DUI Blogger

We use our cars so much that it’s difficult to imagine suddenly being without one. But if you get nabbed for a DUI in California that’s one of the consequences you face –not being able to drive at all for an extended period of time.

In addition to court proceedings, if you are arrested for DUI you will face administrative hearings at the California Department of Motor Vehicles. If the DMV finds that you drove with a BAC of .08 % or higher, the DMV will suspend your driving privileges for between 4 months and several years.

DMV hearings in California DUI cases (or “administrative per se hearings”) are like mini-trials, with evidence and testimony, but in APS hearings the hearing officer acts as the prosecutor as well! When a hearing officer violates someone’s due process rights during a DMV hearing in a California DUI case, the injured party can ask the courts to take a second look.

It just happened in a DUI case out of San Diego, after a DMV hearing officer refused to grant a continuance even though the defense attorney only received his client’s blood alcohol test results on the morning of the DMV hearing.

In Petrus v. State of California Department of Motor Vehicles, the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, held that due process is violated in a case such as this, because the defense is denied the opportunity to present a meaningful defense. The defense should have been given the time it needed to review and possibly rebut the test results.

Since California has designated 2010 the “year of the DUI checkpoint”, California DUI arrests will undoubtedly be on the rise. And with DUI arrests come DMV driver’s license suspensions. This is a friendly reminder that you only have ten days to request a DMV DUI hearing in order to keep your driver’s license.

When you are arrested, the cop takes your driver’s license and replaces it with a pink paper. This pink paper acts as a temporary driver’s license, valid for 30 days beyond your arrest. Your driver’s license will automatically be suspended at that time if you don’t request a California DMV DUI hearing.

You only have ten days from the date of your drunk driving arrest to request this hearing. If you contact the DMV within this timeframe, your suspension will be postponed until your hearing. Typically your California DUI defense attorney will represent you at this hearing to explain to the DMV hearing officer why you were falsely arrested for DUI…and therefore should have your driving privilege reinstated.