Southern California Defense Blog

The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) may suspend your driver’s license for too many tickets. If you get 4 points in a year or 6 points in two years, you can get your driver’s license suspended. Some violations count as one point, others are 2 points.

The DMV mails a notice saying they are suspending your driver’s license. You are entitled to a hearing to fight the suspension. It is not a waste of time! There is more to the hearing than counting points. A competent, aggressive San Diego attorney can save your driver’s license. You need Wallin & Klarich. Give us a call at (619) 239-5051.

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It is illegal to operate a motor vehicle while your driving privileges are suspended. However, the Department of Motor Vehicles MUST inform you that your license is suspended. Knowledge is key. If you were never properly given notice of a driver's license suspension on your privileges by either the Court or the DMV, then you should not be found guilty of the violation of driving on suspended license. If you ever find yourself in a circumstance where you have been cited and or arrested for driving on a suspended license, a knowledgeable attorney can help you navigate through the system and make sure to defend you on every element of the crime.

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The Department of Motor Vehicles is charged with ensuring that those who drive on the city streets are able to do so in a safe manner. Frequently, if the DMV finds out that you had a seizure it will take away your license. Usually the DMV finds out about the seizure when notified by either a law enforcement officer or by a medical professional.

When the DMV wants to take away your license after a seizure, you have the right to be heard. You have the right to present testimony and evidence at a hearing in front of a DMV Hearing Officer. This hearing is called a Physical and Mental (P&M) Hearing. You also have the right to have a lawyer represent you at that hearing.

The most important piece of physical evidence is the doctor’s Medical Evaluation. Your doctor will have evaluated your medical condition. The doctor will fill out the DMV’s Medical Evaluation forms. The forms ask the doctor to explain what caused the seizure, what medications you are taking to prevent any further seizures, and whether, in the doctor’s opinion, you will be able to safely drive a vehicle. You have the right to see this Medical Evaluation. The DMV will base its decision largely on the information found in this Medical Evaluation.

Continue reading "Did the DMV Take Away Your License After You Had a Seizure? " »

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In California, a driver is allotted 4 points a year. If you go over the 4 points, you will get a notice of suspension from the DMV. DO NOT IGNORE THIS NOTICE. You will have 15 days to respond and set a hearing. At this DMV hearing Wallin & Klarich is able to bring out factors to help convince the DMV not to suspend your license. In most cases, Wallin & Klarich is at least able to get the DMV to place you on a probationary status, so that you can keep your license and prove to the DMV that they should still allow you to drive. If you ignore the notice and fail to set a hearing your license will be automatically suspended and you will have no recourse for a hearing. You will have to suffer the full length of the suspension, which can be up to 1 year. Wallin & Klarich has been helping people keep their drivers license for over 30 years. We understand the importance of a valid drivers’ license in the state of California. Call our criminal defense attorneys anytime. We will be available to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has crafted numerous methods of suspending or revoking a motorist’s driver’s license stemming from a wide variety of both criminal and civil traffic related and non traffic related legal matters. Suspensions and revocations can result from a violation of numerous California Vehicle Code (VC) offenses, failure to pay certain small claim’s judgments in full, failure to pay child support, and violations of certain California Penal Code violations (PC).

Perhaps the most common way of getting one’s California Drivers’ License (CDL) suspended is by violating certain sections of the Vehicle Code. Below are but a sample of the Vehicle Code sections that can result in a suspension of your CDL. The DMV shall immediately revoke your driving privileges for:

• Failure of the driver of a vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to any person to stop.
• Violation of VC §23152, misdemeanor driving under the influence, or VC§23153, felonious driving under the influence.
• Reckless driving causing bodily injury.
• Conviction of a second or subsequent offense of reckless driving.
• Conviction of manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle.
• Conviction of three or more violations of VC §20001, 20002 (failure to stop at accident), 23103, or 23104 (reckless driving) within a 12-month period.
• Conviction of a violation of PC §191.5 (Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated) or VC §2800.3 (Death or bodily injury caused while fleeing from police) that caused serious bodily injury resulting in a serious impairment of physical condition.
• Conviction of manslaughter resulting from the operation of a motor vehicle under the influence.

Continue reading "“How does DMV suspend thee? Let me count the ways.”" »

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Did you get a notice that DMV is suspending your driver’s license for too many points?

Here’s what’s going on. In California the DMV gives a point for most moving violations. Speeding, bad turns, rolling a stop sign etc. are one point. Some violations, like driving under the influence, or reckless driving are two points.

