California DMV Driver’s Safety Offices

For California driving under the influence of alcohol cases, there's basically two different branches of the Department of Motor Vehicles or DMV that you'll be dealing with.  The Sacramento main office of DMV handles what are called "Mandatory Suspensions' while the local DMV Driver's Safety Offices handle the Administrative Per Se or APS suspension cases.  Every excessive blood alcohol content or BAC case (DUI with BAC in excess of .08% ) will have an APS DMV hearing case, unless the licensee fails to contact the Driver's Safety Office within ten days of the DUI arrest to request a hearing and stay of license suspension.  A DMV mandatory suspension occurs after the individual is convicted of a DUI in court, either a violation of California Vehicle Code Section 23152 or Vehicle Code Section 23153.

California drivers often confuse these two branches of DMV and for that reason they'll call Sacramento DMV only to find out that they must contact some other DMV office to make their request. Indeed, licensees will often be given incorrect information which makes the process even more cumbersome leading them to give up and just accept that their California Driver's License will be suspended.  This is unfortunate because DMV hearings can be won no matter how high the BAC and whether it's a first offense DUI or a fourth offense felony DUI.   DMV APS hearings are basically hearings to determine whether or not the evidence against the licensee is admissible not how bad it is.  In fact, the hearing officers in the DMV hearings are specifically trained to not consider any individual factors like who the person is or how badly they need to drive a car.  While this may be closed minded and insensitive, it means that any California DUI case where the DMV hearing paperwork and sworn statements are prepared in error, can result in a set aside of the license suspension.  This issues that matter most for success in a California DMV hearing unfortunately are only known by trained and experienced driving under the influence defense attorneys.

The Department of Motor Vehicles Driver's Safety Offices are staffed with hearing officers who hear all types of DMV hearings in addition to driving under the influence or DUI Administrative Per Se or APS hearings.  Nevertheless, it is their duty to present the Department's evidence which usually consists of a police arrest report, a chemical test result, i.e. blood test results or a copy of a breath test printout, along with the arresting officers sworn statement or DS367 and the licensee's driver's license printout.  Actual witnesses are rarely called to testify and so long as the DMV's documents have been completed thoroughly and survive defense counsel's admissibility objections, the Department will enter them into evidence thus shifting the evidentiary burden to the licensee to present evidence that draws into question the accuracy of the chemical test evidence.  Since this evidence rarely exists or is deemed speculative, the DMV hearing is usually won on the admissibility of evidence not it's actual content.  That said, a .10% BAC DMV hearing usually has the same rate of success as a .25% BAC case when it comes to saving the client's California Driver's License.  While these numbers are daunting for a .10% BAC DUI case, they also provide hope for otherwise hopeless DMV hearings for elevated BAC. 

Refusal cases are the exception when it comes to witnesses testifying at a Department of Motor Vehilces hearing at the Driver's Safety Office.  A refusal hearing happens when the arresting officer in a DUI case claims on the sworn DS367 that the licensess refused to provide either a breath or a blood sample after being advised by the officer that they had already consented to provide a sample when they were issued their driver's license something called "implied consent."  The arresting officer must further advise that the individual's California Driver's License will be suspended for aminimum of one year for continued refusal to provide a sample.  A warrant is then obtained from a judge for the arresting officer to forceably take a blood sample for analysis.  Raferly are refusal cases  recorded, either by audio or video, so these cases turn on who said what to whom and when.  Therefore, witness testimony and cross examination is crucial.  Moreover, since refusal cases at the DMV deny a licensee even the possibility of a restricted license, these are high stakes hearings that can make the difference between a client losing a driver's license for one or two years with no restriction.  Indeed, failure to contact the Department of Motor Vehicle Driver's Safety Office within the required ten days for a DUI refusal case is absolutely critical.   A California licensee facing a DMV hearing for a refusal case has almost zero chance of success unless they're represented by the most seasoned San Francisco DUI defense attorney. 

You should hire an experienced driving under the influence defense attorney within ten days of your arrest date and they will take care of all of your DMV hearing request obligations.  Nevertheless, if you haven't been able to secure the legal representation that you need for your San Francisco Bay Area and California DUI case, then you should contact your local Department of Motor Vehicles Driver's Safety Office yourself within the ten day limit and your DUI lawyer can take over once you've finalized that important hiring decision.  Below is a list of all the local San Francisco Bay Area DMV Driver's Safety Offices in the State of California.