DMV Hearing: In Person Or Telephonic?

DUI Attorneys in Orange County

When you are arrested for a DUI  in Orange County, the arresting officer, whether from the California Highway Patrol, Orange County Sheriff’s Department, or a city police officer, will confiscate your California driver’s license. Any DUI Lawyer will tell you that the officer is actually required by law to take your license. The officer must then give you a pink piece of paper from the DMV that is full of small print that you will probably not want to read; but you should.

This pink paper that the DUI officer served you is both your temporary driver’s license and a notice to you of your right to a  DMV hearing to determine whether there is grounds to suspend your license. The paper will also state that if you, or your Orange County DUI Attorney don’t request a DMV hearing within ten days of being arrested for DUI, then the license suspension will begin automatically and that you waive and give up any right to a hearing. If you do not request a hearing within this critical ten days, your license can be suspended even if there were no grounds to do so.

Although it is preferable to let your DUI Attorney in Orange County make the call the DMV office of driver safety, you will have to do it if you haven’t yet found a   DUI Lawyer. When you call, you should have your driver license number and date of arrest available. After being on hold for a minute or two you will speak to a DMV employee. The employee will also need to know what police agency made the DUI arrest and whether you submitted to a breath test, blood test, or it was a refusal.   

Once the DMV employee has this information, he or she will give you possible hearing dates for you to choose from. The DMV hearing, called an Administrative Per se or APS hearing, can be set in the morning or in the afternoon. The DMV employee will then offer you the choice of an in-person or telephonic hearing. If you plan on hiring a DUI Attorney to represent you, then you can choose any date as your DUI lawyer can change the date when he or she assumes representation. The same is true with the choice of an in-person or telephonic hearing.

There usually is not much of an advantage either way as far as in-person versus telephonic is concerned. If you or your Orange County DUI Lawyer have complicated exhibits to explain to the hearing officer or to a witness, then an in-person hearing is best. Also, if a witness is going to testify, an in-person hearing gives your DUI Lawyer in Orange County an opportunity to assess how “presentable” the witness is; that is to say, whether a jury in a DUI trial would like this witness. This factor may be important when you and your DUI Lawyer are deciding whether to take your case to trial.

To learn more about the DMV hearing in a DUI case call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 for a free telephonic consultation with an experienced DUI Attorney. We have offices at 1901 Newport Blvd., Suite 350, in Costa Mesa, CA 92627 and at 32072 Camino Capistrano, 2^nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675.

Orange County DUI lawyers