can I get an AZ license if my OH license is suspended? (money, selling)

[Houston3]

Originally Posted by raqueljune

Thanks for the replies! I'll give them a call. I just wanted to make sure I have to give another $500 to this ****ing town...

Also, I know Ohio and Arizona have reciprocity regarding concealed carry permits. I have an Ohio Concealed Handgun Permit. Is there any problem with me waiting for that to expire before I get an Arizona one?

Why were your fines so HIGH for just going 12 miles over the speed limit? Did you slug the cop or something????

[115db]

Probably not, they ask you on the forms if youve ever had a license suspended, and I do believe they ask what state.
I remember Ohio being a real strict state with speed laws though.

[Bummer]

Originally Posted by Houston3

Why were your fines so HIGH for just going 12 miles over the speed limit? Did you slug the cop or something????

I was wondering the same thing, Houston.

Fines are intended to discourage law breaking and help recoup law enforcement and court expenses but those seem a little high. Any ideas on how they compare with Arizona and other states?

[mike b 1]

Hey Bummer, I was wondering the same thing...Methinks there's more to the story...

[raqueljune]

Thanks again for all the responses.

Originally Posted by Houston3

Why were your fines so HIGH for just going 12 miles over the speed limit? Did you slug the cop or something????

Well, I really don't want to whine about it, but since everybody asked...

I had my cruise control set at 67 and didn't notice the speed limit dropped to 55 on a deserted 4-lane highway, and of course a state trooper was waiting in the median right where the speed limit changed. I'm transsexual. About that ... I totally understand if people think I'm crazy (I think I'm crazy!) as long as they treat me like a human being. I'm not a scary person. I don't frighten children. I'm fairly young and look like a normal woman. I don't have an F on my license (they just passed a law a month ago that I can change it). The cop was very friendly -- kinda flirty -- and said, "Can I see your license and registration, ma'am?" But that quickly turned to, "Step out of the car, sir," and then if you were there you would think it was some kind of bad movie. I'd had two drinks four hours earlier, so I certainly wasn't drunk (and my passenger had only had one drink, so I would've let her drive if there was a problem). The cop made me stand in his headlights by the highway then walked back and I saw him actually turn on the video camera in his car and check that it was working. He had me doing sobriety tests for 30 minutes -- which I passed -- and he just kept getting madder. I don't know how anybody's supposed to stand on one leg in heels with their other leg fully extended in front of them and their hands at their sides and count backwards for 30 seconds, but I did it. I didn't give him any kind of attitude. I'm a quiet person and I was terrified. Eventually he just waved a pen in my face faster and faster until he said I didn't follow it smoothly and he handcuffed me and drove me to the station at 87 MPH (seriously) hoping there was still some alcohol in my system. At the station he gave me four breath tests, which he kept saying "it didn't work" even though I could clearly see the little receipt the machine spit out each time saying I was well below the limit. I told him I passed it and if he wanted me to take it again he should give me a blood test, but he said he would just write that up as a refusal and I'd lose my license for a year automatically (which is true in Ohio -- you must take the breath test). The fourth breath test registered 0.086 and he charged me with two DUIs somehow. I hired a lawyer, but she literally spent the whole time in court talking to the judge about the Republican National Convention she had just been to (apparently she had taken the previous week off for it). The judge laughed about the way the police report was written up and said, "I wish I could've seen that." Of course the report said the sobriety tests weren't video taped, said I failed them all, and also said I only took one breath test which I failed. I was put on probation, had my license suspended for the maximum 6 months for a first offense, had to pay a fine, and had to pay $300 to go spend 3 days in a hotel with alcoholics watching videos about why I shouldn't drink. In turn they only charged me with reckless operation (which still doubled my car insurance rates). Then I thought I had it cleared up when I got my license back in January. But I went to renew my plates last month and was told that I couldn't because my license had been suspended again because I owed the court $380.

God help me if Sheriff Joe is worse than the Ohio Highway Patrol.

[observer53]

I suspect one of Sheriff Joe's goons would have treated you the same way. You had a really lousy lawyer, obviously. That said, to get a license here, you will need to pay up.

[Esenjay]

You had a witness in the car--did they not testify on your behalf in regards to the sobriety tests that occurred on the freeway? If you really got stuck with this then I'd say you did, indeed, have a really crappy lawyer.

However, that's irrelevant now, it seems. You still need to contact the Arizona Motor Vehicles Division and find out from them what the regulations are.

[raqueljune]

Originally Posted by observer53

You had a really lousy lawyer, obviously.

Originally Posted by Esenjay

You had a witness in the car--did they not testify on your behalf in regards to the sobriety tests that occurred on the freeway?

Yes, my lawyer was useless.

It didn't actually go to trial. If it had I probably would've lost. Sure, the cop lied about everything, but why would they believe my friend over him? It definitely would've cost me more to actually go to court, and I might have lost. As it was the judge laughed in my face. I didn't have the money for anything but my useless $800 lawyer. I had to take the deal they gave me -- pleading guilty to Reckless Operation to avoid getting a DUI on my record -- although that's certainly a stretch for me ethically to say I'm guilty of being reckless when all I was doing was going 67 MPH on the highway.

[unit731]

Everything is on a computer now. Here in my little hick town in rural hill and mountain country, the cops have two or three computers inside the patrol car. Laptops upon laptops. Most is funded by Homeland Security or it's derivatives. They pull you over for anything, then everything comes up. I had a speeding ticket in 1972 and that comes up.

I do know of one person whose license was not revoked (yet - but court did later revoke it) from up north who got a Florida drivers license. It took about 6 months for the Florida DMV to catch up with him. Then he lost his Florida license.

Of course there is the Andy Griffith cops. But they are almost gone now.



There are no secrets.

Pay up and move on.

[Rick Lee]

Regardless of what state you're in, you do not have to perform roadside/field sobriety tests and should never ever do so. You are not helping yourself there, only helping the state gather evidence against you. If you value your license, you have to take a breathalyzer. But not all cops carry them or are checked out to use them. Always, always, always refuse to help the state build a case against you. Ask for their supervisor to come to the scene and keep asking if you're free to go. The clock starts ticking when you ask and they can't detain you without good reason indefinitely.