The San Diego DUI / DMV hearing
for a possible license suspension is like a mini-DUI trial
without a jury, but with much different San Diego DMV rules,
San Diego DMV laws and San Diego DMV procedures. The
San Diego DUI / DMV hearing is presided over by a Driver
Safety Officer (DMV hearing officer) rather than a real
judge, an employee of the DMV not trained in law who acts
as both prosecutor and judge. As unfair as it is,
she or he can legally object to your evidence, rule on her
or his own objection, dually engage your San Diego DUI /
DMV lawyer, and admit or not admit either party's evidence.
The San Diego Driver Safety
Officer offers evidence in the form of documents and/or
witnesses. The Driver Safety Officer offers the San
Diego drunk driving / DUI police report, DMV records, San
Diego DUI alcohol reports and the important San Diego DUI
officer's sworn statement entitled a "DS 367." With
no Fifth Amendment right at the hearing, your San Diego
DUI / DMV attorney usually will not want you to be present
at the hearing since the Driver Safety Officer can call
you as a witness and force you to testify against yourself
if you ill-advisedly appear.
The San Diego DMV Driver
Safety Officer's decision will usually be mailed a few days
or even weeks after the hearing. A San Diego DMV /
DMV suspension can be set aside or sustained. If the
San Diego DMV suspension is sustained, the decision can
be appealed to the DMV in Sacramento and/or to the San Diego
Superior court by filing a San Diego DMV petition for writ
of mandamus.
A San Diego DUI lawyer's
defenses at an APS hearing are specialized and technical,
more so than in criminal court. Frequent San Diego
DUI / DMV proof problems - as well as legal, procedural
and bureaucratic obstacles - are possible grounds for setting
aside the suspension.
Because of the peculiar nature
of San Diego DUI / DMV hearings and the absence of an independent
San Diego DUI judge to offer some protection, you are strongly
advised not to try to represent yourself. Because
these are not San Diego DUI criminal proceedings, San Diego
County public defenders are unavailable.
Your San Diego DUI / DMV
attorney has just 10 CALENDAR DAYS after the DUI arrest
to call the San Diego DMV Driver Safety Office to timely
demand a hearing. You waive your right to a hearing
after the 10 day deadline is up.
If your San Diego DUI / DMV
attorney has not been retained within 10 days of the arrest,
you should contact the local Driver's Safety Office yourself,
request a 5 day extension so you can get a San Diego DUI
/ DMV Attorney Specialist.
Alternatively, if your request
for an extension is denied by the San Diego DMV supervisor,
request an In-person hearing, the Discovery (evidence),
a Stay (stop) of the Suspension, and the Name of the Driver
Safety Officer.
Please ask for the name of
the person you speak with. Please do not discuss the
reasons why you are contesting the suspension. The
San Diego Driver Safety Office is located at 9174 Sky Park
Avenue, Suite 200, San Diego (858/627-3901 or fax 858/627-3925).
The San Diego DMV may not
be able to schedule a hearing before your 30-day temporary
license expires. Your San Diego DUI / DMV lawyer will
request a Notice of Stay of the 30-day temporary license
until a San Diego DMV hearing is provided and a San Diego
DMV decision is actually rendered.
