Need Free Legal Advice

9/1/09 | OneVike

[OneVike]

I need some advice about a legal matter that has visited me from the past. I just went down to renew my drivers license in California, and when I talked to the DMV clerk she told me I needed to call Alabama because they put a hold on authorizing my renewal. The clerk gave me a phone number to call, and a half hour later I was in touch with the Alabama DMV.

First you need to know that I have been a California registered resident since 1988, and never had trouble renewing my drivers license.

Now, when I contacted the Alabama DMV, I was told that my Alabama drivers license was suspended in 1985 for failure to pay a fine for no proof of insurance that came about from a fender bender I was in. Now that the states are all connected via computers California is not going to renew my license until I clear up the problem in Alabama.

Three problems I have that I need advice for, and free advice I am looking for because I do not have the money for a lawyer.

A.) I never had an Alabama drivers license, although I did work in Phoenix City Alabama in 1985. However I lived across the river in Columbus Ga, and had a Georgia drivers license at the time.

B.) I was never in a fender bender with anyone.

C.)I was never issued a ticket for which I would have had to give my signature for, before the police officer would ever let me leave.

D.)I did own a vehicle at the time, but I never registered it and only owned it for about three months and then sold it. So even if I was in a fender bender, I would have also received a ticket for driving a vehicle that was not registered.

I called my Allstate insurance agent and they told me that if I had had a suspended drivers license when I became a customer of theirs in 1990, their background check on me would have revealed I had a suspended drivers license, because they do a 50 state search on all drivers they insure.

Ok, now for my question, how on God's green earth does Alabama have the power to deny my right of drivers license renewal in California with out proper proof of the case against me.

[OneVike]

That is a question my Father on-law wanted me to find out. He said that even if it were all true, would not the statute of limitations kick in sometime between now and 24 years ago?

[smokingfrog]

Tell the Alabama DMV to send you a copy of the “driver’s license” you never had and see what they say.

[OldCorps]

Looks like you were stationed at the Benning school for boys. Didn’t you get told to avoid Phoenix City? ;-)

[centurion316]

I experienced a very similar situation. Renewal of my Kansas DL was denied because of a database hold from the State of NC for a ticket in 1981. I contacted NC who said that I had an unpaid ticket from the state of NY. I did live in NY in 1981, but on the date of the ticket, I had moved to Germany.

NC DMV told me that they needed a statement from NY DMV that the matter was resolved. Turned out that NY had no record of the ticket, so they issued a statement to that effect. NC DMV removed the hold and I got my license renewed. It cost me a number of phone calls, waiting on hold, etc. and $25. No lawyer, that would have been alot more than $25.

Good luck.

BTW, from the information in the database, the ticket was probably issued to my father. We share the same name, both had NC drivers licenses (he was from NC, I was in the military). His address was listed, but my birthdate, go figure. As I said, I was in Germany on the date on the ticket, he was visiting my sister on Staten Island. They probably sent the ticket to my old address and it was never forwarded. Who knows?

[OneVike]

Looks like you were stationed at the Benning school for boys. Didn’t you get told to avoid Phoenix City? ;-)

I was stationed at Ft Benning, but not when this supposedly happened. I was discharged from the service in "76". This supposedly took place in "85".

But their was a writer who won a Pulitzer prize for a story he wrote that exposed Phoenix City Alabama as 'Sin City America". It seems the Mob really controlled the town in the "50"s and they always screwed with the military guys. Story around Ft Benning back then had been that the base general took troops into Phoenix City to get some soldiers out of jail that were being railroaded. True? Who knows, but it was a story related to me when I first got stationed there.

[DallasDeb]

Get your driving record from the State of Georgia and send it to Alabama with a letter explaining that we weren’t a resident of Alabam during the time period that the accident supposedly occurred.

[DallasDeb]

I would think that the Statutes of Limitation would have passed by now.

[OneVike]

Wow, I never thought about that. I should. Thanks.

I too wonder about the statute of limitations.

I mean give me a break, even if it were all true, WHICH IT IS NOT, 24 years?

My gosh.

My wife wants me to just pay the $100.00 and let them have their pound of flesh and get on with life. But I am innocent.

[DeltaZulu]

Start with Georgia. Get the Georgia DMV to issue a document that shows a Georgia residence as the the address at the time of the alleged accident. Then challenge Alabama’s records. This looks to be a case of mixed up identities.

[Erasmus]

Just wait til we have the healthcare database and get these mis-matches. Men with hystorectomies because their name is Sue, etc.

That'll be: "Men given hystorectomies because their name is Sue, etc."

[Cindy]

I’M NOT A LAWYER. I’m a houswife.

#

Talk to someone else at the DMV (Alabama) or send them an email:

http://www.dmv-department-of-motor-vehicles.com/AL_Alabama_dmv_department_of_motor_vehicles.htm

#

Check here for resource links:

http://www.usattorneylegalservices.com/free-legal-aid-california.html

[Cindy]

sp=housewife.