Driving in California with an Out-of-State license?
Pulled over by a California police officer and charged with a DUI? Unsure of where to go or what to do? Contact Don Hammond today!
Getting a DUI in California can have severe consequences. California has some of the country’s strictest Driving Under the Influence (DUI) laws and they are applied equally to both in state and out of state drivers.
Our team of experts have successfully handled hundreds of DUI cases. We have the knowledge and expertise from training at the Los Angeles County Sheriff Academy as well as years of courtroom experience to defend you.
Don Hammond has the same DUI investigation training as the police. He’s an expert in the Field Sobriety Test and has all of the standardized training manuals for DUI and drug related police training. He works with an extensive team, including criminalists, investigators, former crime lab supervisors, and toxicologists, to determine the best defense in each case.
A few important facts to know once a DUI charge has been registered to you.
License Suspension/Order of Suspension
California police officers do not have the jurisdiction to confiscate your license if it was issued out of state. This means that you can keep your license! However, you will receive an Order of Suspension. The Order notifies you that your California driving privileges will be suspended in 30 days. If you are a California resident with a California and out of state drivers license, then the California license will be confiscated and a temporary 30 day license will be given to you. After those 30 days, the license suspension will go into effect. Losing the privilege to drive in California does not automatically remove your privilege to drive in your home state. Once your California driving privileges are suspended, there may also be repercussions in your home state that can be more or less severe than in California.
Steps to Contest the Charges
(1) Schedule a Hearing After you receive the Order of Suspension, you have 10 days to schedule a hearing with the DMV to contest the suspension. If you don’t schedule a hearing in 10 days, you lose the right to do so and cannot contest the suspension. Scheduling a hearing allows you more time to freely use your license in your home state or in California, as your suspension does not begin until the hearing has taken place and a verdict is determined. Sometimes hearings will not be scheduled for months, which gives you plenty of time to challenge the suspension.
(2) Hire a lawyer in California. Our team of trustworthy and skilled lawyers can represent you at a hearing in California without you needing to fly back to California for that hearing! Again, YOU DO NOT NEED TO BE PRESENT FOR A CALIFORNIA HEARING. A DUI hearing is less formal than a hearing for a criminal conviction, but having the skilled lawyers from The DUI Attorney Criminal Defense Hero to represent you can keep you from having to prepare for one of those instead! Our team of qualified and ethical lawyers are determined to keep you from shelling out thousands of dollars in penalties and will use every resource available to contest the charges. In order to grant a suspension, the arresting officer will need to be present and able to prove these facts.
- a driver 21 years old or over operating a normal vehicle with a BAC (Blood Alcohol Content) of 0.08% or higher
- a driver of a motor vehicle who is impaired by drugs and/or alcohol
- a driver operating a commercial vehicle with a BAC of 0.04% or higher
- a driver under 21 years old with a BAC of 0.01% or higher
*It is important to remember that prescription or over the counter medications that contain alcohol will also affect your BAC (like cough syrup).
If you lose this hearing, depending on any other driving convictions you have on record, you may receive a 4-month suspension from driving, which can be converted into a restricted license after 30 days. A restricted license allows you to drive to or from work and to or from DUI school.
(3) Review your states IDLC Almost all states are part of the Interstate Drivers License Compact. This means that the California DMV will inform the DMV in your state of the arrest, and in the event of conviction, your home state will impose its own DMV penalties when you return home. These penalties can be jail time, heavy fines, drug and alcohol treatment programs, work release, electronic monitoring, mandatory use of ignition interlock devices (IID) or community service. Any penalties imposed by California will need to be completed before any penalties imposed by your home state. Due to the possibility of being penalized this way, it is imperative that you hire a skilled and knowledgeable lawyer. The DUI Attorney is prepared, confident, and trustworthy. You can rest assured that he is determined to get you through the DUI process unscathed and will help you through every step of the process!
Do you have questions or concerns about a charge of DUI and the possible penalties a conviction entails? Contact us at 323.529.3660 today!
*In Los Angeles, DUI crimes are charged under: California Vehicle Code Sections 23152(a) and California Vehicle Code 23152(b).
