Bay Area DUI Lawyer DMV Hearing and License Suspension

• Introduction
• Client Comments
• Bay Area DUI Lawyer
• California DUI Defense Lawyers

San Francisco Bay Area DUI Lawyer

If you have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs in the San Francisco Bay Area and need an experienced San Francisco DUI lawyer to defend you, the criminal defense lawyers at the Law Office of Robert Tayac are prepared to help.

The Law Office of Robert Tayac is recognized as being among the top criminal defense firms in California, specializing in drunk driving defense in Alameda, San Francisco, Contra Costa, Napa, San Mateo, Marin, Santa Clara and Sonoma Counties, as well as the Federal Court for the Northern District of California.

A DUI arrest typically initiates two separate cases. The first case is the driving under the influence criminal case. The District Attorney of the county in which the arrest occurred will usually charge the driver with two separate criminal violations following a drunk driving arrest. The first charge is for driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs in violation of California Vehicle Code section 23152, subdivision (a).

The second violation is for driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 percent or greater in violation of the Vehicle Code 23152, subdivision (b). (Please note, a DUI case will be prosecuted in United States Federal Court for the Northern District of California by a Special Prosecutor working for the United States Attorney’s office if the arrest occurred within the geographic boundaries of the Presidio National Park in San Francisco or Moffett Federal Airfield in Santa Clara County.)

The second case is a California Department of Motor Vehicles Administrative Per Se (APS) case, in which a person is at risk of having their California driver license (or privilege to drive if not licensed in California) suspended. Drivers arrested for driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or greater have only 10 days from the date of the arrest to request a DMV administrative per se (APS) hearing. If a hearing is not requested within ten (10) days of the arrest, the person's driver license will automatically be suspended thirty-one (31) days from the date of the arrest for a minimum of four (4) months.

California Department of Motor Vehicles license suspension hearings are technically complex, and should only be handled by a lawyer with experience in DUI defense and California DMV cases. To suspend a driver’s license following the arrest, the Department of Motor Vehicles need only prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the police had reasonable cause to believe a violation of California Vehicle Code Section 23152 or Section 23153 was committed, that the driving under the influence arrest was lawful, and that the driver arrested had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or greater. California DMV administrative hearings can be won, but usually only by an attorney with knowledge of the DMV hearing process, the type of evidence presented and familiarity with the possible defenses in drunk driving cases.

The stakes are high in a San Francisco DUI case. A driving under the influence arrest may result in jail, large fines, driver’s license suspensions, mandatory alcohol education classes, ignition interlock devices, and other punishment. For that reason, it is imperative that you have only a qualified DUI defense lawyer handling your case. If you or someone you know has been or may be accused of driving under the influence, or driving with a blood alcohol level at or above the legal limit, we invite you to read the information contained in this website and welcome you to call our office and discuss your case with a lawyer of our firm. If you prefer, you may submit a confidential case questionnaire which will be reviewed by an attorney of our firm and receive a prompt response.

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