Driving Is a Privilege — Not a Right
Many people are confused and unaware of the specifics as to how and when someone’s privilege to drive a motor vehicle on the roadways of the Coachella Valley and the State of California may be suspended.
First, please note that it is considered a “privilege” under the law to be able to drive a motor vehicle in California and in the entire USA. You do NOT have a right to drive as you wish. So, because it is a privilege afforded to you, that privilege can also be taken away from you if you do not follow all of the laws that have been enacted by the state.
Understanding DUI and License Suspension Laws
As the best driving under the influence (DUI) lawyers and Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) attorneys in the Coachella Valley to represent you when you have a problem with your driver’s license being suspended, we want to help you here in this blog piece to better understand the DUI/license suspension laws and rules that may apply to you.
How a DUI Arrest Can Trigger License Suspension
If you are ever arrested for a DUI that is alcohol related, you were stopped or contacted in some way by a police officer who is using the statutes of the California Vehicle Code to determine if he will arrest you and seize your driver’s license because he believes that alcohol has impaired your ability to safely operate the vehicle, bicycle or animal that you were driving or riding on before or when he contacted you. (Yes, in California you can get a DUI on a bicycle or horse!) The officer who has contacted you for a DUI investigation is representing both DMV and the Courts when he is questioning your ability to be safe on the road or wherever you may be. (Yes, on a golf course or a trail can be DUI territory!)
What Happens to Your License After a DUI Arrest
The Vehicle Code authorizes a police officer to make a determination that someone may be driving with a blood alcohol of .08 or greater. If the officer makes that determination, he may arrest you for a DUI and the law allows him to take your license from you (snatch it even if the card itself is not in your actual possession) and he must give you a temporary license that is a pink piece of paper that says on it that you are still allowed to drive as you normally would for the next 10 days.
This temporary license also tells you in small print that during those 10 days from the date of the arrest, you may request that DMV schedule an administrative hearing where you may fight to keep your license valid. This hearing is only the concern of DMV and has nothing to do with the arresting officer’s other job of working for the court system. If you do not yourself or have your attorney contact DMV during those 10 days to request this admin hearing, you license will be automatically suspended. The length of suspension depends on many factors that your attorney can explain to you.
If your attorney or you do request the hearing in a timely manner, DMV will place a stay on the license suspension until there is a decision from the admin hearing. That means that you will be able to drive as normal during that time. It could be several months before there is a hearing and a decision on the hearing.
We request and conduct dozens of these hearings each month. We have been doing this since DMV first started this process many years ago…and we have been consistently successful since this time.
The Separate Court Process for DUI Charges
At the same time that the cop is doing DMV’s dirty work, he or she is also starting the process of giving you a citation for the DUI arrest which gives you a court date for your appearance in court. This is an entirely different process than what DMV will be doing to try to suspend your license. The court process will get started after the cop sends a copy of your citation and the arrest report that the cop prepares to the district attorney’s (DA) office for review and the possible filing of criminal charges against you. Your attorney has an opportunity at that point to contact the DA’s office at that point to try to encourage them to not file charges against you if there appears to be insufficient evidence or a violation of your 4th amendment right to be free from an unreasonable search and/or seizure. If that DA does file the charges against you, then the prosecution case against you will attempt to suspend your license, fine you, put you on probation and incarcerate you in certain cases.
DMV Suspension vs. Court Suspension
If you license is suspended by the DMV, the court can also suspend your license. AND if you can beat the suspension at DMV, the court can still take your license from you as one proceeding has no effect on the other. You can beat both though and you should try to do so.
How Jimenez Law Offices Can Help
We can help you with this whole sometimes complicated and often harsh situation which can result from a DUI arrest. We know what it takes to fight these and if you come in for a free consultation, we can talk about it.
Contact us today and take the first step towards protecting your freedom
Call (760) 345-4777 or Text (760-898-0207) for a free consultation to discuss what your legal rights are and possible defenses in your case.
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