What Kind of Lawyer Do We Need?
February 5, 2024 9:27 AM Subscribe
A close family member had a DUI in his late teens in North Carolina. His license was either suspended or revoked or, I am not sure and neither is he. He is now 32, sober, in Oregon and needs a driver's license. It's crazy but I think he needs a lawyer. What kind of lawyer and where?
Getting North Carolina to even tell him what he needs to do has been a years long puzzle maze with no exit. The answers he has gotten over the years are all over the place and seem to depend completely on who he is speaking with at the DMV. As soon as he completes one part of the puzzle, they promptly either lose it or say it's wrong and then, months later, ask for it again. He even went to NC in 2020 and got exactly nowhere.
I have agreed to help him out because he has executive function challenges which make things like this close to impossible for him. I have heard from others in this situation that North Carolina is notoriously difficult and that he will need a lawyer.
The question is therefore threefold. What kind of lawyer? In North Carolina or Oregon? Do you have any recommendations?
And, bonus questions: Do you know anyone who has successfully gotten their license back from North Carolina years later? How did they do it?
Getting North Carolina to even tell him what he needs to do has been a years long puzzle maze with no exit. The answers he has gotten over the years are all over the place and seem to depend completely on who he is speaking with at the DMV. As soon as he completes one part of the puzzle, they promptly either lose it or say it's wrong and then, months later, ask for it again. He even went to NC in 2020 and got exactly nowhere.
I have agreed to help him out because he has executive function challenges which make things like this close to impossible for him. I have heard from others in this situation that North Carolina is notoriously difficult and that he will need a lawyer.
The question is therefore threefold. What kind of lawyer? In North Carolina or Oregon? Do you have any recommendations?
And, bonus questions: Do you know anyone who has successfully gotten their license back from North Carolina years later? How did they do it?
Best answer: I'm a lawyer licensed in North Carolina and have worked on driver's license restoration issues. That said, I haven't worked on these issues in the last few years and I'm not your or your family member's lawyer and cannot give legal advice here.
I do not know whether there is a legal process in Oregon that would get him where he needs to be, but if he is attempting to get a North Carolina driver's license, he needs a traffic attorney in North Carolina who practices in the county in which the conviction occurred. Traffic lawyers should know how the driver's license restoration process works, but more importantly, they will know the local practices and procedures in the county in which the offense happened. That can save a lot of time and aggravation. Traffic lawyers also deal with the DMV regularly.
Typically, your family member's first step would be to obtain a driving record from the DMV. He'll want to go over this with his attorney to make sure that there are not any missed court appearances (called Failure to Appear or FTA) or unpaid fines or fees (called Failure to Comply or FTC) and work to clear those up. FTAs and FTCs can create the basis for additional license revocations and he will want to satisfy those obligations before trying to satisfy the obligations created by the DWI conviction itself.
Sometimes the next step involves getting a limited driving privilege from the court where he was convicted. But not always, and I have no idea if it is appropriate in his situation.
Typically the DMV will require him to complete a substance abuse treatment program. Sometimes he will have to install an ignition interlock system (possibly as part of a limited driving privilege and possibly not), and complete a hearing at the DMV (scheduled in advance and requiring the payment of two different hearing fees) before the DMV can decide whether or not to reinstate his license. The procedures may be different depending on the particulars of his situation.
He should definitely have a traffic lawyer to advise and represent him though this process--I would not recommend anyone try it on their own.
posted by Handstand Devil at 10:20 AM on February 5, 2024 [19 favorites]
I do not know whether there is a legal process in Oregon that would get him where he needs to be, but if he is attempting to get a North Carolina driver's license, he needs a traffic attorney in North Carolina who practices in the county in which the conviction occurred. Traffic lawyers should know how the driver's license restoration process works, but more importantly, they will know the local practices and procedures in the county in which the offense happened. That can save a lot of time and aggravation. Traffic lawyers also deal with the DMV regularly.
Typically, your family member's first step would be to obtain a driving record from the DMV. He'll want to go over this with his attorney to make sure that there are not any missed court appearances (called Failure to Appear or FTA) or unpaid fines or fees (called Failure to Comply or FTC) and work to clear those up. FTAs and FTCs can create the basis for additional license revocations and he will want to satisfy those obligations before trying to satisfy the obligations created by the DWI conviction itself.
Sometimes the next step involves getting a limited driving privilege from the court where he was convicted. But not always, and I have no idea if it is appropriate in his situation.
Typically the DMV will require him to complete a substance abuse treatment program. Sometimes he will have to install an ignition interlock system (possibly as part of a limited driving privilege and possibly not), and complete a hearing at the DMV (scheduled in advance and requiring the payment of two different hearing fees) before the DMV can decide whether or not to reinstate his license. The procedures may be different depending on the particulars of his situation.
