Legal Question in Criminal Law in Virginia

Re: Driving on suspended lisence

Jail time is a real possibility. This will depend on a number of factors (why was your license suspended, did you have notice, driving record, criminal record, etc.).

Virginia Driving on a Revoked or Suspended License is one of the most serious traffic offenses one can be charged with in Virginia second only to Virginia DUI/DWI with a high blood alcohol content. This charge carries a real probability of jail time and most judges in northern Virginia will ask the defendant to secure an attorney if the defendant is unrepresented on the first court appearance.

There is a number of possible consequences that can result from a conviction, including the restriction or loss of your privilege to drive, increases in insurance costs, fines, court costs, and even imprisonment. This is a Class 2 misdemeanor, and the maximum penalty for a first offense is a jail sentence of 6 months, a $1,000 fine, and a license suspension for the same period for which it had been previously suspended (or up to 90 days if the suspension was indefinite).

Re: Driving on suspended lisence

There are some details missing from your question, but it appears that your past record will be a serious problem.

You say that you have a bad driving record, but we don't know how old those past tickets are. You should go to a DMV office (have someone drive you!) and pull a copy of your driving record. DO NOT rely on your memory. You need to see how many, if any, of those past tickets have dropped off your driving record, expiring from passage of time.

If you can clear up WHY your license was suspended (such as failure to pay tickets), get that fixed. That will help only a little, but it will help some.

You say that a year and a half ago you had 10 days jail time suspended, but you do not say for how LONG it was suspended. Probably 1 year. It is possible for that suspended jail time to be reimposed automatically. But you have to find out how long the jail sentence was suspended for. If only 1 year, then a year and a half later, it has expired.

In general, your past driving record will make a huge difference in how the prosecutor and the court treats you.

You mmight try to go ahead and enroll in driving school if you cna get that done in time.

Of course don't overlook any ways to BEAT the driving while suspended charge.