If you win your DMV hearing, the hearing officer will set aside the action. This restores your driving privileges.
Winning an admin per se (APS) hearing following a California DUI allows you to keep your license pending the result of the criminal trial (assuming there are no other bars to you being able to drive.) In fact, a victory at the DMV hearing can help defend you in criminal court.
What will happen to my driver’s license suspension if I win my DMV hearing?
If you win your hearing at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), you will have your driving privileges restored. The hearing officer will set aside the action to suspend your driver’s license. You can leave the hearing with your driving privileges intact.
Causes of driver’s license suspensions
Traffic violations and other circumstances that can trigger a suspension and a DMV hearing include:
- drunk driving,
- drugged driving,
- traffic violations like reckless driving (Vehicle Code 23103 VC),
- the accumulation of too many negligent operator points on your driving record,
- medical conditions that potentially make it unsafe to drive, and
- failed DMV reexaminations for elderly drivers.
How to fight a driver’s license suspension
At this hearing, you can contest the pending license suspension. Effective defenses will depend on the particular case. For example, some common defenses in DUI cases are:
- the arresting officer did not have probable cause to initiate the traffic stop that led to your arrest,
- the officer did not observe the required 15-minute observation period,
- you were not actually driving the vehicle,
- the officer did not inform you of the repercussions of refusing a breathalyzer, and
- you did not actually refuse the chemical breath test.
Your rights during a DMV hearing
During the DMV hearing, you have rights. These rights ensure that you have the means and the opportunity to raise one of these defenses. For example, you have the right to:
- legal representation by a criminal defense lawyer or DUI attorney, at your own expense,
- view and challenge evidence, like the police report or a medical report,
- cross-examine witnesses, including the arresting officer,
- subpoena and present defense witnesses, and
- testify on your own behalf.
Burdens of proof
Law enforcement or the DMV has to meet the burden of proof in order to sustain the license suspension. However, the burden of proof is much lower in DMV hearings than it is in criminal cases.
In criminal cases, prosecutors have to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. In DMV hearings, a case only has to be proven by a preponderance of the evidence. This means that the hearing officer will suspend your driver’s license if it is more likely than not that a suspension is justified.
The DMV hearing result
After weighing the evidence, the DMV hearing officer will decide whether to:
- sustain the action and impose the driver’s license suspension, or
- set aside the action and reverse the pending suspension.
Note that the DMV hearing only impacts the driver’s license suspension. The DMV hearing officer cannot impose other penalties, like fines or jail time.
How will a victory impact a criminal DUI case?
A victory at the DMV hearing for a suspension related to driving under the influence or any other criminal traffic violation can help in your pending criminal case. It can lead to a more generous plea deal, or can even convince the prosecutor to drop the charge.
However, this is not automatic or guaranteed. In fact, you can win your DMV hearing, but then
- lose your criminal DUI case and
- see your license get suspended, anyway.
Preponderance of the evidence v. reasonable doubt
If law enforcement fails to persuade the DMV hearing officer to sustain the license suspension, it is a strong sign that their case is flawed or weak. At the DMV hearing, they only have to prove their case by a preponderance of the evidence.
So if law enforcement cannot show that it was more likely than not that you were under the influence or committed the traffic violation, then they are even less likely to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt in a criminal trial.
Plea bargains v. trials
Many prosecutors will read a successful defense in the DMV case as a reason to offer a generous plea bargain. In some cases, they may even drop the charges, altogether.
However, some other prosecutors will press forward with their criminal DUI case, even after a loss at the DMV hearing. If they continue to press DUI charges and the court case goes to trial, and then you get convicted, you may see your license suspended, after all.
What kinds of DMV hearings can happen in California?
In California, DMV hearings can be requested to contest a pending license suspension. They can happen if:
- an elderly driver fails a license reexamination,
- a doctor, police officer, or judge filed a report to the DMV about your medical condition that might affect your ability to drive,
- you accumulated too many points on your driving record, or
- you have been arrested for a traffic violation, like drunk driving.
Three main types of hearings
- If the suspension stems from a failed reexamination or a medical condition, it is formally called a Physical and Mental Condition hearing, or “P&M Hearing.”
- If it follows an arrest, it is a Driver Safety Administrative Per Se hearing, or “APS Hearing.”
- If the suspension is for having too many points on the driver’s record, it is a Negligent Operator Treatment System, or “NOTS Hearing.”
Regardless of the type of DMV hearing you have, establishing an attorney-client relationship with a lawyer from a local law office can help you avoid a revocation and get your license back.
How does California conduct per se DUI hearings?
In California, DMV hearings for license suspensions stemming from a DUI arrest have to be requested by you.
When you are arrested on suspicion of DUI in California, the arresting officer will confiscate your driver’s license. The officer will give you a Notice of Suspension.
This Notice, which is on a pink sheet of paper, serves as a temporary license. It only works for 30 days.
The Notice will tell you that you have the right to a DMV hearing to challenge the pending license suspension. However, you have to request this hearing within 10 days of the arrest. If you do not make the request in this timeframe, your license will automatically get suspended.
Determining factors for a license suspension
The potential suspension will depend on several factors, including:
- whether this was your first-time DUI,
- the severity of the offense, like if it was a felony DUI or if you had an especially high blood alcohol content (BAC),
- whether you refused a chemical test, like a breathalyzer or a blood test, and
- whether the DUI incident caused an injury.
In sum…
The legal advice of a DUI lawyer from a reputable law firm can help reduce the potential suspension. A lawyer can also help you get back on the road by obtaining a restricted license or by installing an ignition interlock device (IID).
The DMV administrative hearing to contest this potential suspension will be held at a local California DMV safety branch office.
If you request a DMV hearing and then win, you will avoid this automatic license suspension. Even though you will have secured a license reinstatement, you will still have to go through the criminal DUI case.
