The procedure that results in driver’s license suspension in a drunk driving is completely different from that of an ordinary moving violation. Under most state laws, the law enforcement officer will suspend the driver’s license even before the suspect has been convicted of the offense. Following an arrest in a DUI case, the police officer will take the driver’s license and in its place issue a temporary license that expires at a later date. The license becomes suspended on that expiry date, unless the suspects DUI lawyer has prevailed at a DMV hearing.
It is the responsibility of the person charged with DUI to request a DMV hearing. The driver’s license becomes automatically suspended by the DMV in the absence of a request for a hearing. This can take place irrespective of whether the charges are reduced later or even dismissed in a court of law. The DMV hearing provides an opportunity to the suspect to argue against license suspension by and through his DUI defense lawyer.