He should definitely have a traffic lawyer to advise and represent him though this process--I would not recommend anyone try it on their own.
posted by Handstand Devil at 10:20 AM on February 5, 2024 [19 favorites]
I want to take a step back and ask if he's tried to get a license in OR yet? I wonder if it's possible that the suspension isn't in a nationwide database, given how long ago it occurred? I wonder if it makes a difference if he was a minor back then -- was he under 18?
(I helped a relative deal with licensing issues in CA due to an old violation in NY; it was a pain. I'm hoping my shot-in-the-dark question might mean you could avoid the entire thing.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:26 AM on February 5, 2024 [4 favorites]
(I helped a relative deal with licensing issues in CA due to an old violation in NY; it was a pain. I'm hoping my shot-in-the-dark question might mean you could avoid the entire thing.)
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:26 AM on February 5, 2024 [4 favorites]
The website for Oregon Drivers licenses says “ You cannot be suspended, cancelled, or revoked in Oregon or any other state.”
I would still start the process in Oregon and see if there is a point at which they get kicked back due to the suspension. If it has expired, it may not affect anything. If he does get stopped, a lawyer in NC would be the next step.
posted by soelo at 11:14 AM on February 5, 2024 [1 favorite]
I would still start the process in Oregon and see if there is a point at which they get kicked back due to the suspension. If it has expired, it may not affect anything. If he does get stopped, a lawyer in NC would be the next step.
posted by soelo at 11:14 AM on February 5, 2024 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: My apologies for not including this: he is trying to get an Oregon driver's license and they have told him he has to get his NC license issues cleared up first.
posted by mygothlaundry at 12:06 PM on February 5, 2024 [3 favorites]
posted by mygothlaundry at 12:06 PM on February 5, 2024 [3 favorites]
Did he walk into the OR DMV and unload all his issues or did he say, “I haven’t had a license in 12 years, need one” and they then looked up his SSN and said, “son, you have problems”?
Cause if A, try B. If B, then he needs to resolve his shit in NC. I had a similar situation, had DUI, did all the shit required to reinstate license (all the penalties, all the classes and day in jail and all that you get) just never did the final step, get license back, and had no issues getting new license in new state when got shit together, didn’t need SR22 cause the time requiring it had long since expired.
If B, seems like he didn’t deal with issues back then. But since it’s been so long, my plan would be OR DUI specialty atty with good relationship with DMV issues. Literally ask, can you solve this for $1k after? It’s been so long it’s paperwork issue, need atty that can get OR to just go, whatever, and let him test for license.
posted by ixipkcams at 9:41 PM on February 5, 2024
Cause if A, try B. If B, then he needs to resolve his shit in NC. I had a similar situation, had DUI, did all the shit required to reinstate license (all the penalties, all the classes and day in jail and all that you get) just never did the final step, get license back, and had no issues getting new license in new state when got shit together, didn’t need SR22 cause the time requiring it had long since expired.
If B, seems like he didn’t deal with issues back then. But since it’s been so long, my plan would be OR DUI specialty atty with good relationship with DMV issues. Literally ask, can you solve this for $1k after? It’s been so long it’s paperwork issue, need atty that can get OR to just go, whatever, and let him test for license.
posted by ixipkcams at 9:41 PM on February 5, 2024
Even if Oregon was willing to give him a license, there could be trouble should he ever drive in another state if the NC suspension isn't cleared. There definitely would be trouble if he ever tried to drive in NC on his Oregon license.
posted by wierdo at 4:35 AM on February 6, 2024
posted by wierdo at 4:35 AM on February 6, 2024
Best answer: I am not a lawyer, but I work for the Oregon State Bar. We have a Lawyer Referral Service that may be able to help, which you can find at https://www.osbar.org/public/ris.
The cost to have a consultation with an attorney is $35 (less if they qualify for Modest Means) and that gives them 30 minutes to ask questions and find out which steps to take next.
posted by tacodave at 4:41 PM on February 6, 2024
The cost to have a consultation with an attorney is $35 (less if they qualify for Modest Means) and that gives them 30 minutes to ask questions and find out which steps to take next.
posted by tacodave at 4:41 PM on February 6, 2024
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Assuming he didn't abscond from justice, it's probably just a matter of filling out some forms and paying a fee, but I'm sure any DUI attorney you can find could explain exactly what needs to happen. If the suspension is actually the result of a failure to appear in court, he'll need to deal with the court and will probably have to show up in person. Courts do sometimes allow everything to be done through an attorney, even in criminal cases, though that's less likely if they failed to show up originally.
Based on a quick perusal of the NCDOT website it looks like he may have to take a substance abuse class in addition to paying the fees. Unfortunately, it looks like that may have to be done in NC if it's required. Here again an attorney may be able to advise if there are alternatives to traveling back to NC for the assessment and possible class.
posted by wierdo at 10:01 AM on February 5, 2024 [1 favorite]