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Blog · October 27, 2014

DWLS / Driving With License Suspended / DUI Suspension / Driving on a DUI Driver License Suspension / AVVO / Michael A. Haber, Esq. **ARRESTED / **305DUI

Q:     Can owner of car get in trouble if person using car has a suspended license?  My mother-in-law does not drive any longer and her other daughter has taken her car. We just recently found out that the daughter has a DUI and a suspended license but is still driving my mother-in-laws car. Can my mother-in-law get into any legal issues from this?


A:     

Locally licensed lawyer

For questions involving state laws, lawyers who are licensed in the same state as the asker are often able to provide more relevant answers than out-of-state lawyers.

For questions involving federal laws (e.g., immigration or patents), this distinction is unimportant.

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Michael Adam Haber

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DUI / DWI Attorney – Miami, FL

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Hernan Hernandez
Hernan Hernandez
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Derek Anthony Patrin
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Nick Jay Dorsten
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Christopher Daniel Leroi
Christopher Daniel Leroi
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Richard A. Alexander
Richard A. Alexander
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Ethan Patrick Meaney
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Lucas Style Lanasa
Lucas Style Lanasa
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Lawyers agree
Answered . Yes and no.

Generally you (your mom) are not responsible for the criminal acts of another. This is so as it is generally impossible for someone to predict when someone else will violate the criminal code. But where it is probable that that someone did know, well then there may be liability.

As a routine matter, if the driver gets stopped then it is she, and she alone, who will face trouble. Having practiced criminal defense litigation primarily in Miami for 22+ years, and having handled well over 500 DUI cases I can tell you that DWLS-DUI (driving on a DUI suspension) is the “murder 1” of County Court. She is facing definite jail time if she gets caught, but her mother is not liable in that instance for anything more than the impound fees (if she wants to get her car out of custody).

That said, someone needs to reel this woman in and grab those keys. God forbid that she runs over a kid or something then mom could have some serious exposure.

I hope that this has been helpful!

First, second and third: No attorney-client relationship exists by virtue of any Q&A with Michael A. Haber, Esq. on Avvo. Fourth: Anything that you post on Avvo (or on similar sites) or on any social media is by its nature public. It is essentially an admission / confession and can be introduced into evidence as a statement against your interest in a subsequent legal proceeding. Once posted you lose any reasonable expectation of privacy, so, as this is an open forum (with no privilege attached), please be extra careful when considering what to post online (forewarned is forearmed.)
Since 1991 Michael A. Haber, P.A. has been creatively, effectively and zealously representing clients, both juvenile and adult, in both State and Federal Courts, in criminal cases ranging from DUI to drug trafficking and from misdemeanors to first degree murder.

At Michael A. Haber, P.A. “Its all about reasonable doubt”! 

Michael A. Haber, Esq. is prepared to speak with you about your case!

1-888-SHARK-8-1, 305-798-2220, **ARRESTED, **305DUI, **MIAMIDUI, **MIAMILAW or **HABERLAW.

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