Law Office of Glen T. Neal
If you were arrested for DUI or Drunk Driving and your BAC was measured at .08 or higher, the DMV will seek to suspend your driver’s license. You are entitled to a DMV hearing (called “Administrative Per Se” or APS hearing) to contest the drivers license suspension. Attorney Glen T. Neal can represent you at this hearing.
An Overview of the DMV Hearing:
When the police officer places you under arrest for DUI, the officer takes your California drivers license and provides you a pink colored document. This pink document serves as a temporary driver’s license that expires in 30 days-at which time your license goes into suspension. You have 10 days from the date of the DUI arrest to contact the DMV and request a hearing to fight the suspension. If you request the DMV hearing within the 10 days, the driver’s license suspension will be postponed, or “stayed” pending the outcome of the hearing. If you hire an attorney, he/she will call for you. If you are close or at the 10 day deadline, you MUST call immediately yourself to schedule the hearing. If you don’t call within 10 days, you will lose the right to have the hearing and you will be suspended, whether or not you had a viable defense.
The hearing is held before a DMV hearing officer at one of the DMV’s regional driver’s safety offices. If you’ve retained our office to handle the criminal charges, generally, we will handle the DMV hearing as well. In a DUI case, the DMV hearing officer has to decide three issues:
Were you driving?
Were you lawfully arrested?
Was your BAC of .08 or higher at the time of driving?
If the DMV finds in your favor, it will “set aside” any license suspension. If the DMV finds against you, it will impose a four month suspension on a first offense, a one-year suspension on the second and third offense. The four month suspension can be converted into a restriction (to and from work and an alcohol program) after the first 30 days. If there is a refusal allegation, the suspension will be for one year on a first offense and two on a second. There are no restricted license provisions for a one year or more suspension.