If you have been arrested for a DUI in San Diego County, your California license was confiscated at the time when you were taken into custody by the arresting officer. Your license was replaced with a pink slip of paper that was identified as a "temporary driver's license." This license will allow you to legally drive, but only for 30 days after the date of your arrest.
If your driver's license was from another state, the police officer did not have the authority to seize your driver's license, so your license was likely returned to you along with that same pink slip of paper mentioned in the previous paragraph. California cannot suspend a driver's license issued by another state, however, it can suspend your privileges to drive within the state of California. Upon doing so, California will contact the state that issued your driver's license and that state will take whatever action it deems necessary.
Your attorney must request and schedule a DMV Admin Per Se License Suspension Hearing within 10 days of your arrest on DUI charges. If this request is not made within the 10 days, your license will be automatically suspended for up to a year.
San Diego lawyer James V. Bickford IV provides defense exclusively for DUI cases and DMV license suspension hearings in California. After an arrest, you need to contact an experienced attorney as soon as possible to protect your license.
Driving With a Suspended License in California
Upon a conviction for a DUI, whether a first offense or a subsequent offense, there could be additional penalties that impact your driving privileges, including:
- First offense: up to six months
- Second offense: up to two years
- Third offense: up to three years
- Fourth offense: up to four years
In addition to license suspension, a DUI conviction may come with the impounding of your vehicle for up to six months, a requirement to use and maintain an Ignition Interlock Device in a personal and/or work vehicle, as well as fines and jail time.
If you are a commercial driver, you may face additional penalties regarding a commercial driver's license in the state of California.
Penalties for Driving Privileges in California
For more information regarding license suspension and other penalties in California, contact James V. Bickford IV for a free case evaluation. Send an e-mail or call our San Diego office at 619-272-6934 as soon as possible after an arrest.
