Operating without Insurance

Defendant appealed a default judgment entered by the trial magistrate sustaining the charged violation of G.L. 1956 § 31-47-9, “Operating without insurance,” accompanied by a sentence of twelve months license suspension and a one thousand dollar fine.  On October 31, 2013, an officer of the Johnston Police Department charged defendant with operating without insurance.  Defendant failed to appear at her scheduled court date and the trial magistrate entered a default judgment against defendant.  When sentencing, the magistrate noted this was defendant’s third violation of the aforementioned statute and imposed the twelve month suspension and one thousand dollar fine as the statute permits.  Defendant filed a motion to vacate the default judgment on the grounds that she attempted to appear at her court date but arrived at the wrong courthouse.  A Traffic Tribunal judge denied the motion to vacate, apparently because “she was not satisfied with Appellant’s excuse that she had gone to the wrong courthouse.”  The Appeals Panel denied defendant’s appeal, noting that defendant did not raise an error of fact or law by the trial magistrate and that the sentence imposed did not exceed the trial magistrate’s statutory authority.  Accordingly, the Appeals Panel affirmed the default judgment and the sentence of the trial magistrate.

Town of Johnston v. Ashley DeSimone, C.A. No. T14-0002 (September 4, 2014).pdf