The Most Asked Question

I've been practicing criminal defense for nearly 10 years, consulted with thousands of people charged with criminal offenses and personally represented hundreds specifically charged with DUI. Most often, each person is worried about losing their driver's license.

There are two separate proceedings that result from one dui arrest. Each is filed by different government offices and they have different procedures, standards and penalties. One is the civil side; the other is the criminal side. Each separate case involves the possible license suspension.

The Civil Side: The Administrative License Revocation (also called the ALR) is initiated by the Department of Motor Vehicles. Since driving is a privilege and not a right, the DMV can take your privilege easier than say taking away your freedom. In fact, the DMV will automatically take your license unless you contest it! Then the shift the burden to you to show that you were not driving or not drinking. If you do suffer the ALR, the penalties are as follows:

First Offense - 90 day suspension with a work permit available after the first 30 days.
Second and subsequent Offense - 1 year suspension with no work permit.

The Criminal Side: The second case is through the country criminal court. The court, as part of any sentence, must take your license as follows:

First Offense - 60 days with probation, or 6 months if you are sentenced to jail.
Second Offense - 1 year with probation and the same if you are sentenced to jail.
Third Offense - 1 year with probation and 15 years if you are sentenced to jail.
Fourth Offense - 1 year with probation and 15 years if you are sentenced to jail.

However, some criminal courts allow you to drive for all purposes if you have an ignition interlock device installed on your car. This is a portable breath-testing device that tests you for alcohol consumption each time you start your car and periodically while driving. Its cumbersome and intrusive, but it does allow you to drive. Not all courts authorize this device.

So how do the two fit together? If you win the ALR, your license is mailed back to you. When you go to court, you'll have a suspension, but may be able to drive with the ignition interlock. If you lose your license to the ALR, the court-imposed suspension is credited with the time you were suspended under the ALR. They run at the same time.