If you have been arrested for DUI, although each state has a slightly different procedure, it is in your best interests to attend a license suspension hearing which will determine whether or not you will be allowed to retain your driver's license. This hearing is vitally important to your future, and you should treat it as such. If you have not already done, so, hire an experienced DUI attorney immediately--in the long run this decision will absolutely pay off. The hoops you will be required to jump through after being arrested for DUI are not ones you should attempt to handle alone.
Schedule Your Hearing
Generally speaking, you or your attorney have ten days after your arrest to call the Department of Motor Vehicle in your state and ask for an administrative hearing. The hearing will be set anywhere up to sixty days in the future, and you will be granted a temporary license until the hearing takes place. The DMV license hearing is your chance to contest the suspension of your driver's license, and you should be well-prepared in advance of the hearing. If you miss this critical ten day allowance then on the 11th day the DMV can refuse to provide a hearing and your license suspension will automatically go into effect in 30 days. If the DMV is overloaded and unable to schedule a hearing within that thirty days, your attorney can demand you be granted an extension to your temporary license.
Procedures at Your DMV License Hearing
Your DMV license suspension hearing will be conducted by a hearing officer who is also an employee of the Department of Motor Vehicles--although he has no legal training, he will, in effect, be your "judge," for the purposes of this hearing. The hearing will be conducted along the lines of a real trial, but without a jury and with major differences regarding the rules of evidence.
Contrary to your criminal DUI charges, the DMV will not presume your guilt or innocence in relation to your charges, but will listen to the circumstances surrounding your arrest before they determine the outcome. Some of the factors which will be considered include:
- Whether your submitted to or refused a chemical test
- Whether your arrest was lawful (were your properly Mirandized and did the officer have probably cause)
- Whether you tested above the legal limit of .08% (in most states)
Keep in mind that the DMV hearing is not mandatory, and is independent of your criminal case, yet your attorney will likely advise you to attend in the hopes of getting the suspension dropped completely and getting your license re-instated. The license suspension hearing can be very technical and very frustrating--yet another reason to have skilled legal representation.
