After your driving under the influence (DUI) arrest, the police will request that you submit to chemical testing. If the blood alcohol content is at least 0.08%, you will face criminal charges and a Department of Motor Vehicles administrative hearing. The law enforcer will seize your license and issue you a notice to request your administrative hearing within ten days of the arrest. Unless you act fast, the DMV will withdraw your driving privileges. This article teaches you more about the hearing and how to win your hearing and keep your license.
The Buildup to a Department of Motor Vehicles DUI Hearing
The DMV hearing is an administrative proceeding conducted at a Department of Motor Vehicles office. Its sole objective is to establish whether the agency should suspend your license after the police apprehend you for drunk driving.
Upon your arrest in California, the arresting police officer will do the following:
- Confiscate your license
- Give you a Notice of Suspension
The notice serves as a driver’s license for a month. It also informs you that you qualify for a Department of Motor Vehicle hearing to stop your license suspension, provided you file your administrative hearing request within 10 days of the arrest.
If you request a DMV hearing, the agency will stop your license suspension pending the hearing results. If you obtain a favorable outcome, the DMV will not suspend the license.
stop the suspension altogether.
Failing to request a DMV hearing within the specified 10-day period will result in an automatic driver’s license suspension after thirty days. You can reinstate your driver’s license after doing the following:
- Attending a DUI school
- Paying a reinstatement fee of $125
- The California Department of Motor Vehicle hearings for DUIs are more lenient than criminal proceedings in the following ways:
- A Department of Motor Vehicles hearing official presides over your DUI case
- The hearing takes place in an office and could also take place over the phone
- It is easier for the police to prove your guilt in your DMV hearing
Your Legal Rights During a California Department of Motor Vehicles Hearing
You can hire a defense attorney. Unlike in criminal cases, the agency will not designate a lawyer for you if you cannot afford to hire one.
Your entitlements during a DMV hearing include the following:
- Subpoenaing and calling witnesses, like the arresting police officers
- Reviewing and contesting evidence, including police reports
- Testifying at your hearing
- Cross-examining the case witness
How to Schedule Your Hearing
To book your DMV hearing, notify the Department of Motor Vehicle Safety branch office, where the hearing officer will conduct the hearing.
You should consult the DMV office to book the administrative hearing within ten working days following your arrest. Otherwise, you will lose your legal rights to the hearing.
Your proficient DUI defense lawyer could request and book your DMV hearing. They could also represent you, meaning you do not have to attend the hearing when you are not required to testify.
Upon the conclusion of your hearing, the hearing officer can either:
- ● Reverse your license suspension for the crime
- ● Decide to suspend your license for the DUI crime, which is sustaining the suspension action.
You Did Not Engage in Drunk Driving
One of the elements of a drunk driving crime is that you drove a vehicle. Therefore, if the police did not personally see you driving and:
- The Department of Motor Vehicles did not call any eyewitness who did
- There is no other proof that would reasonably substantiate that you were driving
Then, the DMV hearing official must lift the driver’s license suspension based on your no-driving DUI defense.
You can argue that the arresting officer found you in a parked motor vehicle.
The Law Enforcer Did Not Adhere to Title 17 Regulations on Chemical Tests
Title 17 of California’s Code of Regulations outlines the regulations law enforcers should conduct during chemical testing. It involves how the police should gather, analyze, and handle blood, urine, and breath samples.
If the police officers do not follow the Title 17 rules and regulations, a drunk driving arrest is illegal.
Some of the procedures for breath tests include the following:
- Your breath sample should come from deep lung air
- The breath test gadget is calibrated after 150 uses or ten days
- Essential Title 17 laws for blood tests include the following:
- An authorized person should draw the blood
- The officer must not use alcohol-based cleaning agents to sterilize your draw site
- The presentative or anticoagulant in the vial should not be expired
- The police should store blood samples properly
Blood test results are not 100 percent accurate, and any Title 17 violation could mean that the BAC results are incorrect. If your chemical testing results constitute the police’s evidence against you, your lawyer should investigate the likelihood of Title 17 breaches that could discredit the results.
A violation could mean the blood alcohol concentration results are incorrect and can lead to a DMV hearing win.
The Police Officer Failed to Carry Out an Appropriate Fifteen Minute Observation
Part of Title 17 rules is that a police officer should observe the accused for 15 minutes prior to conducting a breathalyzer test to ensure the suspect does not:
- Drink
- Smoke
- Vomit
- Eat
- Regurgitate
- Do something else that could compromise the blood and blood tests
Failing to observe a suspect can jeopardize the DUI results and might mean that the BAC or blood alcohol content was not at 0.08 percent or more during the arrest. You can use this case fact to win your DMV hearing.
Your Arrest Took Place at an Unlawful DUI Checkpoint
If your arrest occurred at a sobriety checkpoint that did not abide by the stringent legal criteria outlined under California drunk driving laws, your drunk driving arrest is deemed unlawful. It implies that even when you were drunk driving, the illegal arrest would set aside that case fact and help you win the DMV DUI hearing.
You Can Argue that the Law Enforcement Agency Did Not Have Probable Cause for the Drunk Driving Stop
Before law enforcers can apprehend you for drunk driving, stop your vehicle, or detain you to investigate a matter, they should reasonably believe or suspect that you violated the law. This reasonable belief is called probable cause.
