License suspension
The license clock starts before the court one
After a DUI stop, your license is usually handled by the state’s driver licensing office, not the judge. It has its own deadline, and that deadline is short: often a matter of days.
Miss it, and the suspension can take effect without anyone hearing your side. Ask in time, and there’s a hearing, a record, and sometimes a way to keep driving to work while the rest plays out. The papers the officer gave you usually say how long you have. If you can’t find them, call me and we’ll work it out today.
The hearing
Turn by turn through a license hearing
A license hearing is shorter and less formal than a trial, but what’s said there is on the record.
Step 1: Ask for the hearing in time
I file the request and confirm it was received. This is the step that can’t wait.
Step 2: Get the record
The officer’s report, the test records and any video. I read them before the hearing, not at it.
Step 3: The hearing itself
Often by phone or video. I question the officer where that’s allowed and make the arguments the record supports.
Step 4: Driving while it runs
Where the law allows a work or restricted permit, I help you apply and tell you exactly what it covers.
Find the deadline on your papers
Read me the date on the notice you were handed, or text me a photo of it. I’ll tell you how much time is left.