§ 27-51-1001 - Penalty.

27-51-1001. Penalty.

(a) (1) (A) (i) Any party who violates any of the provisions of this subchapter shall upon conviction be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or confined in the county jail not to exceed ninety (90) days or both fined and imprisoned.

(ii) In addition to the penalties so prescribed, the court may order community service for not more than four hundred (400) hours and shall suspend the person's driver's license for a period of not less than twenty-one (21) days nor more than one (1) year.

(B) There is hereby created a rebuttable presumption that shall arise in any criminal action under this subchapter to the effect that if it can be proven that a person is the registered owner of a vehicle that is driven in a manner which violates the provisions of this subchapter, the person is presumed to have been the driver of the vehicle at the time of the violation.

(2) If death results to any person, caused either directly or indirectly by a noncompliance or violation of any of the provisions of this subchapter, the offending party shall be punished as is provided by law.

(b) In a proceeding for a violation of this subchapter, proof that the particular vehicle described in the citation, complaint, or warrant was in violation of this subchapter, together with proof that the defendant named in the citation, complaint, or warrant was, at the time of the violation, a registered owner of the vehicle, shall constitute, in evidence, a justifiable inference that the registered owner of the vehicle was the driver of the vehicle at the time of the violation.