Operating After Suspension/Revokation

June 2, 2024

Driving After Suspension Charged Dismissed at Clerk-Magistrate Hearing

On April 19, 2024, JH, a 25 year old financial assistant at a large university, got pulled over by the Andover Police for driving on a suspended license. Three days later JH contacted Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover. Attorney Lewin instructed JH to immediately (that same day) request a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing at Lawrence District Court. Attorney Lewin could see that the suspension of the license was due to a snafu at the RMV. Attorney Lewin instructed JH as to what he should do to get his license reinstated at the RMV. Two days later, JH, following Attorney Lewin’s instructions, was able to get his license reinstated.

On May 30, 2024, Attorney Lewin and JH went to Lawrence District Court for a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing. Prior to the hearing, Attorney Lewin had spoken with the Andover Police Prosecutor and had explained the snafu at the RMV and had furnished the prosecutor with a copy of JH’s new license. At the hearing, Attorney Lewin explained the situation to the Clerk-Magistrate. The Clerk-Magistrate then declined to issue a criminal complaint against JH and dismissed the case.

Although this was a relatively simple case, it was thoroughly prepared by Attorney Lewin. JH was an excellent client and followed Attorney Lewin’s instructions. The preparation paid off and the case was dismissed without a criminal complaint issuing against JH. Attorney Lewin explained to JH the following:

May 2, 2023

Operating After Revocation of Registration Dismissed in Woburn District Court

by Robert D. Lewin

On February 25, 2023, SM, a 45 year old engineer from Andover got pulled over and cited for speeding, expired inspection sticker, and operating a vehicle with a revoked registration (a criminal offense). The vehicle was a leased Tesla. The police report indicated that the registration was revoked because the vehicle was not insured. A clerk-magistrate hearing was scheduled, but SM never received the hearing notice. The Clerk-Magistrate issued a summons for SM to appear in Woburn District Court for an arraignment on May 2, 2023. Within days after being stopped by the police SM notified the leasing company that the car was and had been fully insured. SM went and got the car registered.

SM consulted with and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover. Attorney Lewin reviewed the police reports and SM – a terrific client – furnished Attorney Lewin with the insurance policies showing that the car was fully insured at all times and with a copy of the new registration certificate.

Attorney Lewin contacted the DA’s Office and showed them that the Registration should never have been revoked as the car was fully insured throughout and that the fault lay with the leasing company. Attorney Lewin prepared and filed a Motion to Dismiss the case (all the charges) prior to arraignment.

March 28, 2023

Driving After Suspension Dismissed in Newburyport District Court

by Robert D. Lewin

In May of 2022, MH, a 30 year old designer from Andover, was stopped by the police and issued a citation for No Inspection Sticker and Unregistered Motor Vehicle. He took care of the registration and the sticker, but failed to either pay the ticket or request a hearing. He went into default on the ticket and the Registry suspended his license. He continued to drive. On December 13, 2022 he got pulled over by the Amesbury Police for driving after suspension of his license. He was summonsed to court in Newburyport. MH consulted with and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover.

Attorney Lewin immediately obtained the police reports and both MH’s criminal record and driver history from the Registry. Attorney Lewin made certain that MH got his license reinstated before the Court date. Prior to MH’s arraignment, Attorney Lewin spoke with the Assistant DA at Newburyport District Court and advocated with the Assistant DA to dismiss the case. The Assistant DA agreed.

On March 28, 2023, Attorney Lewin and MH appeared in Newburyport District Court. The case was called and Attorney Lewin and the Assistant DA told the Judge that there was an agreement to dismiss the case. The Judge ordered the case dismissed.

January 20, 2022

Warrant Cancelled – Charges Dismissed – In Less Than Two Hours

by Robert D. Lewin

In May of 2021, AM, a 41 year old cleaner, got pulled over by the Methuen Police and was cited for Operating After Suspension, Operating an Uninsured and Unregistered Motor Vehicle, Wrongfully Attaching Plates, and Failing to Stop. AM changed addresses and never received the summons to go to Lawrence District Court and a warrant was issued for his arrest. AM forgot about the case and when he went to renew his license he was told he had a warrant in Lawrence District Court. AM became concerned that he would get picked up on the warrant and held. He sought out an attorney. AM spoke with and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover.

AM wanted to go into court immediately to get the warrant cleared. On January 20, 2022 AM and Attorney Lewin went into Lawrence District Court at 8:30 AM. Attorney Lewin went into the Clerk-Magistrate’s Office and had the case put on the Court List for hearing that day. Attorney Lewin brought AM into the probation office where probation did an intake interview. Attorney Lewin then spoke with the Assistant District Attorney in charge of the Lawrence office. After speaking the with Assistant DA, an agreement was reached where all the charges would be dismissed on the payment of $300.00 in court costs.

