When a friend or loved one faces a San Diego drunk driving charge, DMV / DUI Hearing issues arise. Many questions are answered by a competent defense attorney.
A San Diego DUI / DMV hearing for a possible license suspension is sort of a mini-DUI trial. San Diego DMV hearings are heard by a Driver Safety Officer (DMV hearing officer) not a real judge, as both prosecutor and judge. She or he can legally object to your evidence, unfairly rule on her or his own objection, dually engage your San Diego DUI / DMV lawyer, and admit or not admit either party’s evidence.
San Diego Driver Safety Officers offer 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.
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.
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 made.
San Diego DMV Lawyer Rick Mueller lectured at the
Annual DUI Seminar
in connection with the American Bar Association at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. San Diego California Criminal Defense Attorney Rick Mueller spoke at the prestigious California Attorneys For Criminal Justice
A Day in the Desert with the DUI Experts – Annual DUI seminar
.