Marin DUI Attorney Marin DMV Hearing Lawyer

Marin County DMV Hearing vs. Court Trial

Within ten (10) calendar days of being arrested for drunk driving, you or your criminal defense attorney must contact the DMV’s Driver Safety Office to request an Administrative License Revocation hearing (ALR). If you do not make this request in time, you waive your right to a hearing resulting in an automatic suspension of your driver’s license, which means your thirty-day temporary license becomes void.

The ALR hearing is not to be confused with your drunk driving criminal case that will be heard in a court of law. The proceedings are not related, and the outcomes will not affect each other. The purpose of the DMV hearing is to discuss the details of your DUI arrest, including whether the arrest was lawful or not. Your criminal court trial, not the DMV hearing, will determine if you are guilty of a DUI or DUID.

During an ALR suspension hearing, rather than a judge and jury you will have the right to in your criminal case, a “hearing officer” of the DMV presides. Hearing officers are not legally trained individuals, however in the ALR suspension hearing they are prosecutor and judge.

After the DMV hearing, it is possible that your license suspension is "set aside," but a guilty verdict in your criminal case will result in a longer suspension of your license anyway. Other punishments for a guilty verdict are variations of fines, jail time, community service, alcohol classes, and more.

Because DMV hearings are somewhat different and more technical than criminal proceedings, and public defenders are not provided, it is wise to retain a DMV hearing lawyer to represent you. Please contact the Law Office of Robert Tayac for a free consultation.

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