Q: Should I reinstate my license at first opportunity or wait for my court date?
My DMV 4-month suspension for a first time DUI charge will be concluding here in December. I’ve been driving with an IID restricted license since August and will be concluding a 4-month DUI class next Saturday, thus I should have all the prerequisites for reinstating my full license. However, my court case was moved back from October to January, and thus I am concerned that reinstating my license prior to this date might be folly, as I know the court can issue additional suspensions based on the case’s outcome. What would be most advisable in this situation? To just wait until after the court proceedings or to move forward with reinstating my license ASAP?
A: The DMV action taken against your license is independent of the DUI criminal case. If you're eligible to have your license re-instated by the DMV, there's nothing to prevent you from doing so.
A:
I TELL MY CLIENTS TO GET THEIR LICENSE AT THE FIRST OPPORTUNITY.........
YOU SHOULD HAVE A LAWYER ...OR REQUEST A PUBLIC DEFENDER AT YOUR FIRST APPEARANCE.
S/HE WILL HAVE ALL THE INFO AND BE IN THE BEST POSITION TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE MOST UPDATED ADVICE.
A:
This is a question that needs to be discussed with your attorney as they have information about your court case that we do not possess. Under current DMV procedure, you do not get credit for APS IID restriction time if you later get convicted in court and DMV gives you a Mandatory Suspension. If the court conviction is a wet reckless on a first offense DUI there should be no additional IID required. However a first offense DUI Conviction will result in another 6 months of the IID once you get the IID license reinstated. Your other choices would be six months of straight suspension or 12 months of work restricted driving after a month of no driving.
The best court results would be dismissal, not guilty verdicts or a diversion. Diversion for DUI's is now being considered/granted in some counties in California. All of these results would not require additional license suspension/restriction times.
A:
You may have to pay two reinstatement fees but it is definitely worth it to keep your license at this stage. Should you get caught driving without a license now, you are likely to be charged with CVC 14601.2(a), "Driving while suspended for DUI" even though you haven't been convicted of a DUI.
The second thing that comes to mind with your situation is that you should NOT finish your driving school at this time. You should contact them and tell them you need a leave of absence, etc. Otherwise you will be required to take the whole class over again after your conviction, if you are convicted. As long as it's still pending, unfinished at the time of your conviction or plea, then you will be able to finish it, even if it's only one class and get credit.
It's always better to contact an experienced DUI lawyer in your immediate area, ASAP.
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