Question: I lost my keys and wallet the other day and someone found them and brought them to public safety at my college. When I went to get my keys back the next morning they had gone through everything in my wallet, found my fake ID and told me that they were keeping it and my license was going to be suspended for 6 months in MA and RI where I am from. Can they do this even though I wasn't using it and I wasn't even getting in trouble for anything..I just innocently lost my keys.
Answer: When a wallet is found, the officers may go into the wallet in order to try and determine who the owner is. If in the course of their search they find something illegal (drugs, fake ID, etc.) they may arrest the person or issue a citation. If there was no basis to do an extensive search because your real ID was right up front, there could be an argument made that they did not need to continue the search, however, it is unlikely that the judge would throw out the case based upon the facts you stated. If you are convicted of violation of A.R.S. § 4-241 (L), (N), you could have your Arizona privilege to drive suspended for six months. Arizona does not have the jurisdiction to suspend your MA or RI driver’s license, however, they may notify your home state and will suspend your privilege to drive in Arizona. If your privilege to drive in Arizona is suspended, you cannot drive in Arizona for that period of time even if your RI or MA license is valid. What is also important is if you are suspended for six months, your privilege to drive in Arizona is not reinstated until you pay a reinstatement fee to the Arizona Motor Vehicle Department. Otherwise you will remain suspended after the six month period has passed. If you were not attempting to use the fake ID in either of the circumstances noted below, which are the subsections noted above for 4-241, then you may not be convicted of the charge and thus face a six month suspension. In the scenario you gave me, it does not sound like you were attempting to get into a place that served alcohol by using the fake ID. You may also want to look at A.R.S. § 28-3309 which discusses the suspensions and under what circumstances it may be ordered.
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