California DUI License Suspension Attorneys

California's DUI License Suspension Laws

In California, a DUI arrest triggers two separate proceedings: one criminal and one administrative. 

For your defense to be solid, it is important to understand that these two processes run completely independently of each other. The criminal process involves the arrest, charges, and court proceedings. The administrative process involves the seizure of your license by the officer at the time of your arrest, the service of a Notice of Driver's License Suspension (which also serves as a 30-day temporary license), and your right to demand a hearing to contest the suspension.

This administrative suspension, often called an Administrative Per Se (APS) suspension, is not a punishment for DUI, and instead can be triggered by:

• Driving with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or higher
• Refusing to submit to a breath or blood alcohol test

The question of whether you were actually impaired or intoxicated is not at issue in this proceeding. 

Under California's "implied consent" laws, any person driving in this state is presumed to have impliedly consented to chemical testing if suspected of drunk driving. Your license can be immediately confiscated by the officer at the scene under either of the two conditions above.

License Suspension Lengths

The length of your suspension depends on the circumstances of your arrest, such as:

• DUI with a BAC of .08% or higher (first offense): Four-month suspension, which can be reduced to one month followed by five months of restricted driving if you file proof of enrollment in a DUI program and proof of insurance (the SR-22 form).
• Refusal to submit to chemical testing (first offense): One-year suspension. No work restriction is available.
• Second offense within 10 years: One-year suspension, or two years if the arrest involved a refusal.

It is also important to understand how the administrative and criminal proceedings relate to each other. 

Neither a plea to a reduced offense, such as alcohol-involved reckless driving (“wet reckless”), nor a dismissal of criminal charges serves as a defense to an APS suspension. The only criminal court outcome that will have any bearing on the DMV process is an acquittal or a finding of innocence on the .08% BAC charge. By the same token, a successful outcome at your DMV hearing, called a "set-aside" of the suspension, typically has no effect on the separate criminal proceedings.

Requesting a DMV Hearing Within 10 Days

Once you have been arrested for DUI and booked, you will be served with a DMV Notice of Suspension. That suspension will take effect in 30 days unless an administrative hearing is requested. 

You have only 10 calendar days from the date of arrest to contact the DMV's Driver Safety Office and request a hearing. This deadline is absolute.

If the 10-day window passes without a hearing request, your right to a hearing is permanently forfeited, and the suspension will take effect automatically.

We strongly recommend requesting a hearing, and we strongly recommend having an attorney make that request on your behalf within that 10-day window. If you are unable to retain a DUI attorney within that time, you should contact your local DMV Driver Safety Office directly. 

In Southern California, Driver Safety Office locations include:

• El Segundo
• City of Commerce
• City of Orange
• San Bernardino
• Oxnard
• San Diego

Under Vehicle Code § 13558(d) and (e), your attorney can obtain a stay of the suspension, meaning your temporary license remains valid, if the hearing was requested within the 10-day window or if the DMV is unable to schedule the hearing before your 30-day temporary license expires. 

In practice, due to the DMV's workload, hearings are frequently not scheduled before the 30-day period ends. In that event, your attorney should demand an extension of your temporary license until the hearing is held and a decision is rendered.

Before the hearing is held, the DMV will conduct an internal administrative review to check that the evidence meets the requirements for an administrative suspension. Once that review is complete and your attorney demands a hearing, a date is set.

What to Expect at the DMV Hearing

The DMV hearing is conducted at the Driver Safety Office nearest to where the arrest occurred. For example, if the arrest occurred in Orange County, the relevant office is in the City of Orange. The hearing functions as a miniature trial, without a jury and with different rules of evidence than a formal criminal court proceeding.

The DMV will typically submit the following documents as its evidence:

• Police reports from the arresting officer
• Laboratory reports reflecting chemical test results
• The arresting officer's sworn affidavit, known as the "Officer's Statement – Admin Per Se," which is signed under oath and submitted directly to the DMV

One of the most unusual aspects of this process is that the hearing officer is a DMV employee who serves simultaneously as both prosecutor and judge. They conduct the hearing, examine department witnesses, cross-examine the client (if present) and any defense witnesses, and then render the decision, and can even rule on their own objections. There is no independent judge overseeing the proceeding.

Several other aspects of the hearing are important to understand, including:

• No Fifth Amendment right: Unlike in a criminal trial, you have no right to remain silent at a DMV hearing, and refusing to speak when asked questions can even be seen as evidence to use against you. 
• Your attendance is optional: You do not have to appear in person. Your attorney can handle the hearing on your behalf. However, if you do attend, the hearing officer may call you as a witness and examine you.
• No public defender: Because the suspension is administrative rather than criminal in nature, public defenders are not available for DMV hearings.

The technical and procedural nature of these hearings, combined with the absence of an independent judge, means that procedural and bureaucratic errors are not uncommon, and they can serve as valid grounds for a set-aside of the suspension. This is precisely why hiring experienced legal representation is so important.

After the Hearing: Decisions & Appeals

A decision for a DMV hearing usually takes less than a week, though it can take up to several weeks for complex cases. If the outcome is unfavorable, the decision can be appealed to the DMV in Sacramento and/or to the courts by filing a legal writ.

A successful outcome or a “set-aside” means the suspension is lifted and your driving privileges are restored. Of course, as your chosen California license suspension attorneys, we’ll do whatever we can to secure a set-aside for you.

Call Now for Experience & Insight You Can Rely On

When your driving privileges are at stake, you’ll only want to work with an attorney that you know you can absolutely trust. The DMV hearing process is technical, time-sensitive, and procedurally demanding, so you’ll want representation from a law firm that focuses almost entirely on DUI law and has done so for decades.

We are The Law Offices of Taylor & Taylor, and DUI defense is our calling. 

Founded in 1979 by the late Attorney Lawrence Taylor, who was widely known as the “Dean of DUI Attorneys” and was the author of dozens of authoritative books on DUI defense, our firm was built from the ground up with a singular focus on protecting the rights of DUI clients in California. That focus has never wavered.

What sets us apart from other firms handling DUI cases in California includes:

• Unmatched expertise recognized by our peers: We are the only law firm in the state approved by the California State Bar to provide continuing legal education on DUI laws to other legal professionals. When attorneys across California want to learn DUI defense, they come to us.
• In-house technical support staff: We are the only law firm in California that keeps a dedicated team of specialists on staff, including a toxicologist and a retired law enforcement detective, to support our clients' cases at the technical level.
• Insight from both sides of the courtroom: Our team includes former prosecutors who know firsthand how the other side builds its cases and what strategies they are likely to pursue. That insight directly informs how we defend our clients.
• Convenient access across Southern California: We have multiple office locations throughout Southern California, so you can work with our team in a location that is convenient for you.

At the DMV hearing level specifically, we know where procedural errors occur, how to identify weaknesses in the DMV's evidence, and how to present an effective defense to protect your driving privileges. What happens at the DMV hearing and what happens in criminal court are two separate battles, and we are fully prepared to fight both on your behalf.

If you are facing a possible license suspension, time is critical. Call us today at (562) 330-4173 to schedule a consultation.