Loosing your driver’s license is a serious concern, which will have significant negative effects on your day-to-day life. Without a driver’s license, you will need to rely on others to transport you to work, the store and to appointments. If your family relies on you for transportation, loss of your driver’s license may cause a hardship on them as well. Our Columbus DUI attorney takes this very seriously and will take every possible action in preventing your license from being suspended.
Columbus DUI Court Hearing
If you have been arrested for a DUI/OVI, at the time of arrest the officer may have revoked your license on the spot and would have given you a document with information about the DUI /OVI process. The document contains important information pertaining to your rights and the procedure for challenging your ticket and the loss of your driver’s license.
Under Ohio’s implied consent law, your driver’s license may suspended from 90 days to five years for failing or refusing a breathalyzer test. This suspension is an administrative license suspension or ALS. You have a right to appeal this administrative license suspension, but you must exercise your rights promptly. The administrative suspension may be appealed at your initial appearance (within 5 days of arrest) or within 30 days of the initial appearance.
It is critical that you hire an experienced attorney to handle your hearing, as the hearings involve very technical rules of evidence. If you are not facing a felony DUI/OVI charge, your Columbus DUI lawyer may be able to attend the court hearing on your behalf, allowing to you avoid time away from work or your family. An experienced Columbus OVI attorney will aggressively work to prevent loss of your driver’s license and to get your driving privileges restored. However, it is critical that you or your DUI lawyer contact the Columbus Ohio DMV promptly to request a hearing.
Administrative License Suspension (ALS) or DMV Suspension
Statistically speaking, defendants who hire an experienced attorney, like Columbus DUI Lawyer, have a much higher probability of winning at the DMV hearing. Reasons that a judge might set the suspension aside include a lack of probable cause to arrest the driver, failure of the officer to inform the driver of the implied consent laws, the driver did not refuse the test or the driver took the test and did not test over the legal limit.
You very likely to lose your drivers license if you choose not to challenge the DMV suspension by a hearing. Thus, it is critical you speak with a drunk driving attorney to help protect you from losing your license. If you are already on probation for a prior offense, you can speak to our probation violation attorney regarding the specific details of your case.
Speak with a Columbus DUI Attorney
Please call (614) 300 - 3025 to set up a free consultation to speak with one of our Columbus DUI Attorneys to discuss the details of your DUI /OVI case and to learn how we can help you prevent suspension of your driver’s license or seek reinstatement or driving privileges.
SR-22 Filing
An SR-22 is a document issued by an insurance company to prove that you have liability insurance on your automobile. The SR-22 filing proves to the DMV that an insurance company has agreed to issue you the minimum liability coverage necessary to drive, and that the insurance company will contact the DMV if your insurance lapses because of any reason.
To reinstate your driver’s license following the expiration of a period of suspension, or to obtain a restricted license, you must contact an insurance company and get minimum liability coverage on your vehicle. The normal price of the filing typically depends on the severity of your driving record, your area of residence, and your time of driving experience. Typically an SR-22 filing period lasts for 3 years. Although, sometimes the Ohio DMV enforces stricter laws, and the terms can be extended for longer periods of time.