3 Huge Keys to Winning Your DMV APS Hearing on a California DUI

If you have been arrested for a DUI, you likely searched the internet for a lawyer to represent you.  In your search, you likely learned that you will lose your California driver license unless you schedule a DMV Administrative Per Se (APS) hearing within 10 days.  Chances are, you then searched the internet for ways to win the DMV APS hearing, and here you are, reading this post.

There are 3 key things you can do to maximize your chances to winning your APS hearing and saving your California driver license.  I will go through these one by one.

First, know the law.  This is numero uno.  In California, the DMV APS hearing is governed by various codes, statutes, regulations, and case law.  The California Vehicle Code, California Government Code, California Evidence Code, California’s Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations, and various court decisions are the most important laws that you need to be familiar with in order to win the hearing.  Let me give you a great example of why this is so important.  The very first DMV APS hearing I ever conducted was a win.  I started out 1-0, 100%.  Now, the facts of the case were horrible.  There was no question my client was guilty of a DUI.  There was no question that my client deserved, under the law, to have his license suspended due to drunk driving.  However, included in the many laws that apply to APS hearings, are many very technical and nit-picky hoops that law enforcement and the DMV have to jump through in order to be able to suspend a person’s license.  I knew the smallest details of these laws, and I knew that law enforcement did not follow them to the T in this case.  End result?  Because I was able to show that law enforcement didn’t follow the law as precisely as they were supposed to, the DMV was unable to suspend my client’s California driver license.  Moral of the story?  Even if you’re guilty of a DUI, you can save your license if you know the law.

Second, prepare.  You need to prepare for the hearing before you show up for the hearing.  You need to know the facts better than the DMV hearing officer does.  This means that you must have read the entire police report, all the lab results, all the witness statements and any other evidence the DMV has.  It is extremely common for the DMV to send this to you just a couple days or even the same day as the hearing itself.  The DMV does this because they don’t want you to have time to prepare for the hearing.  In a recent case that just came out in April 2011, a California Appellate court reaffirmed the fact that you have a due process right to receive the evidence before the hearing, and that the DMV must send it to you so that you have enough time to prepare.  When the DMV denies you enough time to prepare, they are at the same time denying you a “full and fair opportunity to present a meaningful case.”  Preparing for your DMV APS hearing may include hiring an expert witness, such as a forensic toxicologist, to testify at your hearing.  It may mean having other witnesses show up at the hearing, or it may mean you have to subpoena more records from law enforcement agencies.  In order to do any of these things, you need to have enough time to get them done.

Third, hire an attorney to do 1 and 2 for you.  The average Joe is extremely unlikely to be able to do 1 and 2 by him or herself.  The best way to win your DMV hearing is to have an experienced and knowledgeable DMV/DUI lawyer handle it for you.  Sure, you’ll have to pay the lawyer to do it.  But if you don’t hire a lawyer, you’ll really pay for it–by losing your driver license.

If you are interested in hiring a DMV/DUI lawyer represent you in your California DMV APS hearing, act right away.  Putting it off can only hurt your case.  To learn more about me and how I may be able to help you, go to http://www.lounsberylaw.com/.