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Beverly Hills DMV Hearing Attorney

DMV Hearings in DUI Cases

Any time a California resident is arrested for DUI, the arresting officer will take his drivers license and provide him a pink "Notice of Suspension." This pink form functions as a temporary license that expires in 30 days.

The driver has only ten calendar days from the date of the DUI arrest to call the DMV and demand a hearing on whether the drivers license will be suspended. If a DMV hearing is requested, any suspension is automatically delayed pending the outcome of the hearing.

If the driver "wins" his DMV hearing, no suspension will be imposed. If he loses his DMV hearing, a four month suspension is imposed (longer if the driver has suffered a prior DUI).

If this happens, after the first full month of the suspension, the driver can get the suspension converted to a drivers license restriction. The restriction permits him to drive, but only to and from work and an alcohol class (called AB541). To convert the suspension to a restriction, the driver must (1) be enrolled in the AB541 class, (2) show an SR-22 proof of insurance, and (3) pay a $125.00 reinstatement fee.

How The DMV Hearing Works

If a DUI defense attorney has been retained for the criminal court proceedings, the DUI lawyer usually also handles the DMV hearing as well.

A DMV hearing officer presides over the proceedings. The hearing takes place in a small room at the local drivers safety office and is tape recorded. The DMV hearing is limited to the following issues:

1. Did the DUI officer have reasonable cause to believe the license holder was driving a motor vehicle?

2. Did the officer lawfully arrest the license holder for DUI?

3. Was the license holder driving a motor vehicle with a BAC of 0.08?

How the DUI lawyer handles the DMV hearing varies from case to case. Sometimes the DUI lawyer challenges the alleged BAC level at the time of driving; sometimes the procedures and methods of the blood or breath testing are challenged; sometimes the DUI lawyer demonstrates fatal problems with the paperwork submitted by the police.

Depending on the case, the DUI defense attorney may call certain witnesses at the DMV hearing, including the client, the arresting officer and a forensic alcohol expert. Often times, these witnesses testify by phone.

The Relationship of The DMV Hearing to the Criminal DUI Proceedings

The DMV hearing and the proceedings in criminal court are inextricably intertwined. A favorable resolution of the DUI case in court, for example, may persuade the DMV to set aside any license suspension. In fact, a court finding of not guilty on the Vehicle Code 23152(b) charge forces the DMV to reissue any suspended license.

What happens at the DMV hearing can also influence the results of the DUI case in court. For example, the DUI defense attorney may subpoena the arresting officer and question him at length about the DUI investigation. If favorable testimony is secured, this can persuade the DUI prosecuting attorney to offer a better deal to the defendant.

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