If you get four points in a year or six points in two years, the DMV may suspend your driver’s license. DMV sends a notice that says they are suspending your license unless you ask for a hearing. Want to stay on the road? It’s time for a lawyer that knows the DMV.

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DID YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN LOSE YOUR LICENSE IF YOU ARE ARRESTED AND CITED FOR DUI OR DRUGS? IN ADDITION IF YOU ARE ON PROBATION AND A TERM OF PROBATION IS DO NOT DRIVE WITH ANY MEASURABLE AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IN YOUR SYSTEM, THIS CAN BE REPORTED TO DMV FOR ACTION AGAINST YOUR LICENSE.

Speaking with a supervisor with the DMV’s Driver safety office, Officers are instructed to complete the Admin Per Se form (form ds367) for DUI’s where an officer arrests the driver for DUI for “DRUGS ONLY”. Officers are being instructed to do the Admin Per Se form on these “DRUGS ONLY” cases. On the front of the form they are instructed to check the box for “0.08% or more BAC chemical test results”, put a line through it and then write “DRUGS ONLY”. The officer will not take the driver’s CDL and will not give the pink copy of the Admin Per Se to the driver like they normally do with DUI arrests involving alcohol. If there is a situation where there is a combo of drugs and alcohol but the BAC is below .08, the officers are instructed to do the exact same thing as described above: Write “DRUGS ONLY”, DON’T take the CDL and DON’T give the suspect the pink copy. If they have a DUI with drug/alcohol combo where the BAC is .08 or more, the officer’s are instructed to do the Admin Per Se form (DS367), taking the suspect’s CDL and giving him the pink copy. The officers are being reminded that, when they have a DUI where they suspect a drug/alcohol combo, they still have to offer the breath test. If they choose to take a breath test, we do the breath test then call a blood tech in so we can detect the drugs.

Once the DMV gets the Admin Per Se Form on the “DRUGS ONLY” case, they will get a copy of the blood results. Once they get a confirmation that there were drugs in the suspect’s system, they will require the suspect to come in for a “re-examination”. The officer’s are being instructed to be detailed in their narrative on the Admin Per Se’s on the suspect’s bad driving. This “re-examination” CAN result in the suspect’s CDL being suspended, even if the suspect comes to his re-exam appearing to be sober of drugs or alcohol.

Continue reading "Saving Your License After a DUI" »

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In California the right to drive is a privilege. One of the easiest ways to ensure that your license to drive will remain secure is to become informed. After reading this article, you will learn the some of the many different actions that can result in loss of your driving privilege. This is the third in a series of three articles on this topic.

This section deals with the driving privileges of minors and the actions that can result in their loss of their license. For more information on these matters, call the California DMV Lawyers at Wallin & Klarich.

Drug and Alcohol Related Offenses Committed by Minors

Drug and Alcohol Related Offenses by Person under Age 21
If you are a minor and convicted of an offense involving drugs or alcohol, a court will suspend your driver license for one year. If you do not yet have a driver license, the court will order the delay of the issuance of your license for one year.

Driving Under the Influence by a Minor
The DMV will revoke your driver license if you are a minor and are convicted of a DUI. The DMV may revoke your license for one year or until you reach 18 years of age, whichever is longer.

Continue reading "Maintaining Your Driving Privilege - Part 3" »

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Many Californians are accustomed to driving their vehicles on a daily basis. Although it may appear that driving has become a right to all eligible citizens, the fact remains that a license to drive is a privilege granted by the state of California. One of the easiest ways to ensure that your license to drive will remain secure is to become informed. After reading this article, you will learn the many different actions that can result in loss of your driving privilege. This is the second in a series of three articles on this topic.

Miscellaneous Offenses Committed by Adults

Traffic Violation Point Count
Violation points are assigned to Vehicle Code sections involving the safe operation of a motor vehicle. If you accumulate too many points, the DMV may suspend, revoke, or place your driving privileges on probation. For instance, if you accumulate 4 points in 12 months, 6 points in 24 months, or 8 points in 36 months, your driver license may be suspended. Before you appear in court you need to make sure that pleading guilty to a traffic ticket will not lead to your license being suspended.

Racing or Reckless Driving
If you are convicted of racing or reckless driving, a court may suspend your driver license for up to 30 days for a first conviction, up to 60 days for a second conviction, and up to six months for three or more convictions. Additionally, if you are convicted of driving over 100 m.p.h. a court may suspend your driver license for up to 30 days.

Disorderly Conduct
A court may suspend your driver license for up to 30 days if you are convicted of disorderly conduct within 1,000 feet of a private residence.

Continue reading "Maintaining Your Driving Privlege - Part 2" »

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