Please note that the arresting police officer does not have to believe that you were drunk. A potential traffic violation or infraction is sufficient. Provided that the officer can articulate reasons for initiating the traffic stop, the probable cause is met at this level.
Your lawyer can file a motion to suppress the evidence if the officers did not have probable cause during your arrest. After the judge suppresses the proof, no one can use it against you.
Innocent Descriptions for DUI Physical Signs
The law enforcement officials will allege that you had watery eyes, slurred speech, the odor of alcohol on your breath, an unstable gait, and a flushed face.
Whether the description is correct or not, none of these symptoms imply drunk driving.
And even when you have been drinking, these characteristics do not mean you were drunk. Moreover, innocent explanations like allergies, sun, illness, physical injuries, or fatigue can explain the physical symptoms or signs commonly related to DUI. You should make it apparent to the hearing officer that you know this to win your case.
The Defendant Did Not Refuse the Chemical Testing
Refusing to take chemical tests results in an automatic DMV driver’s license suspension. Some crucial defenses your lawyer can utilize during the administrative hearing include the following:
- The arrest was illegal — Remember, your driving under the influence arrest is unlawful if the police officers did not have reasonable cause for your arrest or stop. The arrest will be deemed unlawful if you have not consented to chemical testing. Once your driving under the influence charges are dropped, the chemical testing refusal charges will be dismissed, and the DMV will not withdraw the driving privileges.
- The law enforcer did not advise the accused of the obligation to take their chemical test — The police should notify the accused of the implications of refusing to take your chemical tests. Otherwise, the failure should lead to their refusal charges being dismissed.
- Your refusal admonition was misleading or confusing — The police should have made the chemical testing admonition unambiguous. If that is not the case, that could justify the refusal.
- You can argue that your refusal was caused by a disease or severe injury unassociated with taking drugs or drinking alcohol — The law acknowledges that sometimes a person may be incapable of meaningfully refusing or consenting to chemical testing. For instance, an injury or health condition can prevent you from deciding rationally. Nonetheless, if the incapacity partly stems from voluntary drug or alcohol ingestion, then the DMV will not excuse your refusal.
Bad Driving Does Not Necessarily Mean Drunk Driving
Although law enforcers love to believe that every lousy motorist must be drunk, that is not always the case. Speeding, erratic driving, and weaving could be due to distraction or inattention. Probably you were:
- Adjusting your stereo
- Eating
- Distracted by passengers
- Picking something that had fallen down
- Drinking a beverage
The truth is that even sober individuals exhibit bad driving moments like impaired motorists. Based on that, you can build your legal defense, something the DMV hearing official can relate to.
The Police Officer’s Paperwork Had Mistakes
The officer should complete particular mandatory paperwork and reports when making a drunk driving arrest.
Some of the mistakes you can use in your favor during your hearing include the following:
- Writing incorrect dates on their paperwork
- Failing to sign the paperwork
- Failing to report your BAC results
- Recording inaccurate chemical test results and not recalling your arrest’s facts to rectify the mistakes
Using Radio Frequency Interference (RFI) as Your Defense
RFI can cause a chemical breath or blood test to give a high, incorrect blood alcohol concentration. Almost every electronic device, including those analyzing breath and blood samples, is vulnerable to electromagnetic interference (EFI) or RFI.
Surrounding radio waves, including those stemming from the following, can impact the electronic components in the gadgets:
- Patrol vehicles
- Fluorescent lights
- Microwaves
- Telephones
- Automatic door-unlocking gadgets in crime laboratories
In this case, you should challenge the chemical test results before the hearing officer that RFI has affected.
Inherent Error Rates for Driving Under the Influence Chemical Tests
Assuming all chemical testing conditions are correct, chemical tests have a positive/negative inherent error rate between 0.005 percent and 0.02 percent.
Consequently, this is a valid defense strategy when challenging BAC results between 0.08% and 0.10%.
You Had an Emergency
You cannot lose your driving privileges if you do not violate a law or neglect to perform a lawful obligation. The DMV could dismiss the DUI case if you prove that your conduct was due to an imminent emergency.
An objective standard (would a rational person showing ordinary caution have acted similarly) measures the emergency doctrine. If so, the DMV will not suspend the license.
Mouth Alcohol Defense
Your attorney can use mouth alcohol to prove that your breathalyzer results were inaccurate. The following factors cause oral alcohol that could affect your test results:
- Breath sprays
- Braces
- Dentures
- Trapped food particles between your teeth
- Cold and cough medication
Find a Skilled DUI Defense Lawyer Near Me
DUI charges can result in consequences, including suspension of your driver’s license. While it might not seem as severe as serving time, your license suspension can be detrimental in many ways, including restricting your whereabouts. After your DUI arrest, you have ten days to request your DMV hearing and challenge the suspension. You need a knowledgeable Los Angeles attorney to schedule and win your hearing correctly. The legal team at Jonathan Franklin DUI Attorney can listen to your side of the story, collect and analyze evidence, and interview witnesses to develop the most efficient legal defense. We can also represent you before the hearing officer and aggressively fight for your driving privileges. Please contact our office at 323-464-6700 to learn how we can help you obtain the best possible case outcome.
