One of the first big obstacles Orange County drivers face after a DUI arrest is the threat of having their license suspended. Under California law the DMV will initiate an Administrative Per Se Suspension Hearing (APS) if you don’t notify the DMV within 10 days of your arrest and request a formal hearing.
To have a shot at keeping your license you need a DMV hearing defense attorney in Orange County. Many attorneys in the area claim to be experts in DMV hearings but Attorney Hart J. Levin and his team have been defending and winning these cases for years.
Orange County DMV Hearings
Law enforcement agencies report DUI arrests to the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). The DMV operates separately from the criminal court system and will automatically suspend your license unless you request a formal hearing.
If you request a hearing within the time frame, the DMV will “stay” the license suspension until the hearing is completed and the results are mailed to you. This means you can keep driving until the DMV hearing is over. Hearings usually take place within 30-90 days but can be delayed up to a year or more.
As an administrative agency the DMV does not have a judge at the hearing. Instead a DMV hearing officer, who is not an attorney but trained to evaluate evidence, will decide whether to suspend your driving privilege.
When represented by an experienced and knowledgeable DMV hearing defense attorney, a driver’s well thought out legal arguments will be given more weight by the hearing officer. Although not held in a court, the process still follows California and constitutional law.
Burden of Proof at a DMV Hearing: In a criminal court the prosecution must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. In DUI DMV proceedings the DMV only needs to determine by a preponderance of the evidence that the driver was at least 51% impaired. This lower standard of proof means the DMV will suspend the license in almost every case. The evidence just needs to be enough for a reasonable person to believe the driver was probably impaired.
Even with this low standard, any legal mistakes by the police during the DUI stop, arrest or breath test can result in the evidence being excluded. If procedural errors prevent the police’s evidence from being used, the driver will probably win at the DMV hearing.
Why Hire an Orange County DMV Hearing Defense Attorney?
Without an experienced DMV hearing defense attorney the hearing officer will consider illegally obtained police evidence against the driver.
The attorneys at The Law Offices of Hart J. Levin have been researching and reviewing California DUI police reports for decades. Each case is unique and these experienced defense attorneys know how to find the details that will keep the State from suspending your license or sending you to prison.
Winning a DUI criminal case or an Administrative Per Se license hearing at the DMV usually comes down to finding one mistake made by an officer during the DUI investigation and arrest. Every driver in Orange County should make sure they have the most experienced DMV hearing attorney to review the facts and circumstances of their case. Having the best DMV defense attorney can mean the difference between keeping your license and losing it and the disruption to your life that comes with a suspension.
Witness Subpoenas: During the DMV hearing process the driver and their attorney can subpoena witnesses and question the police officer about the investigation, arrest and chemical test procedure. However the DMV rarely subpoenas the police officer.
If a properly served police officer fails to appear at the hearing without a valid reason the hearing officer may dismiss the DMV APS hearing and not issue a suspension.
How Our DMV Hearing Defense Attorneys Can Help
When the DMV holds an Administrative Per Se Hearing in a DUI case your California DUI knowledge is key. They need to know what evidence to attack to win the hearing.
- Did the officer have probable cause to stop the vehicle?
- What happened during the officer’s interaction with the driver that led the officer to believe the driver was impaired? Are there body cam or dash cam recordings to support the officer’s version?
- If SFSTs were given, were they administered properly by the officer, following the exact procedures as these are scientific tests?
- Does the driver have any medical or physical conditions that would have affected their performance on the SFSTs?
- Were the conditions, lighting, weather and surface good for the SFSTs?
- Did the officer give the required legal warnings at the time of arrest and before the chemical test at the police station?
- Did the officer observe the driver for 15 minutes before the breath test, noting if the driver burped, smoked, ate or vomited?
- Was the breath sample from deep lung air?
The techniques developed over decades of DUI defense combine law and science. DUI defense attorneys know the human body’s alcohol metabolism, the proper administration of SFSTs, and the certification and calibration of breathalyzer equipment to make the readings admissible as evidence.
Contact The Law Offices of Hart J. Levin
Defending DUI and DMV administrative license suspension hearings requires specialized knowledge that can’t be substituted. Even experienced criminal defense attorneys are less equipped to handle DMV administrative license suspension cases than attorneys who only practice DUI.
In Orange County, Attorney Hart Levin and his team are renowned as the top-rated DUI and DMV hearing defense lawyers. For the highest level of legal skill and professionalism in handling your DUI and DMV hearing case, contact The Law Offices of Hart J. Levin. You and your family deserve the best representation.