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DS-1205 / ALS: This Sheet of Paper is Nice, but I Want My License Back, Man!

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by Ryan Walsh

 

So you’ve received notice from the Office of State Administrative Hearings that your case has been assigned to a Judge and is scheduled for a hearing date. That’s great. What’s next? As mentioned in our blog on DS-1205 forms, the administrative license suspension hearing relates directly to your choice to submit to a chemical test of your blood, breath, or urine after being arrested for DUI and read Georgia’s Implied Consent Law.

 

Background

There are four potential outcomes after an officer requests a chemical test of your blood, breath, or urine:

  1.  The officer does not submit a petition to suspend your license. If this happens, you will receive a refund of your $150 administrative hearing fee after the time period for the officer’s submission expires.
  2. You refuse to give a sample of your blood, breath, or urine.
  3. You give a sample of your blood, breath, or urine and it’s under the legal limit. That legal limit is .08 for anyone 21 or older, and .02 if you are under 21.
  4. You give a sample of your blood, breath, or urine and it’s over the legal limits, .08 and .02 respectively.

The majority of Administrative License Suspension (ALS) hearings are focused on outcomes B and D, refusal or a breath test over the legal limit.

 

The first thing I want to know after I know whether it was a breath test or refusal case is whether you have prior DUI history. I need to know if you’ve had an administrative suspension for DUI in the past five (5) years, because if you have it’s going to impact our potential options. A second administrative suspension in five years triggers a three year suspension, 120 days of which are a hard suspension with no work permit involved. And a third administrative suspension in five years automatically triggers a 2 year suspension, no work permit. The work permit is only eligible if you are over 21 AND submit a sample for the state test. If you refuse to take the test, that suspension is a hard one year suspension that can only be overcome with a “win” in your case (dismissal, nolle prosequi, reduction of the charge of dui, or not guilty verdict). I need you to remember what happened in your prior case, and I’m going to need that information to best advise you on how to proceed.

 

After I understand your criminal history, I need to know your priorities. Is your #1 priority beating the DUI? Is it protecting your license? Sometimes these two priorities conflict, and an in-depth understanding of your priorities is again necessary to provide the best advice possible.

 

Hearing Day

So you’ve made it to hearing day. We’ve talked about your DUI history and your priorities. We’ve talked if you want to be present at the hearing. And we’ve talked about the ways this can play out. But in case we haven’t talked, this is what can happen on an ALS hearing date:

  1. Your attorney or the officer does not show up on time for the hearing. If your attorney does not show up, you are in default, and the license suspension is affirmed. Your license is suspended for one year. As your attorney, we do not miss administrative hearings. If you submitted a chemical test, you may be eligible for a work permit or reinstatement depending on your age and DUI history. If you refused a chemical test, your license is suspended for one year, no permits. If the officer does not show up, and has not filed a valid conflict, your suspension will be rescinded, and you will be eligible to have your license reprinted.
  2. Your officer does show up, and we have a chance to informally speak with them about you, about your case, about your unique circumstances. This is generally our first chance to speak with your arresting officer, and we can potentially save your license without having an administrative hearing. Again, a clear understanding of your priorities is important in determining the best course of action in the administrative phase.
  3. Finally, if we can’t work the case out with the officer, we will have the administrative hearing. An administrative hearing on a DUI arrest is a civil hearing that covers the following:
    1. Did the officer have reasonable suspicion to stop you?
    2. Did the officer have probable cause to arrest your for DUI?
    3. Did the officer read the appropriate Georgia Implied Consent notice in the correct way and in a timely manner?
    4. If you consented to a state administered chemical test, was that test administered properly?

That’s it. Just those four areas. After the hearing, the judge will issue their decision based on those four aspects of the DUI arrest.

 

We at the law offices or W. Scott Smith, P.C. are all well trained in the administrative hearing process. We’ve all experienced each and every possible outcomes of the administrative hearing, including the hearing victory. Contact us today at 404-581-0999 or visit http://www.peachstatelawyer.com if you’d like more information.

DS-1205: Where is my License, and What’s this Piece of Paper?

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If you are arrested in Georgia for DUI, you should immediately have two concerns; 1) you have criminal charges pending against you after you were cited with at least one ticket for DUI, which is a misdemeanor, and 2) a civil case relating to a potential suspension of your driver’s license.  The criminal charges pertain to the tickets that the officer wrote and will be handled through the normal criminal justice process.  The civil case pertains to your driver’s license and, as we will discuss in this blog post, time is of the essence.

DS-1205 Form

You may not know it, but if you have a Georgia driver’s license you have actually given consent to the State to obtain a chemical test of your blood, breath, or urine.   Any Officer in the State of Georgia, upon making an arrest for DUI, can request a chemical test to determine whether or not you are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.   That said, the State does allow a driver to withdraw that consent and “refuse” any chemical testing by the State. The process by which the Officer requests the test and the response you give the officer is crucial in determining the status of your license.  Normally, the Officer will seize your driver’s license and submit DDS 1205 form which is a petition to the Department of Driver Services (“DDS”) to suspend your driver’s license.    You have 10 business days from the date of your arrest to appeal any petitions submitted to DDS.  The Department will then place your case onto an Administrative License Suspension hearing calendar where you can contest the suspension of your license (SEE ALS HEARING BLOG POST).

Refusals vs. Breath Test Cases

The Officer will note on the DS-1205 petition whether or not you agreed to submit to chemical testing or if you refused to take the test the officer requested.  The length of the suspension and the type of license you may be eligible for are all dictated by whether or not you agreed to take the test.

If this is the first time you have been arrested for DUI alcohol, and you agree to take a the State administered test, and the results of that test are above a .08, then you may be eligible for a temporary work permit immediately after the license suspension goes into place.  The temporary work permit will allow you to travel to and from school/work.  Before the criminal case is resolved, DDS requires drivers eligible for a temporary work permit to go onto a temporary work permit for at least 30 days, complete the Georgia Risk Reduction Course (DUI School), and pay a reinstatement fee of $220 before reinstating the drivers full driving privileges.  On the other hand, if the driver refuses to take the test on a first lifetime DUI arrest, then DDS will issue a one year hard suspension, meaning no driving at all. All suspensions will run immediately if you do not submit an appeal within 10 business days of your arrest.

The 10-day Letter

On the back of your DDS 1205 form you will find the required process of appealing any petition submitted by the Officer to suspend your license.  Ultimately, DDS requires that you send a letter to DDS indicating that you wish to appeal any license suspension and wish to be placed onto an Administrative License Suspension hearing.   DDS also requires that you include a $150 filing fee with your letter.   It is good practice to send all 10-day letters by certified mail to insure that your request for an appeal is received by the department.  Also, it’s a good idea to send the letter even if the Officer did not seize your driver’s license.  The Officer does have some time to submit the petition at a later date or he/she may submit the petition and forget to take your license.  In those cases, it’s always best to play it safe and send a letter to DDS to make sure your license does not go into automatic suspension.

There are ways to avoid license suspensions, regardless of what your decision was at the time of your arrest.  We encourage anyone who has been arrested in Georgia for DUI to contact our office immediately (404-581-0999) for a FREE consultation.   W. Scott Smith, P.C. is dedicated to helping our client’s navigate through an often very difficult license suspension process.