Sunday, July 20, 2014

DUI Conviction: DMV Point Count Toward License

If you are
convicted of
DUI in California, you face some rather severe penalties
including possible jail time, probation, stiff fines, an alcohol program, and a
suspension of your California driver’s license. The driver’s license suspension
will issue if your
Orange County DUI defense Lawyer loses the  DMV hearing or if you plead guilty to a DUI in
court. The length of the suspension will depend on several factors including
whether or not you refused to take a blood test or breath test after the arrest
and whether you have any prior DUI convictions, in any state, within the past
ten years.






If your
driver’s license is suspended because of a DUI conviction or loss of the APS
hearing, you will still be eligible to get your license back on a restricted
basis after a certain length of time. For a first offense DUI you can typically
get a restricted license after serving just 30 days of the suspension. However,
there is little known vehicle code section that may prevent you from getting
your license back. Therefore, if you are facing DUI charges, you should check
with your
DUI Attorney in Orange County to see if the negligent operation
statute will affect your driving privileges.


You see,
Vehicle Code Section 12810.5 says that if a driver has exceeded a certain point
count on their driving record, then the DMV can suspend their license because
they are a “negligent” operator. According to this statute, a person who has
been assessed four or more points in a 12-month period is presumed to be a
negligent operator and is subject to a separate driver’s license suspension.
Your
DUI Lawyer will tell you that the way points are accumulated is through
traffic offenses. For example, a typical speeding ticket will count as one
point. However, more serious offenses such as DUI,
wet reckless, or driving on a suspended license
counts as TWO points. Remember, that if you get four points within a year, your
license is toast.


So, if you
are convicted of DUI, that will cost you two points. If you have two separate speeding
tickets or other traffic tickets within the same year that you got the DUI, the
DMV can then suspend you for both the DUI and for the negligent operation. If,
for example, you are convicted of a first-offense DUI and you have two separate
traffic tickets within the same 12 month period, you could go in to get a
restricted license after 30 days only to find out that you also face a
negligent operation suspension.


If, however,
you consult with your DUI defense attorney early on, your attorney may
recognize that you are subject to a double suspension. Sometimes this can be
avoided by going back to court on the traffic ticket and getting a judge’s
permission to go to traffic school. This will avoid the point penalty for the
ticket and thus avoid the negligent operation suspension.


If you are
charged with a DUI call The Law Offices
of EJ Stopyro
at (949) 559-5500 for a free and confidential consultation
with an experienced
Orange County DUI Attorney. You can also go to www.ejesquire.com. Our offices are at 32072
Camino Capistrano, 2nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675 and 1901
Newport Blvd., Suite 350, Costa Mesa, CA 92675.

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