the provisions of this section.
(e) Disposition of proceedings within three years.--No proceedings shall be held or action taken pursuant to a summary offense under Title 75 subsequent to three years after the commission of the offense.
(Apr. 28, 1978, P.L.202, No.53, eff. 60 days; Oct. 5, 1980, P.L.693, No.142, eff. 60 days; June 15, 1982, P.L.512, No.141, eff. 60 days; Nov. 29, 2004, P.L.1325, No.166, eff. 60 days; Nov. 29, 2004, P.L.1364, No.176, eff. imd.)
2004 Amendments. Act 166 amended subsecs. (c) and (e) and Act 176 amended subsecs. (a) and (c) and deleted subsec. (b). Act 176 overlooked the amendment by Act 166, but the amendments do not conflict in substance and have both been given effect in setting forth the text of section 5553.
Cross References. Section 5553 is referred to in section 5554 of this title.
§ 5554. Tolling of statute.
Except as provided by section 5553(e) (relating to disposition of proceedings within two years), the period of limitation does not run during any time when:
(1) the accused is continuously absent from this Commonwealth or has no reasonably ascertainable place of abode or work within this Commonwealth;
(2) a prosecution against the accused for the same conduct is pending in this Commonwealth; or
(3) a child is under 18 years of age, where the crime involves injuries to the person of the child caused by the wrongful act, or neglect, or unlawful violence, or negligence of the child's parents or by a person responsible for the child's welfare, or any individual residing in the same home as the child, or a paramour of the child's parent.
(Apr. 28, 1978, P.L.202, No.53, eff. 60 days; July 10, 1985, P.L.193, No.49, eff. 60 days)
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