Legal Question in Criminal Law in Washington

Re: Arrested for driving with suspended license although not driving.

Only if you weren't driving. But there's probably more to this than you've told.

Re: Arrested for driving with suspended license although not driving.

If you honestly were not driving, but got arrested for driving while your license was suspended (�DWLS� for short), I would question whether your arrest is supported by probable cause.

Probable cause exists where known facts and circumstances of a reasonably trustworthy nature are sufficient to justify a person of reasonable caution or prudence in the belief that a crime has been or is being committed.

For you to have been lawfully arrested, the arresting officer must be able to state the factual basis for probable cause supporting your arrest. Since DWLS is a criminal charge in Washington, you will be required to appear at an arraignment hearing. At this hearing, the judge or commissioner will hear probable cause, usually by listening to the prosecutor�s oral reading of an affidavit, which is sworn to and signed by the arresting officer, or the judge/commissioner will read the affidavit silently to him or herself.

If there is no probable cause to support your arrest at arraignment, the charge must be dismissed, but it can be re-filed later with the appropriate factual basis.

I�ll bet that if you got arrested from DWLS and now claim to not have been driving when you were arrested, the police officer must have found you in possession of an operational motor vehicle registered in your name, away from your home. I�ll also bet that you were alone when the police contacted you. Under this scenario, it�s logical for the police officer to assume that you drove the vehicle to the location of the traffic stop. If this is what happened, the probable cause will be razor thin, but is probably enough to sustain the charges.

I highly recommend getting a lawyer before you go to your arraignment. You may possibly have another defense your lawyer can tell you about � the misdemeanor presence rule.