What happens at DC DMV Hearing if charged with DUI?
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What happens at the DC DMV hearing regarding your license if charged with DUI in DC?
What happens at DC DMV Hearing if charged with DUI? So if are charged with DUI in the District of Columbia and now you want to know what happens at the DC DMV hearing regarding your driver’s license. In order to keep driving in the District of Columbia while your case is pending in DC Superior Court, you have to request a hearing at the DC Department of Motor Vehicles for the District of Columbia (DC DMV). So here are the steps you need to take with reference to the DC DMV if you get a DUI in the District of Columbia:
1. You must file your notice for a hearing with DC DMV within 10 days if your license is in the District of Columbia, 15 days if your license is any other state.
2. You must physically go to 955 L’Enfant Plaza, Washington, DC. (open from 8:30 to 4pm Monday through Friday) to schedule the hearing.
3. The DC DMV representative will give you dates for the hearing.
4. Most hearings are scheduled for 8:30 am in the morning Monday through Friday. Plan to spend about 1 1/2 hour (includes waiting time and actual hearing).
5. You will be called into the hearing room where you will sit at a table with the hearing examiner at the end of the table a little higher up than you. Everything is recorded.
6. If the police officer is not there, all you have to say is you contest the facts. Without a police officer, the hearing examiner will allow you to continue to drive while your case is pending in DC Superior Court.
7. If the police officer is there, the hearing examiner will ask him to state the facts to support a finding of DUI against you.
8. The hearing examiner will give you an opportunity to testify if you choose.
9. Normally, hearsay is admissible in these administrative hearings but not for the license revocation hearings. So, the actual officer who did the Standardized field sobriety test (SFST) and the chemical test must testify.
10. The police must show by clear and convincing evidence that you were driving under the influence. Remember this is not a criminal case so the burden of proof is different at the administrative hearing. You should be prepared and have obtained PD-251 (summary police report) and body worn camera footage(if available).
11. This is where having an attorney at the hearing may be helpful because he can cross-examine the officer. However, be mindful, that 90 percent (guessing on percentages but very high) of the time when the officer shows up you will lose the DC DMV hearing.
12. As always if you did not want to go through these steps on your own you can always contact your friendly neighborhood DC DUI lawyer!!
Request Your DMV Hearing After-DUI Arrest
TRANSCRIPT FROM VIDEO
Traffic lawyer in DC for DUI says request that DMV hearing request
Hello ladies and gentlemen. My name is Mark Rollins. I’m an attorney here in Washington, D.C. I’m also licensed in the state of Maryland.
Today we’re going to be talking about what you should do after being charged with DUI, OWI, or DWI if you’ve been stopped in D.C. and you’ve been charged and now you’re home and now you’re questioning what you should do.
I guess the first and foremost thing you should do is probably contact a lawyer. That’s the best thing you can do. What I want to discuss is if you don’t do anything and you’re still nervous, what I want to do right now is I want you to at least request the hearing with DMV. If your license is in D.C., you have to request that hearing within 10 days. I’m not talking about the court date, not going to D.C. Superior Court. What I’m talking about is requesting a hearing before the Department of Motor Vehicles. You have 10 days to make that request if you live in D.C. You have 15 days to make that request if you live outside of D.C.
That request for that hearing, all it’s going to do is that your license will not be suspended or revoked while the case is pending in D.C. Superior Court. Remember, you’ve only been charged with DUI; you haven’t been convicted of it. If you fail to request that hearing, then D.C. will just assume that you’re not contesting it and therefore they will suspend your driver’s license in D.C. regardless of whether you’ve been convicted or not. That’s the reason and the importance of requesting that hearing immediately. It will just stay the time period for them to suspend your driver’s license.
I hope that helps. Remember the first thing to do is to contact a good criminal defense lawyer. You can contact us. The number is on the screen. Look forward to hearing from you. If not, stay tuned in for our channels and thanks for watching. Bye.