DUI Suspension

When you were arrested for DUI, your license to drive was automatically suspended if you either refused to provide a breath or urine sample or if you provided a breath sample over the .08 legal limit. However, you were probably provided with a temporary driving permit for 30 days.

If your license was suspended upon your arrest you have 10 days to file a request for an administrative hearing. This hearing is allow you an opportunity to contest the suspension of your license.

DIFFERENT SUSPENSIONS

This suspension is different then the suspension that will occur if you are convicted of DUI. An administrative suspension by the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles is a consequence for either providing a breath sample (BAC) over a .08 or for refusing to provide a breath or urine sample.

These suspensions will remain in place successfully challenged through an administrative review process. If the administrative review is ruled on in your favor, then you license will be reinstated. If not then the suspension will remain. In order to challenge your suspension, there must be a request for an administrative hearing filed with in 10 days of your arrest, otherwise the right to challenge the suspension is forever lost.

ADMINISTRATIVE HEARING

The administrative hearing is held in front of a single person acting as referee. This one person who has your driving fate in their hands is an employee of the Florida Department of Motor Vehicles. Needless to say the chance of prevailing is slim. Additionally, the law is constantly changing as to what can be argued and what can not be argued at this hearing. There was a point when the legality of the stop could be challenged. Now the legality of the stop is no longer open to attack in these “administrative hearings”. I am not going into detail here as to what things are permitted to be argued because this area of the law is constantly in flux. Any explanation of the law I provide today will probably be obsolete tomorrow.

You might be wondering, “Why are they allowed to have different rules for the administrative hearing then in the criminal prosecution?”. In the criminal prosecution the consequences include loss of liberty through probation, jail, or prison. The risk of an administrative review is no more then the loss of driving privileges. Your ability to drive is simply a privilege and not a right therefore the due process protections are not as available as they are in a criminal matter. This is also why the hearing officer is permitted to a biased employee of the DMV.

However, with this being said, there are benefits to challenging the Administrative Suspension. These include an early chance to get discovery and the ability to cross examine the police officer before the actual trial.

And you have nothing to loose that you haven’t lost already.

Call em today to discuss your options.

Robert Tager
Attorney at Law
(727) 723-1616