When you are charged with a DUI, you will be given a date to appear in court. This court hearing deals with the criminal proceedings of your case. Also, it determines if you are innocent or guilty of the DUI charge. In court, you will be able to present the facts you have collected concerning your case. Then, you can attempt to build a defense against the charges before a verdict is reached. If the court determines that you are guilty, you will then receive punishments such as fines and jail time.

However, your court case does not affect the suspension of your driver’s license. To deal with this potential punishment, you have to go to a restoration of license hearing with the DMV. If you hire an attorney to help with your criminal case, they can also accompany you to the DMV hearing.

Restoration of License Hearing

A restoration of license hearing is an administrative proceeding concerning your driving privileges only. If your license has been suspended for a reason other than a DUI, you will also attend a restoration of license hearing. Based on this hearing, the DMV will decide if your license should be suspended and for how long.

The DMV hearing deals with the circumstances of your arrest, while a court hearing will decide if you are actually guilty or not guilty. In some cases, you might receive a verdict of not guilty by the court, but you can still have your license suspended by the DMV. This is because the DMV will launch its own investigation into your case and uses its own guidelines for determining if your license should be suspended or not.

We always attend the DMV hearing with or for our clients. This is because if you don’t attend, your license will automatically be suspended. We fight for the opportunity to get our clients their licenses back in every single case. We are happy to help with your situation.