You may not have been aware of this, but if you take a breath test and the reading
comes back at .08 or higher, you are subject to two penalties, civil and criminal.
The civil penalty, is a Department of Licensing suspension, which you can get more
details on by clicking the link.
But, if you do have a BAC that is .08 or higher, all is not lost. The DOL has to
give you a hearing to determine whether or not your driver's license should be suspended.
All you have to do is ask for it.
To ask for a hearing you must inform the DOL within 20 days of your breath test
that you want to have a hearing. A $200 fee must also be paid. Once you do that,
the DOL will set a hearing where they will consider the facts surrounding your case
and decide if your driving privileges should be suspended or not.
Fighting a DOL suspension can be done on four grounds. Each of these grounds is
highly technical and should probably only be done with a
Seattle DUI attorney at your side. The four grounds are:
- the initial stop was illegal;
- there wasn't probable cause to arrest for DUI;
- the implied consent warnings were improperly given;
- the test itself was improperly given.
If you can show that any of these four conditions exist, it is possible to have
your DOL driver's license suspension thrown out. This means you get to keep your
driver's license.
If you are interested in hiring a Seattle DUI attorney to help you with your DOL
hearing and DUI charge, please give us a call today at 206-651-4245. We offer
a free consultation and competitive fees throughout King County, including Seattle,
Bellevue, Kirkland, Shoreline, Burien, Issaquah, Redmond, Renton, Mercer Island,
and Medina.