Shortly before 10:00 AM the case was called. The Judge ordered the outstanding warrant cancelled. The Judge asked Attorney Lewin and the Assistant DA if the case could be resolved. Attorney Lewin told the Judge the parties had reached an agreement for the criminal charges to be dismissed upon the payment of $300 in Court Costs. The Judge adopted the agreement. So, less than 2 hours after AM and Attorney Lewin entered the courthouse the warrant was gone and the cases were dismissed.

August 22, 2021

OPERATING AFTER SUSPENSION CHARGE DISMISSED

by Robert D. Lewin

On June 20, 2020, MG, a 23 year old musician was driving northbound on Route 1 near the jug handle in Peabody. Suddenly he rear ended the vehicle in front of him which had come to a stop in traffic. The police responded to the accident scene and it was determined that MG’s license was suspended for non-payment of a speeding ticket. The police cited MG for operating after suspension (a criminal offense) and for failure to use care (a civil offense). MG’s driver record was not good. This was his second surchargeable (at fault) accident in less than a year and he also had an out-of-state conviction for using a hand held phone while driving.

MG received a summons to go to Peabody District Court. His arraignment was scheduled for July 13, 2021. On July 12, 2021 (!!!), the day before the scheduled arraignment, MG’s father contacted Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover and asked if he could go to court the next morning. Attorney Lewin said he could rearrange his schedule and he could go to court in Peabody at 8:30 AM for MG’s arraignment. MG’s family hired Attorney Lewin late in the day on July 12. That evening, Attorney Lewin spoke with MG on the phone and took a complete statement of the facts from MG as well as a complete personal history. Attorney Lewin ran MG’s driver record from the Registry of Motor Vehicles. The next morning Attorney Lewin appeared with MG and his father in Peabody District Court. Fortunately MG had paid the speeding ticket that was causing his license to be suspended and he paid a reinstatement fee to the Registry so that when they went to Court on July 13, 2021 MG’s license was active.

Attorney Lewin spoke with the Assistant District Attorney at Peabody District Court and pointed out that MG had NO criminal record in MA and that his license was fully reinstated. Attorney Lewin asked the Assistant DA to dismiss the criminal case and the Assistant DA agreed.

August 20, 2021

Operating After Suspension – Criminal Complaints Avoided In Two Cases In One Day

by Robert D. Lewin

Attorney Lewin’s string of successful defense of Operating After Suspension of License charges continued full steam ahead in August of 2021. Attorney Lewin appeared in Lowell District Court on August 4, 2021 and was successful in having two clients avoid being prosecuted for operating after suspension.

HZ’s Case

HZ’s case: HZ is a 38 year old permanent resident alien from China living in Lowell. He has a Doctorate in Bio Medical Engineering and is employed as a principal research engineer at a bio-tech company. In 2019 Dr. Z got a ticket for a marked lanes violation and he failed to pay the ticket. As a result the Registry suspended his license. He claimed not to have received any notice of the suspension. On August 26, 2020 Dr. Z was operating his car on Route 495 in Chelmsford. Suddenly the car in front of him came to a stop and Dr. Z could not stop in time and rear ended the stopped car in front of him. The police responded to the scene and when they ran Dr. Z’s license it came back as suspended. The police issued Dr. Z a citation for Operating After Suspension of License and for Following too Closely (a civil violation). Dr. Z – to his credit – immediately went to the Registry and paid the outstanding ticket from 2019 and he paid a reinstatement fee and got his license reinstated. Dr. Z also sent the citation in to Lowell District Court to request a hearing. Because of covid-19 getting a hearing date was substantially delayed. Finally Dr. Z received a notice from Lowell District Court that his hearing on the State Police Application for a criminal complaint against him was scheduled for August 4, 2021. Dr. Z sought out a lawyer and met with (via zoom) and hired Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover. Attorney Lewin immediately contacted Dr. Z’s insurance company to make certain that the person whose car Dr. Z rear ended had been paid for their property damage in full. Attorney Lewin obtained written confirmation from the insurance company of the payment in full. Attorney Lewin obtained a copy of the police report. Attorney Lewin also obtained written verification from the Registry that Dr. Z had paid the outstanding ticket from 2019 and that his license was fully reinstated by the Registry.

April 3, 2021

WARRANT CLEARED – ALL CHARGES DISMISSED

by Robert D. Lewin

In July of 2019, SM, a 23 year old woman was pulled over by the Wakefield Police. The police had done a random scan/query of the registration plate on her car and it came back as revoked due to insurance cancellation. When the police asked for her license it turns out that her right to operate in Massachusetts had been suspended due to an unpaid speeding ticket. She was charged with operating an uninsured motor vehicle, operating a vehicle with a revoked registration, and operating after suspension of her right to drive. The Malden Court issued a summons for her to come to court but she claimed never to have received it. A warrant for her arrest was issued by the court.

She stopped driving after that and the car sat in her driveway. In 2021 she contacted and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover wishing to clear things up. Attorney Lewin immediately filed his appearance as her lawyer and that gave him access to all the court papers and the police reports which he immediately obtained. Attorney Lewin explained to SM that if she got the car registered and insured and if she got her right to drive reinstated that that would go a long way toward getting the charges resolved very favorably. SM was a good client. She paid off the old speeding ticket and paid a reinstatement fee for her right to operate and her right to operate was reinstated by the Registry. She also got a new insurance policy and got the car reregistered. Attorney Lewin filed a Motion with the Court to cancel the warrant and dismiss the charges.

