UTAH DUI Process 101 - The DMV Hearing

You Must Request A Hearing Within Ten Days To Avoid Automatic License Suspension !

If you've received a DUI in Utah, the first thing you must do is request an administrative hearing from the DMV, in writing by contacting the Utah Division of Motor Vehicles, Department Of Public Safety, POB 144501, SLC, UT, 84114-4501. Failure to request a DMV hearing within ten days from the date of arrests will result in automatic suspension of your driving license for a minimum of 120 days, with virtually no way to get it back (absent a lawyer). If you believe the officer failed to properly explain the DMV process, or confused you, as many do, by explaining the court process but not the DMV process, you may have a lawyer investigate the possibility of obtaining a late DMV hearing. If you have mailed within ten days, but been denied a hearing, you have a valid argument for granting a late DMV hearing, but that is unlikely to happen within the thirty days prior to automatic suspension; thus leaving you without a valid license to drive on, even if you have arguably properly requested a hearing- unfair at best.

Do Not Try To Testify Your Way Out Of A License Suspension!

If the officer shows up at your DMV hearing, and you don't have a Utah DUI lawyer, DO NOT make the mistake of trying to testify your way out of a suspension by telling the hearing officer what you think the officer did wrong. First, you don't know what the rules of standardized field sobriety tests are, so they won't be impressed. Second, everything you say is recorded, and so will be used against you after the hearing officer crosses you and leaves you in the dust. If you decided to represent yourself, say nothing at the hearing, just show up, and then request in writing - a copy of the hearing as a MP3 for use during the criminal phase.

Utah License Suspension A Late DMV Hearing Is Requested That Takes Place After 30 Days

If you think that your license would remain automatically valid because the DMV screwed up, you'd be wrong. And if you get caught driving on that suspended license you have a Class C Misdemeanor on your hands and an automatic 120 days suspension once that charge makes it through to the DMV, and of course, another reinstatement fee of about $65.00! Failing to reinstate, as many people do, results in  a suspended license, and . . . you guessed it, automatically more suspension time based on driving on a suspended license; even though you have served the underlying suspension. This means that you must ask for a reinstatement pending your hearing in writing and have it granted; do not take anything someone says on the end of the phone - it's a huge mistake!