Utah DUI and Your Driver License: The Saga Continues

In a previous post we talked about the Driver License Division taking away your license after you receive a DUI in Utah and what to do about it. 

Just to make it more difficult, they change the laws and rules every few years, sometimes every year, and many people don't know what to do after getting a DUI in order to keep their license. While you're busy hopping from one foot to the next, they suspend your license and make it much more difficult to keep your job, get to school, or shuffle your kids around. 

Here's a few additional tips and updates on DUI's and your license to try and prevent the DLD from suspending. If you haven't read our previous post on DUI's and your license, read that first here:

REQUEST A HEARING

It's just amazing to me how many people do not request a driver license hearing after getting a DUI. An attorney can and should do it for you but it has to be done within 10 days. No exceptions. Not even if your grandma's in the hospital. Not if your dog's sick. Not even if the series finale of Breaking Bad is on and you just can't get down to the Driver License Division. You just have to do it. 

If you can't hire an attorney right away (and as I wrote in my previous post, everyone should hire a good DUI attorney right after receiving a DUI. Most firms offer extremely flexible payment plans so take advantage of them) then you will need to request it yourself. It's easy: just go down to your nearest Driver License Division Office and request a driver license hearing for your DUI. Many people choose to do it by mail. I wouldn't recommend this. Mail gets lost or misfiled and your driver license is too important to take that risk. Just go down there and do it or hire a good DUI attorney to do it for you. 

DON'T DO THE HEARING YOURSELF

This should go without saying but many people do the DUI driver license hearing themselves and predictably lose their driver licenses. I wouldn't install my own plumbing system: you hire experts for that sort of thing. Same thing goes here. Your best shot is to have someone in the DUI hearing that knows what they're doing. 

PRIOR DUI'S: AN EASY WAY TO LOSE YOUR LICENSE

Having a prior DUI is asking for you to lose your license. Even if you win the hearing, the DLD has been pulling some sneaky tricks lately. For example, lets say a good attorney gets your DUI dropped to reckless driving or impaired driving, which shouldn't suspend your license. Well if your current DUI is your second, it still suspends, even if you're not convicted of DUI but of something else! Also, even on a first DUI, if you have another alcohol related offense on your record, you may be required to get an ignition interlock device. When enter a deal on the DUI, the Driver License Division suspends your license indefinitely stating that you were required to have an interlock device and they won't give it back unless you get one installed and get them proof. The point is: if you got a DUI, the DLD wants to take your license and will do everything possible to take it from you. 

WORK EXCEPTION LICENSES

Many states have work exception licenses granted to people who receive DUI's. For example, Nevada allows you to drive to work after serving half of your 90 day suspension on a first DUI. Utah does have a work exception, but as one employee at the DLD told us, he has never seen it granted on a DUI. You have to get the DUI reduced to see if you even qualify and then you will have a hearing and be denied. I have never, in the over 1500 DUI cases I've handled as both a prosecutor and a DUI defense attorney, seen even one of these work exception licenses granted. Don't hold your breath if you think this is a way out of your suspension. A much better way is to hire a good DUI attorney and let them do their job. 

THE DLD WANTS YOUR LICENSE

DUI's are unique crimes. You have a massive lobby group, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, who are shaping the laws to be less and less favorable to DUI offenders. The license is where they hit you the hardest. If your license is important to you, and especially if you have a special driving privlege license like a CDL, don't roll the dice just to save a few bucks on a DUI attorney. Hire one and let them deal with the headache. 

Utah DUI's and Your Driver License

So you've gotten a DUI in Utah. It's not something you normally do and now you're worried about the consequences. Aside from going to jail, what's your top priority right now? It should be keeping your driver license.

Can you imagine not being able to drive for anywhere from four months to three years? I certainly can't. Some of my clients have even told me they would be willing to go to jail if they could keep their driver licenses!

Utah is one of the strictest state's when it comes to suspending driver licenses after a DUI. You need every advantage you can get.

Here are some tips on how to keep your driver license after you get a DUI in Utah:

Hire an Attorney

I know, I know, it sounds self-serving for an attorney to say "hire an attorney." But think about it: some attorneys, myself included, do hundreds of DUI's. That means hundreds of driver license hearings to try and keep our clients' licenses. It's just common sense that the more something is practiced the better you'll be at it. The fact is, these hearings are complex and the rules are rigid. Miss one deadline, send a fax to the wrong place, call the wrong number, and your license is suspended. There are a lot of bad attorneys out there that won't do anything for you, so if you are going to hire an attorney, make sure they've done plenty of DUI's and have received at least some training in conducting DUI defense in Utah. DUI's are not like other criminal cases because of the technicalities and science involved. Law school doesn't prepare one to handle these. Your attorney should have additional training.

2

Request a Hearing with the Driver License Division

You MUST MUST MUST, request a hearing within ten days of receiving your DUI in Utah. That includes weekends, holidays, emergencies, hospitalizations, whatever. If you miss the ten day deadline, there's almost nothing that can be done. You can request a review for a late hearing, but these are rarely granted. I had one client who only spoke Spanish and the officer informed him of the hearing in English. He, obviously, missed the ten day deadline and hired us later to handle the case. The Driver License Division still would not give him a new hearing, even though he was never really given notice of the hearing. We had to appeal it all the way to the Third District Court and take the case away from the Driver License Division before anything was done. Remember, you can fax or take down your hearing request to the Driver License Division in person, but do not miss that ten day deadline. I recommend you go the day after and just get it done.

3

Get All the Reports

You're entitled to the DUI reports, blood, breath and urine results, intoxilyzer checklists and printouts, and just about everything else that is going to be introduced at the hearing. Make sure you get these early on from the Driver License Division.

4

Pick Your Issues

Attack every little irrelevant piece of information at the hearing and the hearing officer will tune you out at best and tell you to cut it out and move on at worst. Pick the best issues to attack and stick to them. Don't let the officer get away with statements like, "And then I performed the field sobriety tests and he failed." Make him describe what training he's received in performing the FST's, how many times he's performed them, and how he performed them on the night in question. Remember, the standard is so low at a hearing, you need something very wrong with the case to win. Do your homework and remember that DUI police officers are only human; they do make mistakes.

5

Appeal

If you lose the hearing, you will receive a notice in a couple of weeks letting you know the date your driver license is officially suspended. For a first DUI offense the suspension is 120 days. A second DUI is two years. You have the right to request a review of your suspension in writing to the Driver License Division. If they send a letter to you informing you that they are upholding the suspension, you can then appeal to the local district court and place the case in front of a judge instead of a hearing officer. Of course, for DUI's in Utah, the Attorney General's Office takes over at this point and the prosecutor they have handle the driver license hearings is an expert at them. She's also pleasant and a good person, but talented and aggressive so be careful. If you lose the appeal, you can try and take it up to the Utah Court of Appeals and the Utah Supreme Court, but there would have to be something seriously wrong for them to consider it.

By Yossof Sharifi Google Photo: Mclovin: From the movie Superbad