When someone in Oregon is arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII or DUI), the person also faces a collateral consequence of having the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles move to suspend their driving privileges under what is called the Implied Consent Law. In Oregon, under DMV’s Implied Consent Law, DMV may issue a proposed suspension to a driver accused of DUII, and suspend that individual’s license for anywhere from 90 days to three years, based upon a violation of the implied consent program. Any driver served with a notice of suspension under the implied consent program, which constitutes the vast majority of people arrested on DUII in Oregon, has only ten days from the date of the arrest (not counting the date of the arrest) to request a hearing to fight the proposed driver’s license suspension.
To be clear, this is a completely different action than the criminal prosecution which will occur in whatever court it may be. So whether one is cited to appear in Eugene Municipal Court, Springfield Municipal Court, any other municipal court in Lane County, or in Lane County Circuit Court, here in Oregon, they likely also need to address the implied consent suspension issue.
If a hearing is requested to contest the implied consent suspension of the individual arrested on Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants (DUII or DUI), a hearing will be held within 30 days, and the government will be required to establish by a preponderance of the evidence that the officer followed all the correct procedures in order to impose the implied consent suspension. A number of issues are not automatically addressed by the Administrative Law Judge during that implied consent hearing. Unless the driver raises the defense of the lawfulness of the traffic stop, the lawfulness of the DUII arrest, or the issue of whether the driver was in fact driving a vehicle here in the state of Oregon, the Administrative Law Judge need not address any of those issues.
Needless to say, this is a complex process which most individuals would be wise to hire a DUII defense attorney to assist them in contesting. The Duvall Law Office represents individuals throughout the state of Oregon, and very commonly in the Eugene and Springfield areas of Oregon in contesting these implied consent suspensions. Please feel free to contact the Duvall Law Office at 541-345-4500 to schedule an appointment to discuss this matter further.