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Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a motor vehicle or AUO (NYS VTL 511-1a) is the crime of driving a motor vehicle even after you were order by a Court that you may not drive, also known as Driving with a suspended license. No matter which Court ordered you not to drive, if that Court has jurisdiction is New York State, you can be arrested, charged and convicted of a misdemeanor if you are caught operating a motor vehicle. If you are not sure if your license is suspended or if you were charged with driving on a suspended license, call an attorney immediately.

A common application of this law is when a motorist fails to respond to, or fails to pay a traffic ticket. The Court which has jurisdiction over that traffic ticket is empowered to order the NYS DMV to suspend the motorist’s driver’s license for failing to pay or failing to respond to their traffic ticket. Notably, as long as you do not drive a motor vehicle you can not be arrested. However if you do drive a car and are stopped you can be arrested for violating a Court order.

Aggravated Unlicensed Operation of a motor vehicle or AUO (NYS VTL 511-1a) is the crime of driving a motor vehicle even after you were order by a Court that you may not drive, also known as Driving with a suspended license.

What happens if you fail to respond to a traffic in a state other than New York? Usually what happens is that the NYS DMV will respect the suspension order originating in this other state and suspend your driver’s license here in New York. If you don’t have a NYS driver’s license and you are suspended in another state, it stands to reason that NYS will not issue a suspension against you, and you will be merely unlicensed in NY, not suspended in NY, being that this Court outside of NY does not have the power to suspend your driver’s license in NY.

If you are arrested or charged with Aggravated Unlicensed Operation, or Driving on a suspended license call a New York State attorney to protect you from serious criminal convictions.