Losing Your License With a DUI

The loss of your driver’s license is one of the consequences of a DUI arrest and conviction in California. Driving is a privilege, which you can easily lose when you commit a serious violation like driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The DMV can suspend your license for a few months or years, or revoke it, depending on the severity of your DUI charge.

However, you can fight the loss of your driver’s license to stop the suspension or revocation, or convince the DMV to reinstate it. You can also qualify for a restricted license, which allows you to drive to specific places, such as work or DUI school. A competent DUI attorney can guide you well to ensure that your best interests are considered in all legal processes.

Loss of a Diver’s License in a DUI

Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a serious violation under California law. The penalties you receive upon conviction mainly depend on your criminal history and the specific circumstances of your case. Losing your driver’s license is a significant possibility when you are arrested or convicted of a DUI. This means you will not be able to drive again until the DMV reinstates your license. This can significantly impact your life and the lives of your dependents, especially if you rely on driving to commute to work, school, or run other essential errands.

The most significant concern for many people who are arrested for a DUI is the possibility of losing their driver’s license. Remember that driving is a privilege in California. The DMV grants you this privilege when you prove that you are competent enough to operate a vehicle safely. The DMV reserves the right to revoke this privilege if you demonstrate incompetence, which can occur when you are arrested for driving while intoxicated. When you put the lives of other motorists and road users at risk of harm through DUI, you can quickly lose that privilege. The DMV will only reinstate your license once you demonstrate again that you can safely drive on California public roads.

A driver’s license is essential for everyone, as it facilitates easy and quick transportation. Public transportation in California operates on strict schedules, which are not convenient for many people. With a driver’s license, you can commute to work, school, and run errands efficiently. Losing your driver’s license also means losing that great convenience. You have to rely on other people to move around, and sometimes you must wait for public transport. Additionally, it may take time to reinstate your license after the DMV has suspended it. However, a competent DUI attorney can help you fight the suspension of your driver’s license before it happens.

California DUI laws have specific mandatory penalties for anyone convicted of a DUI. In addition to losing your license temporarily after a DUI arrest, the suspension can be a reality once you are convicted of a DUI. The period of suspension mainly depends on your criminal history and the seriousness of your DUI charge. A conviction for a serious DUI, such as having children in the car or having a high BAC, may result in the revocation of your license, meaning that you lose your license permanently. This is a significant blow for someone who has driven for a long time and still relies on their driving privilege to get by.

Saving Your Driver’s License Within 30 Days of Your Arrest

An arrest for a DUI happens after a DUI investigation. This can happen after a random stop by the road or at a DUI checkpoint. If you commit a traffic infraction or are stopped at a DUI checkpoint, and the police suspect you of driving while intoxicated, they will investigate you and then arrest you once they have enough evidence. The investigation may include observing your behavior as you answer questions or perform a few preliminary tests by the road. An officer can also ask you to breathe into a breathalyzer to determine your BAC. Further investigation is conducted after the arrest.

An arrest for a DUI follows the same processes as an arrest for any other crime. This means you will be taken to the police station for booking, and can be detained temporarily waiting for your initial arraignment. If you plead not guilty or enter a no-contest plea, the case will go to trial. You could be released on bail pending the determination of your case. At this point, you will be allowed to return home, from where you can plan well for your defense. Your actions after that will determine the course your case will take.

Generally, the arresting officer will confiscate your driver’s license after the arrest. They will issue you a temporary permit that is valid for only 30 days, which you can use until your case is determined in court. Once the 30 days are over, you must apply to reinstate your license. If you are convicted of a DUI, and the penalties include the suspension of your license, you will drive until the suspension period is over. Again, you must apply to reinstate your license after the suspension period has expired.

However, the DMV allows you to request a hearing within ten days of your arrest to save your license from suspension. If you request a hearing within ten days and win in the hearing, the DMV will lift the suspension, and you will get your license back after 30 days. If you request a hearing but do not win, the automatic suspension will take effect after 30 days. This will also happen if you do not request the hearing within ten days of your arrest. You can request a hearing with the DMV and have an attorney represent you in the hearing to increase your chances of winning.

Note: The automatic suspension of your driver’s license will happen after 30 days, regardless of the outcome of your case. If the court does not find you guilty of your DUI charges, and you are not penalized, you can still lose your license if you do not defend it in a DMV hearing. Thus, requesting a DMV hearing after a DUI arrest is in your best interests.

Having an attorney by your side in this process improves your chances of a favorable outcome. They can review the evidence against you and challenge it in the hearing. They can also convince the administrative judge presiding over the hearing that suspending your license does not serve the interests of justice.

How a DUI Conviction Affects Your Driving Privilege

In addition to the automatic loss of your driver’s license after a DUI arrest, you risk losing it after the trial if you are convicted. Remember that a DUI arrest will likely result in a trial. The court will review evidence brought against you and consider your defense to determine whether or not you are guilty. If the court finds you guilty, penalties will apply depending on the nature of your DUI charges. Prosecutors determine your charges according to your criminal history and the circumstances of your case.

A first-DUI, which happens if this is your first time being arrested for a DUI, is the most lenient DUI charge under the law. However, its penalties are still grave and can result in the suspension of your river’s license for up to six months. Within these months, you will not be allowed to drive any vehicle, as doing so will constitute a more serious violation that could result in additional criminal charges. However, after a month of the suspension, you can apply for a restricted license, pay any required fee, and install an IID system in your vehicle.

