San Diego DUI Lawyer

The 10-Day Rule

Did you know that you only have 10 calendar days from the date of your drunk driving arrest to challenge the automatic suspension of your driver's license? If you do not contact the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) and schedule a hearing to contest this suspension, your license will be automatically suspended for 4 months or 1 year, for a first offense. You need to act quickly and involve a San Diego DUI lawyer to help you challenge your suspension.

About the 10-Day Rule and Administrative License Suspension Proceedings in San Diego

When a driver is arrested for DUI, the officer will confiscate his or her license. The officer will issue an Order of Suspension and Temporary License to the driver, which will allow him or her to drive for 30 days from the date of the notice, provided the driver's license is not suspended or revoked for any other reason. This is the first step in administrative license suspension proceedings initiated by the DMV. If the driver does not contest the suspension of his or her license, it will be automatically suspended 30 days after the arrest based upon the grounds that the driver either failed or refused a chemical test to determine his or her blood alcohol concentration after an arrest for suspected DUI.

You will need to contact the proper division of the DMV and schedule an administrative license suspension hearing, often referred to as a DMV hearing, which will allow you the opportunity to show that the suspension is not justified. You must contact the DMV within 10 days of the date of your arrest, or you will lose the right to a hearing.

Challenging license suspension proceedings requires a thorough knowledge of these proceedings as well as the resources to prove that the driver did not actually fail or refuse a breath or blood test after his or her DUI arrest. These matters are technical in nature and are best addressed by a skilled professional, if you are to have the best opportunity of keeping your license.

Contact a San Diego DUI Attorney at our law firm today to discuss the 10-day rule and how we can help you.