By state law, everyone who is arrested for driving a motor vehicle in the state of California with .08 % of alcohol by weight in their blood, or greater, (unless you are under the age of 21, in which case .01% or more) will have their privilege to drive in the state suspended, unless we can win the DMV hearing. This law is known as the Administrative Per Se suspension, or the “stop and snatch” law. The length of any such suspension will vary depending on such factors as your age, whether you have previously been convicted of DUI, and whether you refused to take a chemical test (or failed to complete one). With the right legal counsel, you can greatly diminish the probability that your privilege to drive will be suspended for any length of time.
A DUI arrestee, or their attorney, only has 10 days from the date of the arrest to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles of their desire to contest the Administrative Per Se driving privilege suspension and to request a stay on the suspension. If the DMV hearing is not requested within 10 days after the arrest, then your privilege to drive in CA will automatically be suspended on the 31st day after your arrest. The suspension, in such cases, will remain in effect indefinitely or until the respondent takes steps to pursue a restricted license.
Contesting the suspension involves navigating an administrative hearing, which is held before a DMV hearing officer (an employee of the DMV, not an attorney) who acts as both the prosecutor and judge. It is a good idea to be represented at any such hearing by a qualified DUI defense lawyer because the defenses and the evidentiary issues are technical and complex. Simply pleading to the hearing officer that you need to drive in order to get to work will not be enough.
The average wait time for a hearing and a subsequent written decision is a couple of months; however a stay on the automatic has been obtained. While the goal for most people is to beat the suspension, some simply need more time to prepare to go without driving, so requesting a stay on the suspension and scheduling a DMV hearing can at least buy you time to keep driving. While you may certainly contact the DMV on your own, it is better if the attorney you retain handles this for you. I prefer to notify the DMV on behalf of my client for many reasons, so for assistance, please call me at (805) 482-1961.
