The CALIFORNIA DUI / DMV HearinG
Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles & Orange County
DUI Criminal Lawyer & Attorney

The very first thing to do after being arrested for a suspected DUI (assuming you are out of custody) is reserve the APS hearing mentioned earlier.  For most people, driving is a daily necessity and often relates directly to one’s ability to earning a living.

If you have been arrested for a DUI in California and are suspected of having a BAC of .08% or greater, your driver's license was immediately confiscated by the police (except for certain special circumstances, such as having an out-of-state license) and you should have been given the DMV's pink slip entitled "Notice of Suspension and Temporary License ".  This allows you to have the privilege of driving for another 30 days so long as within the first ten (10) days after your arrest, you reserve an APS (administrative per se) hearing through the DMV’s local driver’s safety office. 

At WILL & WILL, LLP, once you have retained our DUI attorneys as your counsel, we will reserve the DMV hearing on your behalf and take care of the entire process for you.  If the hearing is not reserved within ten (10) days of the date of your arrest, your right to contest the suspension is lost.  By law, without having a hearing to dispute the DUI case against you with the DMV, your driver’s license privileges will automatically be suspended beginning thirty (30) days from the date of the arrest (per the pink slip). If, however, the DMV hearing is properly scheduled on your behalf, you will receive a notice in the mail extending your temporary license until a decision based on the outcome of the APS hearing is made.

Once our DUI attorneys have calendared your DMV hearing, we immediately start reviewing the police report for possible arguments to make in your defense at the hearing.  A DMV hearing is not conducted in front of a judge or lawyer, but rather to a DMV hearing officer that has been hired and trained by the DMV according to its specific administrative laws.  Thus, a DMV hearing is not governed by the same laws as those used in a courtroom.  This is one of the most important reasons to obtain hire the experienced and knowledgeable DUI defense lawyers of WILL & WILL, LLP.  Our DUI attorneys are familiar with and understand all of the intricacies of the DMV as they relate to DUI’s and their policies for the APS hearing.

Generally, your appearance at the DMV hearing is optional once you have retained the DUI lawyers at WILL & WILL, LLP to represent your best interests. However, depending on your case, your DUI lawyer might determine that it would be beneficial to your case’s defense for you or another person (such as a passenger witness who was in your car at the time of the incident) to appear and testify on your behalf.  Likewise, your DUI lawyer might suggest you not testify if he/she feels it could harm your chances of regaining your driving privileges.
Once the APS hearing has concluded, the hearing officer almost never renders a decision immediately. Rather, the hearing officer will take the matter "under submission" and a notice is later mailed to both you and your WILL & WILL, LLP DUI attorney explaining the decision made.  It can take anywhere from a few days to over a month for this letter to be sent out.  When you do receive the decision, you will either get an "Order of Set Aside" stating that your license is being fully reinstated, or a "Notification of Findings and Decision" which means that the hearing was lost. 

Depending on whether this is your first, second, third, etc... DUI, the suspension will range in length, and there may/may not be a possibility for restriction.  If you are eligible to obtain a restricted license 30 days after the suspension has taken effect, your DUI lawyers at WILL & WILL, LLP will be able to explain to you how to go about turning your suspension into a restriction, which would thereafter allow you some driving privileges.

Finally, even if the APS hearing is lost, there is one avenue of appeal.  It is a request for a departmental review.  Again, there are only certain cases, and usually special circumstances, where your experienced and knowledgeable DUI defense attorneys at WILL & WILL, LLP will recommend doing this.