Losing Your License in More Than One state: The Interstate Driver’s License Compact

Interviewer: Is Connecticut part of the Interstate Driver’s License Compact?

Jack: Yes, when you’re an out of state resident and your license is suspended, the suspension is reciprocal in your home state, the state of your license.

Interviewer: If you get two points here, you get two points back home. If you get suspended, the license is suspended back home?

Jack: The point system could be different but your home state gets notified of your conviction of whatever you’ve plead to.

If You Hire an Attorney for an Out-of-State Ticket, You Can Avoid Having to Return to Court

Interviewer: I guess for those people, they’d be more inclined to call an attorney because they don’t want to have to show up for the hearing to fight a ticket if they were out of state?

Jack: Yes, that is true. We represent clients from Texas, Alabama, and Georgia. They say, “I can’t afford to come back. I’m on the road all the time.” We charge a little more because prosecutors don’t much care for truckers who just are doing 80 through our state. The case can be a bit more complicated.

Traffic Violations Occurring in School or Construction Zones

Interviewer: When someone gets a ticket, what are some of the possible enhancements? For example, are school zone tickets worse than regular ones?

Jack: Yes, school zones, construction zones are two areas where penalties are enhanced.

Restricted Drivers With Non-Relative Passengers Are Subject to Enhanced Penalties

Interviewer: Are there any other enhancements that are pretty common, such as if you have underage kids in the car?

Jack: Yes, well, that presents a whole other area of the law for new drivers because they have restricted licenses. There are all kinds of consequences to their license if they’re caught with non-relatives in the vehicle

You Can Be Subject to a Fine for Not Having a Child in an Appropriate Car Seat

Interviewer: What if an adult is driving and they have their 4-year-old in the car and the 4-year-old is not in a car seat?

Jack: It is an offense subject to a ticket and the penalties are fines for an unsecured child, not having a child in a car seat.

Which Court Will Hear your Traffic Infraction Case?

Interviewer: OK. What courts do these tickets go to? What’s the name of the court and what kind of court?

Jack: They still go to superior court but they try to set up special motor vehicle dockets especially for the courts that have quite a few motor vehicle cases coming through. Rather than mixing them in with a regular docket, they’ll either be in separate courtrooms or at separate times so that they could be dealt with appropriately.

Some courts just use part time prosecutors to deal with them because the volume is too heavy for the regular prosecutors.

By Jack O’Donnell

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