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I'm attorney Nick Alcock. I'd like to speak a little bit about license suspensions and
what happens when you get pulled over for a DUI.
If you do get pulled over for a DUI and you submit to a breath test, it's very likely
that the police officer right off the bat's going to take your license, he's going to
give you an admin per se form if you're over the legal limit. If you're over .08, you'll
get a piece of paper that will be your temporary driver's license for 15 days.
This piece of paper is good as your license, but after 15 days, if you don't do anything,
your license is going to be suspended. Typically, in a DUI, it's going to be suspended for 30
days completely, and then 60 days afterwards, you're eligible for a restricted license to
and from school. So, you can't be driving at 2:00 in the morning to a bar. You're going
to be arrested for driving on a suspended license if you get pulled over and you have
that restricted permit. One thing that our office does, and we do
it free of charge in every DUI case, is we will do an MVD hearing for you. If you come
into our office, we will fire off the paperwork. As long as you come in within 15 days of your
arrest, we'll fire off that paperwork to ask for an MVD hearing.
You have two separate cases with a DUI. You've got a criminal case, and you've got the civil
case for your license. The two are totally separate because you could potentially have
your license suspended even if you're never convicted of a DUI. Just be aware of the fact
that if you don't request that hearing in 15 days, your license automatically gets suspended,
and you could be in trouble if you get pulled over on a suspended license.
The MVD hearing is a rather informal affair. It is in front of a judge, but it's really
just an office building. The MVD hearing is looking at a number of things. If it is a
case where you blew into the machine or you submitted to blood, they're going to be asking
questions such as were you driving, had you consumed alcohol, and was your blood alcohol
level or breath alcohol level over a .08 within two hours of driving. It's very narrow.
They're just looking to make sure the machines were working accurately, that there wasn't
a problem with the machines. They're going to looking to see whether or not there is
evidence that you were in fact impaired and there is evidence that you had this alcohol
in your system and that you were over the legal limit.
You actually don't have to be...They don't have to prove that you were impaired, though.
They just have to prove that alcohol was in your system and that you were over the legal
limit. Now, let's say that you refuse a test and
you don't blow into a machine, you don't give blood. Then, your license can be suspended
for a period of one year. Then, the question comes down to were you offered the test, did
you voluntarily refuse the test, were the circumstances made very clear to you, and
was your failure to submit to the test basically your own fault. If they prove that you knew
that you had to take the test and you didn't, then they're going to suspend your license
for a year. Gratefully, they're going to be changing the
rules with regards to the amount of suspension that people will get for refusals. They're
also changing the rules and regulations for DUI license suspensions.
In general, if you've just been pulled over for a DUI, ask for an MVD hearing. It doesn't
cost anything. You just fill out the back of that form, mail it in, or call my office
at (602) 989 5000, and we'll be very happy to sit down with you and tell you what you
need to do. We know that there's a lot of confusion about licenses. There's a lot of
confusion about what will happen to you if you get pulled over for a DUI and you submit
to a test. We're happy to really walk you through the
system and make you feel a little bit more comfortable. So, again, our number is (602)
989 5000. I'm Nick Alcock, the owner of Alcock and Associates. Thanks so much.