Why a Private Attorney is Necessary: How to Get Back on the Road After Being Designated as a Habitual Traffic Offender
- October 5, 2020
- Lawyer Michael Panella
- Traffic Violations
In Florida, if you are designated as a “Habitual Traffic Offender” (HTO), the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles is authorized to automatically revoke your license for a period of FIVE years. You are probably wondering, “What the heck is a HTO?” To put it simply, a person convicted of three charges for “Driving While License Suspended or Revoked” (DWLS) within a five-year period will be classified as a “Habitual Traffic Offender”. DWLS charges can be either criminal or civil in nature. A criminal DWLS is when someone is driving with a suspended license with knowledge. The first criminal DWLS is classified as a second-degree misdemeanor, the second criminal DWLS is classified as a first-degree misdemeanor and additional criminal DWLS can be classified as a felony depending on the reason for the suspension of the license itself. In criminal DWLS cases, even if adjudication is withheld, meaning that a person is charged but not convicted, it will still count a
