Flower Mound Traffic Tickets

Out Of State License Holders

214-321-4105

No Driver’s License Ticket In Flower Mound

We ran across an issue earlier this week for a case where a client was a license holder in North Carolina.  The client had moved to Texas about six months prior and received a traffic ticket by a Flower Mound Police Officer for “No Valid Driver’s License.”  When we first got the case, we thought it would be as simple as simply showing the prosecutor the North Carolina driver’s license and having the case dismissed.  However, not every prosecutor is going to see the case the same way we do.  So the legal argument ensued.

The prosecutor alleged that because the client did not change over her license that she had no license.  This of course is not true.  The client had a license.  We had a copy of it with her smiling face on the license and the stamp “North Carolina” across the top.  The prosecutor then tried to argue with a straight face that because they were driving in Texas without a Texas license that the North Carolina license was not good.  This argument, setting aside the constitutional argument of the right to travel freely acros the union, has no legal merit within the Transportation Code, Criminal Code or Code of Criminal Procedure.  The problem is that the client was being charged with the wrong offense and the prosecutor did not want to admit that the mistake had been made with the charge.

The correct charge for a new resident of Texas who has neglected to change their license over to a Texas license is contained in the Transporation Code Section 521.029.  This section states that new residents must change their license over from their old state to a Texas license after 90 days.  The burden of proof on establishing that the defendant has lived in the State of Texas for longer than 90 days is on the prosecutor.  The only way a prosecutor will be able to prove this is if the defendant stated this much to the police officer on the video or during the conversation with the officer.  If no such statement was made, the prosecutor’s case is dead in the water.

Flower Mound Traffic Attorney

Therefore, if a new resident is charged with “No Driver’s License” in Flower Mound or any other city, and the charge is actually not changing over the out of state license to Texas, then the case should be dismissed.  If the prosecutor refuses to dismiss the case, then a stand must be taken by the defendant and their attorney by setting the case for trial.  Once the case in chief of the prosecutor is done, the defense lawyer should ask for a directed verdict and the case should be dismissed by the judge.  If you have a traffic ticket you would like to discuss with a legal professional in your area we encourage you to call our Flower Mound Traffic Ticket Attorneys or FILL OUT OUR TRAFFIC TICKET QUESTIONNAIRE.