Following a DUI offense, there are many consequences that you could face. You could spend time in jail, you might have to pay exorbitant fines, but another consequence of a DUI is license suspension. Alabama first time DUI license suspension is not only inconvenient, it could affect your ability to work and accomplish other daily tasks. If you want to know more about what steps you can take following a suspension, contact a knowledgeable DUI lawyer that could help.
In Alabama, if a person is accused of a first time DUI, there are several ways that a person’s driver’s license can be impacted. The first is an administrative action, which stems from the implied consent law regarding breath tests. Upon arrest, a person who was offered a breath test but refused normally has their driver’s license suspended.
That suspension does not automatically go into effect but rather is delayed for a period of 45 days. After that 45 day period, the license will be suspended for 90 days. The reasons for suspension is delayed for 45 days is that there are some procedural steps that a person and a lawyer can take to challenge that suspension. If the person was arrested and had a BAC at 0.08 or greater, the same type of suspension occurs. However, there are things that can be done to challenge and stop that suspension from taking place.
What Happens When Someone is Found Guilty?The second way a driver’s license can be affected in Alabama for first time DUI is when a person pleads guilty or is found guilty at trial. Under Alabama law, the first time DUI penalty for the drivers’ license is a suspension of 90 days. Recent changes to the Alabama laws now say that a person can substitute the entirety of that 90 days suspension by installing an ignition interlock device into their vehicle for a period of 12 months.
In Alabama, if a person is being accused of DUI, the first thing that would affect a person’s drivers’ license would be an administrative action. The administrative action does not go into effect for a period of 45 days. During that 45-day period, there are three different steps that a lawyer can take on a person’s behalf to try to challenge and stop that Alabama first time DUI license suspension.
The first step is to write a demand letter within 10 days and send it to the Department of Public Safety. The second step is an administrative hearing in front of the designated hearing officer of the Department of Public Safety. The third step is to go into judicial review in the Circuit Court of the county.If a person is convicted of a first time DUI law in Alabama, then they can petition the court to have an ignition interlock device installed to commute any suspension time.
Mistakes to Avoid During a First License Suspension in AlabamaIn Alabama, the biggest mistakes that people make when charged with a first time DUI is not hiring a good lawyer. Experienced lawyers get numerous calls on a weekly basis from folks that were either not represented or poorly represented by a lawyer who did not understand the DUI laws of Alabama and are now facing problems because the case was not handled correctly. The best thing that a first-time defendant in a DUI case can do is to contact an experienced DUI defense lawyer. A skilled attorney with experience handling Alabama first time DUI license suspensions could advocate for an individual and work towards a positive outcome for them.