On April 1, 2021 Attorney Lewin and SM appeared virtually via zoom in Malden Court (which is in Medford!). Attorney Lewin had filed all the papers from the Registry with the Judge and with the DA to show that SM had taken care of all her issues. The Judge then said that she was ordering the warrant cancelled all the charges against SM dismissed prior to arraignment.

March 28, 2021

UNLICENSED OPERATION CHARGE DISMISSED

by Robert D. Lewin

October 3, 2020 was a terrible day for TK, a 26 year old gentleman from Richmond, VA. He was driving from VA to Boston. While driving in CT he was involved in an accident. His car got towed from the scene and he was cited by the police in CT for several motor vehicle violations. He was able to get his vehicle out of the tow yard. The vehicle was drivable so he continued on his way to Boston. He got on Route 84East and was going 105 miles per hour. A state trooper ultimately pulled him over. It turns out his VA license had been suspended. The police gave TK a criminal citation for Unlicensed Operation, No License in Possession, and Speeding. TK subsequently received a summons to appear for an arraignment in Dudley District Court. TK (with the help of his parents) sought out a lawyer (online) who could help. They found Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover.

After consulting with Attorney Lewin on the phone TK retained Attorney Lewin. Attorney Lewin immediately filed his appearance in Dudley District Court for TK and obtained a copy of the police report. Attorney Lewin reached out to the Assistant District Attorney in Dudley District Court and had a lengthy conversation with the Assistant District Attorney about the case. Attorney Lewin explained to the Assistant DA that TK had been successful in getting his license reinstated in VA and Attorney Lewin furnished a copy of TK’s new license to the Assistant DA.

On March 26, 2021 TK and Attorney Lewin appeared virtually via zoom in Dudley District Court for TK’s arraignment. The Assistant DA told the Judge that the Commonwealth was moving to Dismiss the criminal charge of unlicensed operation and that the Commonwealth was agreeable to findings of NOT responsible on the No license in possession charge and the speeding charge! (105 mph!!). The Judge agreed and ALL the charges were dropped.

November 30, 2020

DRIVING ON SUSPENDED LICENSE DISMISSED AT CLERK’S HEARING

by Robert D. Lewin

On January 10, 2020, ZC, a 29 year old software engineer was driving his car in Weymouth when he got pulled over by the state police because his rear registration plate did not have the small sticker affixed to it. When the trooper ran the license and registration it turned out that ZC’s license had been suspended in 2019 for failing to pay a ticket that had been issued against him in 2019. ZC works for the Commonwealth and it was important for him not to have any criminal record. The state trooper issued ZC a citation for Operating After Suspension of License. ZC took the ticket and mailed it to the Quincy District Court and requested a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing.

The following week ZC went to the Registry and paid the old ticket. He had moved and never received the old ticket nor did he ever receive the Notice of Suspension from the Registry. (Of course, it was his obligation to notify the Registry of his change of address.) Once he paid that old ticket he then paid a reinstatement fee and the Registry reinstated his license.

ZC did not want to get a criminal record. ZC met with (via ZOOM) and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover. Attorney Lewin commended ZC for taking care of the old ticket, the change of address, and paying the reinstatement fee and getting reinstated.

January 3, 2018

SUSPENDED LICENSE CHARGES IN TWO COURTS DISMISSED WITHIN 24 HOURS

by Robert D. Lewin

ET, a 30 year old software engineer from India, has trouble obeying the rules of he road. He ended up getting his license suspended but continued to drive. He then got arrested in Woburn and in Malden for driving after suspension of his license. There was a warrant for his arrest for the case in Woburn. Some years before ET had hired Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover to handle a hit and run case. Attorney Lewin was successful in killing that case in the police station before any charge was brought. ET again retained Attorney Lewin. Because of the warrant Attorney Lewin and ET went to Court right away. On Tuesday, January 2, 2018 ET and Attorney Lewin went to Woburn District Court to address the warrant. Attorney Lewin arrived at Court early and spoke with the Assistant District Attorney. Attorney Lewin explained that the license suspension was not for any serious motor vehicle violations. The District Attorney agreed to dismiss the charge. ET and Attorney Lewin walked out of Woburn Court with the warrant cancelled and the criminal case dismissed. The next day, Wednesday, January 3, 2018, ET and Attorney Lewin went to Malden District Court. Again, Attorney Lewin arrived at Court early and spoke with the Assistant District Attorney. Again Attorney Lewin explained that the license suspension was not for any serious motor vehicle violations. The District Attorney agreed to dismiss the charge. Within 24 hours ET had both charges of driving on a suspended license dismissed. On January 4, 2018 ET is scheduled to go to the Registry of Motor Vehicles and get his license reinstated. It just doesn’t get much better.