Drunk Driving License Suspension

In many states, it is not uncommon for a person’s driver’s license to be taken away during a drunk driving arrest. Even though you are innocent until proven guilty, your driver’s license can still be taken away long before you make it to court. That’s because it is your state’s Department of Motor Vehicles that issues (and can therefore suspend) your driver’s license.

Drunk driving: one crime, two separate cases
Unlike other crimes, being arrested for drunk driving prompts a civil proceeding with the DMV and the criminal justice system. As soon as you are arrested for drunk driving, the DMV will be notified. The officer will take your license and will issue you a temporary permit to drive until the date of your hearing. Typically, you must request a hearing within a few days of your arrest. If you fail to request a hearing, you will automatically lose your driver’s license. Keep in mind that this happens before you even go to court.

Whether or not you request a hearing, the DMV hearing officer will still review your driving record to see if you have had any prior DUI convictions. Assuming that you don’t, you still have a chance to keep your driver’s license.

You should consider hiring an experienced DUI defense attorney; he or she can represent you during your DMV hearing as well as in criminal court. During the hearing with the DMV, the hearing officer will review the facts of your arrest including whether or not you were in fact the driver. Unlike criminal court, no witnesses will be called to the stand. The DMV is presenting the evidence that the police collected and they are then making a ruling. During the hearing, your lawyer can present you as a model citizen and refute the evidence against you.

If you lose during your hearing, you can appeal that decision. It may also be possible for you to receive a driver’s license that allows you to drive to and from work, school or medical appointments. For more information on the civil and criminal proceedings, you should speak to your attorney.