Question: I was arrested for a DUI two days ago. I was looking over the paperwork and saw information regarding an administrative hearing with the Washington Department of Licensing. Should I request a hearing with the DOL?
Answer: First and foremost, if this is a non-blood draw case you only have 20 days from the date of arrest to request an administrative hearing with the Department of Licensing. Otherwise, your right to a hearing is waived. Next, the cost of the hearing is $375.00 and payment must accompany your request for the administrative hearing. Should you request a hearing? More times than not, I will advise a request for an administrative hearing. Administrative hearings are limited universe matters. In other words, the Hearing Examiner is more or less limited to the documentation submitted to the DOL by the arresting officer and in some instances supplemental reports from assisting officers. Typically, the documents consist of the driving under the influence arrest report, the police officer’s narrative and the BAC ticket and datamaster certification. And any documentation the petitioner (the person challenging the proposed administrative driver’s license suspension) elects to submit for review. What does this mean? Any information not contained in the reports submitted to the DOL can often be argued in favor of you. For example, the officer forgot to check the box indicating he or she was certified to operate the datamaster machine. Or the officer forgot to check the box indicating he or she “observed the subject from the time of the mouth check through the completion of the breath test”. Perhaps the stop was based on an alleged traffic infraction but the officer fails to spell out with exactness and specificity the traffic infraction observed. There are many more examples of fatal mistakes that can result in a favorable ruling with the Department of Licensing but for the briefness of this Q&A, I wanted to mention some of the more common mistakes I see that lead to dismissal. All the above said, you should call a criminal defense attorney immediately. Schedule a consult. And address the DOL hearing without delay. Again, you only have 20 days from the date of arrest to request a hearing with the DOL or your right to a hearing is waived.
Matthew R. Hoff, Attorney at Law is a criminal defense law firm located in the Shumay neighborhood of Vancouver, Washington. 2901 Main St. Minutes from the Clark County Courthouse. Also servicing Camas/Washougal Municipal Court; Battleground Municipal Court and Cowlitz County. I am located just off Fourth Plain Boulevard with easy access from I5 North & South. I have over 10 years of experience representing clients on a wide variety of criminal matters ranging from DUI, Domestic Violence (DV) misdemeanor assault charges to drug possession cases and Class A felonies.