An IID, or Ignition Interlock Device system, is a breathalyzer that is installed in your vehicle to prevent you from starting or driving a car when you have alcohol in your breath. It requires a sample of your breath before starting the car, and it will stop the vehicle from starting if you have consumed alcohol before driving. It is usually a court-mandated tool for drivers convicted of a DUI who seek a restricted license. The device also transmits real-time data to monitoring authorities, such as the court or DMV. This can lead you to more legal trouble and negatively impact your chances of successfully reinstating your driver’s license.

If you are convicted of a second DUI, which occurs when you already have a prior DUI on your record within ten years, you could lose your driver’s license for two years. This, too, is a long time for anyone who needs to drive to school, work, or run errands for their family. Your penalties may also include mandatory participation in an 18-month DUI program, which you must attend regularly to avoid further legal trouble. In this case, you can apply for a restricted license after one year. However, you must abide by the strict conditions to continue using a restricted license.

A third DUI, which is also a misdemeanor, happens when you have two prior DUIs on your record within ten years. A conviction for a third DUI can result in the suspension of your license for three years.

A fourth or subsequent DUI is more serious because it is a felony and can result in being designated a habitual traffic offender. When this happens, it means that the DMV considers you a significant safety risk, and this can result in the revocation of your driver’s license. Unlike suspension, you may never recover your driving privileges after revocation. However, you can avoid this harsh penalty by fighting your charges during the trial.

Other felony DUIs, including DUI with injury or death, or DUI with a minor under 14, can also result in more severe penalties, including the revocation of your license. It helps to work closely with a competent DUI defense attorney to fight your charges or use other strategies to influence the outcome of your case.

How To Fight License Suspension or Revocation in a DUI Trial

Remember that even the most lenient DUI can result in the suspension of your driver’s license upon conviction. In addition to requesting and winning a DMV hearing after an arrest, you must prepare to fight your charges to avoid the life-changing penalties and protect your driving privilege. Fortunately, you can do this with the help of a competent attorney. Your attorney will use some of the best defense strategies to influence the court’s decision. Here are some of the techniques that may help your case:

Challenging Your DUI Charges

The best strategy for avoiding a license suspension or revocation after a DUI arrest is challenging the DUI charges. If you are not guilty of DUI, your risk of losing your driver’s license drops. Fortunately, there are several strategies your attorney can use to challenge your DUI charges, including the following:

1. Challenging the DUI Arrest

You are not guilty of a DUI if your DUI arrest is illegal, regardless of the evidence gathered against you. An illegal arrest can happen if there was no probable cause for your arrest. The police need to show probable cause for stopping, investigating, and arresting you for a DUI. If the police randomly stopped you, with no apparent reason, your arrest would be unlawful, and the evidence against you would be inadmissible in court.

2. Your DUI Investigation Was Not Properly Conducted

The police are guided by strict regulations under Title 17 when conducting investigations after a DUI arrest. These regulations include the type of devices that should be used to test a driver’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) for DUI, how the testing should be conducted, and how the police must handle the samples. Any violation of these regulations can result in the inadmission of the DUI results in a trial.

Your attorney can use this strategy if they feel that your BAC test was not conducted as it should have been. For example, it can be that the officer using the breathalyzer was not adequately trained, or the breathalyzer itself was faulty or not correctly calibrated. In this case, the court will not use your test results in the trial, which can weaken the prosecutor’s case.

3. The Police Violated Your Rights

A violation of your civil rights will not be taken lightly, especially if it comes up during a trial. The police can violate your rights in many ways, including failing to read your Miranda rights after an arrest or coercing a confession. If any of these happened, you should let your attorney know about it. Any evidence the police gather after or through violating your rights is inadmissible in court. This may leave the prosecutor with insufficient evidence to obtain a guilty verdict.

Challenging the Aggravating Factor in Your Case

Aggravating factors in a DUI case can result in a felony conviction, which carries hefty penalties, including a lengthy suspension or revocation of your driver’s license. Challenging the aggravating factor in your case can result in more lenient penalties.

For example, if you are charged with DUI with a minor aged 14 in the vehicle, you could also be charged with child endangerment. The penalties if you are convicted of the two offenses can be hefty, and you could lose your license for life. You can prove that the alleged minor was actually an adult, or that there was no one with you in the vehicle, to avoid a felony DUI conviction.

If you face felony charges for a DUI with death, an experienced attorney can prove in court that your actions were not the direct cause of the alleged victim’s death. If this works, your penalties could be favorable.

Negotiating a Plea Deal

A plea deal is one of the most significant challenges used by prosecutors to ensure that suspected offenders are convicted of a crime, even in the absence of incriminating evidence. The prosecutor can propose a plea deal to your attorney if they lack sufficient evidence to obtain a conviction in a trial. In this case, you will plead guilty to a less-severe crime, like wet reckless, to avoid the severe penalties of a DUI conviction.

Your attorney can also propose a plea deal if they are unsure of the outcome of your case. Although this will still result in a criminal conviction, you can retain your driving privileges by pleading guilty to a lenient charge.

Find an Experienced DUI Attorney Near Me

Losing your driver’s license is a great possibility after a DUI arrest. You lose your driver’s license automatically after an arrest, and the court can suspend or revoke it after a DUI conviction. However, you can defend your driving privilege by taking action after your arrest, with the assistance of a DUI attorney.

At Koenig Law Office, we can assist you in scheduling an administrative hearing with the DMV within ten days of your arrest. We will also represent your interests during that hearing to protect your license. We can plan a solid defense against your DUI charges if your case goes to trial. This way, we can protect you from the harsh penalties, including the suspension or revocation of your license. Call us at 661-793-7222 to start the legal process with us if you are facing DUI charges in Bakersfield.