By Dale S. Gribow, Esq.
PART ONE
To save your California Driver’s License or driving privileges, you must request a DMV hearing within TEN (10) DAYS. You should also REQUEST A DMV IDENTIFICATION CARD NOW! If the court orders you into a Drinking driving program, you will have to show them your California DMV Identification Card. Do not rely on a telephone call to DMV alone. It is well-known that when the DMV employee tells you, “You’ll be contacted later”, that something will go wrong. While you are at DMV ask for a printout of your DMV driving record. You will need to show this to the Riverside County Drinking Driving Program if you are ordered to attend a DUI class. Remember to take down your social media site until the case is over. The latest trick is for the opposition to Google you and get the info you posted on Facebook to get the names of friends, etc. that can be interviewed, if necessary.
The 10 day time limit begins running from the issuance/arrest date on the Pink Order of Suspension/Temporary Driver’s License Endorsement: i.e. the Administrative Per Se form. This is true whether you have a California Driver’s License or an out of state driver’s license. The Administrative Per Se/Order of Suspension/Temporary Driver’s License Endorsement is the 8 x 10 PINK DMV form PS360 (sometimes white) that the officer gave you when he/she took your license. It gives you the right to drive for 30 days before your right to drive in California is suspended for 4-5 months.
Even if the officer did not snatch your license under the Stop and Snatch Law and did not give you this PINK SUSPENSION form, DMV will probably still automatically take action against your driver’s license.
If you are from another state, the officer should NOT take your license, but that state may also take action against your driver’s license. You still have to request a DMV hearing if you are ever going to drive on California roads again.
This Pink Temporary Driver’s License Endorsement is good for only 30 days from the issue date. If the DMV hearing is requested within 10 days, your driving privileges can be extended by requesting a STAY. This creates a delay of any suspension until the outcome of your DMV hearing in about 60 days. After requesting a stay, you receive a white piece of paper which is a Temporary Driver’s License via mail. It is only valid for the time listed on the paper.
Please note that a DUI creates 2 SEPARATE PROCEEDINGS that you must address. Do not confuse the two. One is the Court and the other is the DMV hearing. The outcome of one does not necessarily affect the other. When DMV suspends your license, it is for a four month period. If you ask for a restricted license, it is for 5 months. Sometimes, we have clients who enter a plea in Court BEFORE the DMV hearing. Even though the court does not suspend your license as part of the plea, whenever the court notifies DMV that the defendant pled to a DUI, and is sentenced to attend a drinking driving program, that will trigger a letter from DMV in Sacramento called an Order of Suspension. The Order of Suspension is for 6 months.
If you already completed the classes for DMV and months later plead in Court, you would then go to DMV and pay a fee and they should reissue your license suspended by Sacramento because of your plea.
The Court, unlike a DMV suspension from the DMV in San Bernardino, should allow you to apply for a restricted license right away by paying $55.00 to reissue a license and $15.00 for the restricted license for a total of $70.00. You would show proof of enrollment in a drinking driving program and provide them with an SR-22 which you would get from your insurance agent showing your vehicle is insured. This action by the DMV in Sacramento is triggered by the court plea and is taken under the authority of Section 13352(a)(1) of the Vehicle Code, because of the DUI conviction. Thus, there can be two 6 month suspension/restricted license periods … one from DMV in San Bernardino and the other generated by the court plea which results in a Court Notice to DMV in Sacramento. The Sacramento DMV then sends you their Notice of Suspension. If that happens notify us ASAP.
This is Part 1 of a 2 Part Series. Stay tuned next week.
