How can I save my driving privileges?
A DUI arrest in Alameda County triggers three potential consequences.
First, a person with an Alameda County DUI arrest faces the challenge of preserving his/her driving privileges. Second, the person must prepare an effective DUI defense to avoid a criminal conviction. Third, the driver has to dodge the DMV mandated installation of an ignition interlock device. A DUI arrest and conviction in Alameda County for a first offense DUI requires the use of an ignition interlock device for five months.
If you suffer a DUI arrest in Alameda County, you have only ten calendar days following the seizure of your license by police and its replacement with the pink colored temporary license to contact the DMV. Please note: if you intend to hire an attorney, the attorney and not you should contact the DMV.
An experienced DUI attorney can help you avoid the pitfalls at DMV that are associated with a DUI arrest. First, the DMV hearings are far from fair. Unlike in court, where a judge cannot work for you or the other side, the hearing officer who decides the fate of your license works for the very side who is trying to suspend your license: the DMV. The DMV has an enormous advantage, because they hire, fire, train, promote, and, most importantly, pay the salary of the hearing officer. The hearing officer is their employee!
The person who is supposed to be neutral and objective, the hearing officer, actually works as an employee of the other side. Consider this: if you could hire the judge in the criminal portion of your DUI defense, how many times out of ten do you think you would lose? Exactly my point about the DMV and how the cards, unless you are careful, are stacked against you.
The second pitfall you face with the DMV as a result of your DUI arrest is that the hearing officer, who is supposed to be neutral and fair but is paid by the other side, has a second role or function at the hearing. In addition to being your judge at your hearing, the hearing officer is also the spokesperson/advocate for the DMV. That means: if you ever attend a DMV hearing, you will never see an attorney there representing the DMV. Why? The hearing officer is the representative of the DMV.
Despite the shortcomings of the hearings, the hearings can be won and are won. But if you want to have any chance at winning, you need the assistance of an experienced DUI lawyer, such as Mark Blair. You should call Mark at (510) 845-4343 for a free, confidential and informative consultation. Mark has practiced DUI defense for over 26 years and has handled hundreds of DMV related hearings in Alameda County.