What Issues are Addressed During a DMV Hearing?

In Illinois, when you are arrested for DUI and driving with a blood alcohol level over 0.08 percent, you will be issued a temporary driver’s license. Drivers have ten (10) days to request a DMV hearing or they automatically lose their driver’s license pending the criminal investigation. Most drivers who are arrested for DUI don’t take the time to read the small print on the paperwork they received at the police station, and miss scheduling the hearing and lose their license.

When you consult with a DUI attorney right after your arrest, they will make certain you do not waive your rights to the hearing or contest the suspension by not filing the request in time.

These are three of the issues that will be addressed by the hearing officer during a DMV hearing;

1. Arresting Officer Has Reasonable Cause
The first issue that will be discussed at the DMV hearing is whether the officer had enough cause to believe the driver was in violation of the drunk-driving codes in Illinois. Your DUI attorney needs as much time as possible between the arrest and the hearing to be able to poke holes in the prosecution defense and the evidence the officer collected at the scene of the DUI arrest.

The day that you contact your DUI attorney, they will get working to request the hearing, the stay, then all the discovery. By discovery, your attorney is going to request a copy of the police report from the night of the arrest, blood and breath test results, and the DVD of the audio and video made during the arrest.

This evidence is crucial for your attorney to be able to subpoena more evidence like blood test evidence, accuracy and calibration testing equipment records, as well as getting the arresting officer on the stand to answer questions. The DMV hearing is an opportunity for your DUI lawyer to uncover a mountain of potential evidence that can be used to poke many holes into the evidence presented by the prosecution’s case. Your DUI attorney is going to use the DMV hearing as a chance to ferret out unreliable evidence.

2. Legal Arrest of the Driver
The next issue that will be addressed at the DMV hearing is whether or not the driver was legally arrested. Luckily for your attorney, there will be documentation from the time the officer first spotted the vehicle to when the blood alcohol test was administered. The bad news, this mountain of evidence does take a considerable amount of time to carefully analyze. Your DUI attorney has decades experience in being able to identify instances where the arresting officer made a mistake and where the rights of the driver were not upheld.

Starting with the surveillance video when the officer observed driving patterns that lead them to think the driver was under the influence, your attorney is going to carefully look to see what lead to your car being pulled over. Regardless if the officer observed the car swerving, drifting, or weaving, there could be a medical reason for the occurrence or it could have simply been the result of the driver being tired or distracted.

3. Driving With 0.08 Blood Alcohol or Higher
Another issue that will be addressed at the DMV hearing is how high above the legal limit was your blood alcohol level. During your DUI stop, the arresting officer will have also conducted several field sobriety tests in their determination of whether or not you were driving impaired. When the officer wanted to test your blood alcohol level, they asked would you prefer to take a breath or blood test. Legally you have the right to choose one over the other, or refuse both. The refusal will negatively impact your case because you are in a sense giving up your privilege to operate a motor vehicle in the future.

Your attorney will try to dispute the test results or argue the refusal if needed. If you are able to win the DMV hearing, then you are going to receive an order of reinstatement that shows the DMV did rule in your favor at the hearing. Lose the hearing, your suspension is reinstated, you lose your driving privilege, and the criminal case awaits. The more time that you can give your DUI attorney, the better chance they will have to analyze all the evidence.

These issues that are addressed at the DMV hearing will determine if and for how long your driving privileges could be revoked. Not only is it imperative to schedule this hearing, but bringing along a skilled DUI attorney could make all the difference in your ability to operate a motor vehicle being taken away or you being able to beat the case.