TOPEKA POLICE DEPARTMENT	Number: LB 06-02
LEGAL BULLETIN
SUBJECT: DRIVING WHILE SUSPENDED CHARGES (2^ND AND SUCCESSIVE)
AMENDS:
STATUTE REFERENCES:
ISSUING AUTHORITY: John Knoll, City Attorney	DATE ISSUED: 26 May 2006

As discussed in Legal Bulletin 1999-08, persons charged with offenses by issuance of a citation have a right to know the severity level of the offense they are facing. When officers issue a citation, the severity level needs to be set forth on the citation.

A first offense driving while suspended charge is a Class B misdemeanor. A second or subsequent offense is a Class A misdemeanor and carries a mandatory five-day jail sentence. K.S.A. 2005 Supp. 8-262(a)(1) and (3); STO 194(a)(1) and (3).

An officer's failure to specify the severity level in the charging document results in a default first-offender sentence unless the city prosecutor's office goes through the cumbersome process of filing an amended complaint to charge the correct severity level. In 2005, officers filed 2,962 driving while suspended charges in municipal court. So far in 2006, officers have filed 1,122 such charges. The City Attorney Prosecutor's office simply does not have sufficient resources to file that many amended complaints.

Therefore, please do the following when issuing a driving while suspended citation:

1. Ask dispatchers or determine from your Mobile Data Terminal (MDT) if the driver has any prior convictions for driving while suspended or revoked. The driving record will list it as a "CON" or "CNV" with a violation type code VR1, VR2 or VR7.

2. If the person has prior convictions, write the charge as "STO 194(a)(1) Driving While Suspended, 2d or Subsequent Offense."

3. If you are unsure for some reason that the person was actually convicted on the prior charge, assume that a conviction resulted and charge the crime as a second or subsequent offense. It is easy for the prosecutor to amend severity levels downward, but more cumbersome to amend them upwards.

Please advise if you have any questions.

JJK/dlb