What Happens To My Driver’s License After I Am Charged With A DUI?

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When you signed up for your driver’s license in Florida, you signed something called implied consent. Implied consent is twofold. It states that if officers have cause to pull you over and they ask you to take a breath test, then you will submit to it. If you don’t take that breath test, implied consent says that they can suspend your driver’s license. If you do take the test, implied consent discusses the fact that you agree that you will not blow above a 0.08. So, if it’s above a 0.08, they can suspend your license. The implied consent that the officer reads you through the state issued card sums up the suspension as being automatic. It is not automatic, because you can contest that suspension. There are two proceedings that are going to go on: one with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and one with criminal court.

At the beginning stages of your suspension after your arrest, the DMV immediately proceeds against you. Within 10 days of the date of the arrest, you can request a formal review hearing. During that 10 day period, you can use the DUI traffic citation as your permit to drive for any reason. That’s supposed to be the stopgap that allows you the time to set up the Department of Motor Vehicles hearing. During the pendency of that hearing, we’ll get you an extended permit from the 10 days in the neighborhood of 30 days (it could be 20 days, or it could be 40 days). It is a license designed to provide you with a way to get to and from work while they are making a decision on your case, and while you wait for a hearing. If we win the hearing you will get your full license back.

However, they have a second swipe at your license in criminal court. If you lose the hearing, and if you had taken a breath test, there is a period of 30 days of hard time. That hard time is a period in which you are ineligible for a driver’s license. Other than those 30 days, I can keep you driving. There are hoops that we need to jump through in order to get that done, but during those 30 days I cannot do anything to get the license back. If you refused to take a breath test, that hard time is 90 days. Once that’s done, there are things that we need to do in order to keep you driving.

That being said, there is a separate waiver program that the state has introduced in the last few years. That waiver program says that if you agree to waive the hearing, they’ll give you a business purpose license that’s good through the pendency of the case. Depending on your individual situation, this may be something that you need to do in order to maintain your employment or maintain your life.

The best decision is to do the Department of Motor Vehicles hearing. The primary reason behind that is that we can subpoena all of the officers and any other witnesses they have, and we get to ask them anything we want about the case at that hearing. That testimony is admissible in criminal court, and oftentimes, it’s the best testimony that we can get. We are required to notify the state’s attorney of the hearings, but they never attend. In the 21 years that I’ve been doing this, I’ve had them attend one time, and it was because that individual was leaving the state attorney’s office and wanted to learn how to do the Department Of Motor Vehicles hearing. So, it’s a really important tool, and we can talk about how it would impact your individual life, and help you to decide whether you want to do the waiver or the hearing.

What Happens If I Waive The Department Of Motor Vehicles Hearing?

That waiver program is only applicable to a first time DUI case. Everything that I have talked about with the driver’s license applies only to first time DUIs. There is no waiver program for second time DUIs, and there are no hardship licenses. We are definitely going to request the formal review hearing if we are dealing with a second or multiple DUIs. The waiver program was created in order to try and cut down on the number of hearings that they have, and the carrot is to offer you that hardship license. If you drive for a living, it can be a lifesaver. But again, that DMV hearing is hard to pass up because it’s such a useful tool in criminal court, particularly because the court has recently limited our ability to take depositions in misdemeanors. You have to show good cause as to why you need to take a deposition, and the local practice of the judiciary has been to deny the order if the officer or a witness has given a sworn statement.

Who Is Required To Have An Ignition Interlock Device Placed In Their Car?

In Florida, there are a few different situations in which an ignition interlock device will be placed in your vehicle. If you are convicted of a DUI and your breath test was above 0.15, the statute mandates that you have an ignition interlock device installed in your car. If it is a second or subsequent DUI, the statute mandates that an ignition interlock be placed in your car. I have individuals that come in and say, “I don’t want an ignition interlock device. I don’t want them to cut into my car to install this. I’m just not going to drive during this period of time.” Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work that way.

You could go years without driving, and when you get your driver’s license back, you will still have to go through that period of time designated by the court for the ignition interlock. They don’t let you skip that timeframe. So, no matter what you do, you are going to have to have it installed. One of the primary issues is that it’s not inexpensive. It’s an expensive system to have installed, and you have to pay a monthly fee to maintain it.

For more information on Driver’s License Consequences In A DUI, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (239) 263-4384 today.