SANTA CRUZ COUNTY DUI DMV PROCESS

Santa Cruz County DUI DMV Hearing

When a driver is arrested for a DUI in Santa Cruz County, the arresting officer will issue a DS-367 form. This is a temporary license until the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) matter is resolved at a hearing. This form gives the driver notice that he/she has 10 days from the date of your arrest to request a DMV hearing. When a DUI arrest is made it automatically triggers the DMV license suspension process.

The DMV driver's license suspension for DUI in Santa Cruz County is separate from the criminal DUI case. It is important that you request a DMV hearing through the Santa Cruz County Driver Safety Office within 10 days of your arrest. The DMV hearing is held at the Santa Cruz County Driver Safety Office. When you retain a Santa Cruz County DUI attorney within ten days of your arrest, he can handle the DMV hearing for you.

At the hearing a DMV representative will meet with you, or your DUI attorney, to discuss your case. It is important to know that the DMV representative has dual roles of prosecutor and judge.  This means that the DMV representative will present evidence against a person and argue why a person should not have his/her driving privileges reinstated.  The DMV representative will also serve as a judge. This means that the representative will make a final ruling after carefully examining the facts and evidence in the case. If a driver is found guilty, driving privileges will be suspended for a specific period of time.  If the DMV representative finds that the person is not guilty, the person’s driving privileges will be reinstated. 

Sometimes people choose to represent themselves at the DMV hearing.  Most people are not trained or knowledgeable in successfully pleading their case and end up losing their driving privileges.  In these cases, it is almost always beneficial to retain the services of a reliable Santa Cruz County DUI attorney.  An expert DUI attorney will defend you at the DMV hearing by challenging evidence and questioning the arresting officer or witness testimony. He can also help you obtain a hardship license.