First Offense DUI and license issues. DMV suspension comparred to court suspension.

If you are arrested for a DUI, not only do you have to deal with the court system, but you also have to deal with the Department of Motor Vehicles.  The courts and the DMV are both able to suspend your license.  Typically DMV issues must be addressed first.

A police officer physically takes your license when they arrest you for DUI.  The officer will give you a pink piece of paper which is a temporary 30-day license.  At the end of the 30-day period your license will be suspended unless you request a hearing with the DMV.  You only have 10 days from the date of arrest to contact the DMV and request a hearing.  The DMV Hearing is called an Administrative Per Se Hearing.   

To request a hearing with the DMV you need to call the local Driver Safety Office with the DMV. They will walk you through the process. Tell them you were recently arresed for a DUI and would like to request a hearing. Also request a stay and request discovery. A stay means that you will be able to continue to drive at least until the DMV hearing. If the DMV upholds the suspension after the hearing you will receive a letter in the mail stating that the stay on your suspension has been lifted and it will state the date the suspension begins.

At the APS Hearing the DMV must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that you were lawfully arrested, the officer had a reasonable suspicion to believe you were driving under the influence, and that your blood alcohol was 0.08% or more.  The rules of evidence are considerably relaxed compared to court.

If you lose the DMV APS Hearing your license will be suspended.  For a first offense the length of suspension is 4 months; however, after a month you have the option of obtaining a restricted license allowing you to drive to and from work, to and from a required DUI class, and during the course of employment.  If you choose to get a restricted license it will be restricted for 5 months after the one month period of no driving.  To get a restricted license you must enroll in a DUI class for first offenders, obtain an SR22 (proof of high risk insurance), and pay a $125 reissue fee.

The court will also suspend your license if you are convicted.  If you are convicted in court the DMV will be notified of your conviction and your license will be suspended for 6 months.  You are not supposed to be punished twice and are supposed to get credit for any license suspension you have already served; however, I have seen DMV do some weird things with this, especially when the person obtained a restricted license.

Beyond the license issues, the court punishment for a first offense DUI is 3-5 years of informal court probation, an approximately $1,800 fine, and the possibility of up to 6 months in jail. Many jurisdictions do not order actual jail time and allow people to serve their time on some sort of work program.