You don’t need to be convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs or any combination of the two in order to lose your driver’s license. A mere arrest is sufficient to take you off of the road. If you’re arrested in the State of Washington for any type of a DUI, you’re looking at facing both criminal penalties from the DUI courts and administrative penalties from the Washington Department of Licensing (DOL).
It’s Going to Come at You Fast
It doesn’t matter if you’re ultimately found not guilty of a DUI charge. The State of Washington can and will take action on your driver’s license if you fail to protect your rights. Depending on any number of factors, upon being arrested for a DUI in Washington, the DOL is going to automatically suspend your driver’s license for anywhere between 90 days and two years. You have a right to a hearing on that issue, but the time limit for requesting such a hearing is short. You must properly request that hearing within 20 days of the date of your arrest. While awaiting the hearing, your driver’s license will remain valid.
What if I Win My DOL Hearing?
If you win in the DOL administrative case against your driver’s license, it has nothing to do with the criminal courts where your DUI case will be heard. If you’re convicted of the DUI in the criminal courts, you’re still going to suffer a driver’s license suspension for at least 90 days, depending on your past driving record. That suspension is going to effectuate 45 days after the date of your conviction.
Contact a Spokane DUI Lawyer
You still have rights in connection with your driver’s license after being arrested for a DUI in Washington. Contact a Spokane DUI Lawyer right away for a free case consultation after a DUI arrest to talk to us about saving your driving privileges and possibly even walking away from your DUI arrest without a conviction. We’ll listen to your side of the story, answer your questions and evaluate all of the evidence that the prosecution intends to use against you. Then we’ll provide you with our opinion of what we might be able to do for you and the direction in the case that you might want to take. Remember that the DOL only allows you 20 days after the date of your arrest to request a hearing on your driver’s license suspension. You’ll want to talk with us right away after any DUI arrest.
