Court upholds denial of driver's license

By Liz F. Kay and Tim Wheeler
Sun reporters
January 10, 2008

The state's high court upheld yesterday a decision to deny a driver's license to a Maryland resident whose permit in New Jersey was suspended because he had forged citizenship documents.

Ramiro Silba Alavez, who is from Mexico, received a New Jersey license that was withdrawn after it expired in 1991, according to the decision, because the applicant had made misrepresentations on his application when he arrived in the United States.

Unlike Maryland, New Jersey requires applicants to prove they are American citizens before licensing. But Maryland law prohibits its Motor Vehicle Administration from issuing driver's licenses to people whose licenses are suspended in other states.

The Court of Appeals opinion, written by Judge Alan M. Wilner, states that the petitioner was asking the courts to overlook that rule if the other state's suspension "is for conduct that would not warrant that result in Maryland."

The courts cannot add language to limit laws, Wilner wrote.