- #El segundo dmv hearing office drivers#
- #El segundo dmv hearing office driver#
- #El segundo dmv hearing office license#
#El segundo dmv hearing office driver#
If you have received notification that the DMV is working to suspend or revoke your driver license, you should react quickly to hire a DMV Defense Expert to assist you in winning your hearing at the appropriate Driver Safety Office. These are not the normal “field offices” where one goes to register their car. Known as a DSO, the Driver Safety Offices are large regional offices that are located throughout the State of California. The Division of Driver Safety conducts administrative hearings to decide issues of suspension or revocation at special locations known as Driver Safety Offices.
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The Division of Driver Safety is empowered to deny, suspend or revoke any person’s driver license if there is good cause to do so. Similarly, a “set-aside” in the DMV hearing has no effect on the criminal proceedings.The Division of Driver Safety is the enforcement branch of the California DMV.
The only court proceedings that will have any impact on the DMV is an acquittal or finding of innocence on the. Note: Neither a plea to a reduced offense (for example, “alcohol-involved reckless driving”, aka “wet reckless”) nor a dismissal of criminal charges is a defense to an APS suspension. If adverse, the decision can be appealed to the DMV in Sacramento and/or to the courts by filing a “writ”. A decision is usually not rendered until some days or even weeks after the hearing. Because there is no Fifth Amendment right at the hearing, the attorney may or may not choose to have the client at the hearing since he can be called by the hearing officer as a witness. Testimony can be produced by both sides, although the hearing officer usually only produces documents, such as police reports, laboratory reports and the officer’s sworn affidavit. Legal representation from a DUI law firm experienced in these matters will greatly increase the changes of the driver’s license being reinstated. And because they are not criminal in nature, public defenders are unavailable. Because of the technical nature of these hearings and the lack of an independent judge, it is inadvisable to attempt to represent yourself. The defenses tend to be more technical than in court, with procedural and bureaucratic errors often the grounds for a “set-aside” of the suspension. The hearing is conducted like a miniature trial, but without jury and with somewhat different rules of evidence. This person, although not legally trained, will act as the “judge” - and also as the prosecutor! He can, for example, rule on his own objections. The DMV license suspension hearing is conducted by a hearing officer who is an employee of the DMV. The courts, however, have used strained logic in concluding that one is criminal and the other administrative - a license suspension is simply an “administrative sanction”, not a “punishment”!
Second, it would seem to constitute “double jeopardy”: the individual is being charged with a criminal offense and punished (including a license restriction) in court - and then is accused in a separate proceeding and punished again with a license suspension. First, there appears to be a lack of due process and the absence of a presumption of innocence. It would seem, however, that there is a “DUI exception to the Constitution”. This “APS” (Administrative Per Se) suspension is based upon California’s so-called “ implied consent” laws: any person driving in this state is “presumed” to impliedly consent to chemical testing if he is suspected of drunk driving. In that event, the lawyer should demand - and will receive - an extension of the temporary license (called a “stay”) until the hearing is provided and a subsequent decision rendered. In most cases, due to work overload, the DMV will be unable to provide a hearing before the 30-day temporary license expires.
In Southern California the main offices are located in El Segundo, City of Commerce, City of Orange, San Bernardino, Oxnard and San Diego. If you have been unable to find a DUI attorney within the 10-day window, the individual should contact the local DMV Driver Safety Office himself. On the 11th day, the DMV will refuse to provide a hearing and the suspension will automatically take effect in 30 days. NOTE: It is CRITICAL that the DMV be contacted by the individual’s attorney within 10 calendar days of the arrest. As comments from our DUI clients indicate, there is a good chance of having the suspension thrown out the worst thing that can happen is that the same suspension will simply take effect, but later than 30 days. It is strongly recommended that a DMV suspension hearing be requested. This is called the Administrative License Suspension (“ALS”).
#El segundo dmv hearing office drivers#
The individual or his DUI attorney has ten days within which to call the Drivers Safety Office of the Department of Motor Vehicles to contest the suspension at an administrative hearing.