In an earlier blog report, the tugboat captain, Blaine Masters, got his felony DWLS set aside via postconviction relief. After that, Masters hired Garland to fix his life-time license revocation. See Tugboat Captain’s Coast Guard License Saved Via Motion to Correct Sentencing Error.

Turns out that DHSMV “merged” Masters’ driving histories in 2014. Apparently, DHSMV had erroneously created two separate driving histories during the period of 1980-1985.

After the “merger”, Masters’ license was permanently revoked by DHSMV. Garland set to work to confirm or refute these DUI entries.

The St. Lucie County Clerk records showed that the DHSMV records were wrong. The Clerk records proved that Masters had been arrested in 1979 for reckless driving – not DUI – and that the charge was dropped in early 1980.

Garland provided certified records of this mistake to DHSMV via the Bureau of Administrative Review (BAR). Remember, you have to go to the BAR to get your license reinstated after a DUI.

After about two weeks, DHSMV corrected the error. The number of DUI convictions dropped to three, with the most recent being from 1992.

Masters secured his unconditional license on 12/28/16. Victory is sweet!

Comment from a Saint Lucie County DWLS Defense Attorney

DHSMV records are sometimes wrong. If the error can be fixed, then the driving privilege can be restored. In Blaine Masters’ case, the error occurred in 1979-1980. The error did not matter until the “merger” happened in December, 2014. Neither error was Masters’ fault, but he was still suffering the consequences. The lesson is that DHSMV will correct its records upon submission of proper proof.