For 2nd DUI Arrests, Contacting DMV Within 10 Days is Crucial To your DUI Defense.
- A Message From Attorney Simmons -
If you were recently arrested in California for a DUI, you must know that you or your Southern California DUI attorney must contact the Local DMV Driver Safety's Office within 10 days to request a Admin Per Se "DMV" hearing.
Requesting a DMV hearing within 10 days of your recent DUI arrest will stop the driver's license suspension that would otherwise occur 30 days after you were arrested.
For How Long Will My License be Suspended ?
90 Days Hard Suspension to 10 Years Hard Suspension
The driver's license consequences for a DUI arrest can vary from 90 days for what I call a "HARD" suspension, which means absolutely no driving, to possibly 10 years, according to recently passed legislation.
The exact length of hard suspension depends on your age, whether you refused to complete a chemical test, if you have prior DUI convictions, if you have a commercial driver's license, and if anyone was injured during your recent DUI arrest.
Avoiding and minimizing your driver license suspension will often depend on who you hire as your attorney for your most recent 2nd DUI, 3rd DUI, or 4th DUI arrest as well as how well your DUI attorney knows the many possibilities in the DMV DUI law.
To know exactly how long of a hard suspension you may be facing, call 877-717-2889 and I will speak to you regarding your potential license suspension and what I can do to help you minimize and or avoid that suspension. I keep normal business hours, but am also available to speak to you evenings and weekends.
Should I Contact DMV Myself or Wait for an Attorney?
I highly advise you allow an experienced DUI attorney to contact DMV on your behalf to secure your right to the hearing, secure your eligibility to drive pending the results of the hearing, and to set the hearing under the absolute best set of circumstances to greatly improve your chances of winning the DMV hearing and saving your driver's license.
The DMV Hearing is a Serious Legal Proceeding, Not Merely a DMV Interview.
Without getting into too much technical detail about DMV Administrative Law, the best way to describe the DMV portion of your case is to describe it as a mini-version of a trial without a jury.
Once the DMV hearing is set, it is assigned to a Hearing Officer who acts like both a judge, a prosecutor, and the jury for your DMV case. In other words, they preside over the proceeding, question witness and formulate arguments, and render a decision as to whether or not DMV will uphold the suspension of your license due to your recent DUI arrest.
Like a trial, your DUI Lawyer will be able to subpoena witness such as the arresting officer, passengers in the vehicle, the individual who may have conducted either your blood or breath test, the individual who tested your blood for alcohol, a forensic toxicologist, and even yourself.
Like a trial, you will also be able to subpoena evidence such as patrol videos, breath test calibration logs, dispatch tapes, and radio logs.
Like a trial, your DUI Attorney conducting your hearing will be required to subpoena the evidence prior to the hearing.
Setting a DMV hearing time and afterwords hiring an attorney may result in your DUI lawyer's not having the time and ability to formulate the proper defense on your behalf before the hearing date.. Thereby, it is important to let your second DUI, thrid DUI, or fourth DUI Attorney to contact, set, and prepare the DMV hearing if you hope to save your driver's license.
DMV Hearing: Telephonic or In Person?
As previously stated above, your DMV hearing is a serious legal proceeding and in some ways, is much like a court trial. Arguments are conducted, witnesses are subpoenaed, objections are heard, and rulings are made.
Now imagine your DUI Lawyer conducting a trial over the phone. Can you picture it? Neither Can I!
In order to make the most profit per each DUI client some law firms choose to conduct their DMV hearings over the phone rather than spend the time, energy, or effort to conduct your DMV hearing in person.
Your driver's license is as important to me as my own driver's license. I cannot imagine the hardship and embarrassment I would have to encounter if I had my license suspended for months or even years, nor the fear I'd undergo if I risked driving on a suspended license.
I know that if I spent my hard earned money on an experienced DUI Attorney, I would want my attorney to appear in person to the DMV hearing to show my DMV driver's license case the respect it deserves.
This is why I choose to do every DUI DMV hearing I conduct in person. Conducting the DMV hearing in person allows me to further establish relationships with the Hearing Officers, DMV Clerks, and DMV management. Such relationships directly affect my ability to be the absolutely best DUI attorney I can be for my clients.
Why In Person?
When I conduct a DMV hearing in person, I can see how the arresting officer reacts to my questions and can further determine his or her truthfulness about this testimony. An in person hearing also allows me to watch if any inappropriate conversations occur between the Hearing Officer, arresting officer, and/or witnesses.
What is Argued at the DMV Hearing?
DMV cannot legally take into consideration that you will lose your job if you can't drive to work. The Hearing Officers are not allowed to take those type of facts into their consideration when ruling on whether or not to suspend your driver's license.
What is actually argued at the hearing will depend on the legal issues surrounding your recent DUI arrest.
If you took either a Breath, Blood, or Urine test, the issues for your DMV hearing will be as follows:
1. Did the officer have reason to believe you were operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated?
2. Where you lawfully arrested and was the DMV paperwork filled out correctly?
3. Was your blood alcohol level verifiable above a .08%, if non-commercial and over 21 years old?
If you failed to complete a chemical test or the police officers forcefully took a blood sample from you, there will be a different set of issues at your DMV hearing and are as follows:
1. Did the arresting officer have reason to believe you were driving while intoxicated?
2. Were you lawfully arrested and was the DMV paperwork done correctly?
3. Were you advised that refusing a test will result in 1+ year suspension?
4. After knowing the consequences of refusing the chemical test, did you still refuse the chemical test?
As you can see, for a DUI, the DMV hearing is a major legal proceeding that demands respect. Give yourself the best possible chance of continuing to drive and hire an experienced DUI Attorney who will guarantee to hold your DMV hearing in person. For a multiple offense DUI, quality representation will always include an "IN PERSON" DMV hearing.
Call 877-717-2889 to speak to an experienced DUI Attorney who understands that "cutting corners" ultimately will hurt a client's case.
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