If you have been arrested for drunk driving (DUI/DWI) in Pasadena or a surrounding community, you should expect to receive a temporary driver's license (pink in color) upon your release from custody. That temporary license is valid for the first 30 days following your arrest.
You are given 10 calendar days from the date of arrest to request an administrative hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). If you do NOT request a hearing within those 10 days, the DMV will you have a revoked license. This will last as a four-month suspension for first-time offenders and much longer for repeat offenders. Obtain help from a highly skilled DUI/DWI defense lawyer to help secure your legal rights.
Our Team of Santa Monica DUI License Suspension Lawyers Working for You
If you retain the legal services of Hutton & Wilson to represent you, we will request the hearing on your behalf. The criminal defense attorneys at our firm will ask for a stay be placed on the suspension of your driver's license so that you can continue to drive. The DMV hearing will likely be set about 45 days from the date of arrest. After the first 30 days, the DMV will send you a new temporary driver's license (white in color.)
The DMV will send documents (called discovery) to you and/or your attorney approximately 10 days before the hearing date. These documents, supplied by the arresting officer, include the arrest report and other related documents specific to the DMV. Once our law firm receives those documents, we will reviews them to determine whether or not to subpoena the arresting officer, as well as the other officers involved in the arrest, or possibly subpoena an expert witness to testify at the DMV hearing on your behalf. Contact our law firm today to learn more about our strategy in preparing for DMV hearings.
What to Expect After a DMV Hearing
If the hearing ends in your favor, you will receive a "notice of set aside" and your privilege to drive in California will not be suspended. However, should the DMV uphold the suspension, your privilege to drive will be suspended for four months, if this is your first offense. Your driver's license will be suspended for one year for a second offense and longer if you refused to take a blood or breath test when you were arrested for drunk driving.
Restricted Driver's License Available for First-time Offenders
If you are a first offender, you can get your California driver's license back on a restricted basis by doing the following:
- Enrolling in a first-time offender alcohol treatment program. The program will forward your proof of enrollment to the DMV, which may take up to three weeks to process. You cannot obtain a restricted license until the DMV has that proof in your file. If you need a list of programs in your county, or in the county that is most convenient for you please contact our law office. We will be happy to fax or mail that information to you.
- Contact your insurance carrier and request that they file proof of financial responsibility (SR-22) with the DMV.
- Go to any local DMV and pay $125 reissue fee.
After you have suffered 30 days of your license suspension, the DMV will then issue you a restricted license that will allow you to drive to and from work, during the course and scope of your employment, and to and from the first offender alcohol treatment program. However, the proof of program enrollment, the SR-22, and the $125 payment all must be on file with the Department of Motor Vehicles before they will issue you a restricted license.
What to Expect if You are Convicted of a DUI/DWI in Court
The DMV will take further action, if you are subsequently convicted in court of driving under the influence or driving with a blood alcohol level of .08% or greater. Upon a DUI/DWI conviction, the DMV will suspend your privilege to drive for six months.
However, if you are enrolled in the first-time offender alcohol treatment program and have the SR-22 on file, the DMV will, upon receipt of a $70 reissue fee, restrict your privilege to drive for six months. That restriction allows you to drive to and from work, during the course and scope of employment and to and from the first-time offender alcohol treatment program. If at the time you are convicted in court — you are still driving on restrictions imposed as a result of the administrative hearing — the restriction from that action and the restriction upon conviction from the court will run concurrently.
Contact Our Law Firm Today
Contact us today to arrange a consultation about your administrative hearing. We have spent many years working to find solutions to tough cases. We're here to help you get through this difficult time.
