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Alabama DUI : License Suspension

 

Like many states, Alabama includes two different types of punishment for driving under the influence (DUI).  There are the criminal penalties that normally involve jail time, possible probation and fines paid to the court.  The civil punishment is normally served at the same time as the criminal punishment.  The civil penalties often deal with the person’s driver’s license and subsequent need for automobile insurance.


Implied Consent


Alabama is one of the states that look at the license to drive as a privilege granted by the law and not necessarily an undeniable right.  This view of the law gives the state the leeway to apply certain conditions upon granting a driver’s license.  One of those conditions requires drivers to agree to a chemical DUI test if they have been stopped legally for suspicion of DUI.  The Implied Consent Law of the state of Alabama explains that persons who are driving in the state have agreed to submit to chemical testing of their breath, blood or urine in order to determine the blood alcohol content (BAC).  If a person refuses to submit to a legitimate request for a BAC test the person will have their license suspended for 90 days.  The only way to avoid the automatic license suspension is to make a formal request for a review hearing.


List of License Suspensions by Offense


In addition to people that do not comply with the chemical test request, DUI offenders will be subject to a license suspension according to different criteria.  A DUI offender is anyone whose BAC is .08 or more according to one of the available testing methods.  Here are the different criteria and their subsequent penalties regarding driving privileges.

 

  • Refusing to submit to breath test – Automatic 90 day suspension of license
  • First time DUI Offense – 90 day suspension of license
  • Second time DUI Offense – 1 year suspension of license
  • Third time DUI Offense – 3 year suspension of license
  • Fourth or higher DUI Offense – 5 year suspension of license

 

It is important to note that in the state of Alabama there are no special driving allowances made for people to attend work or school after they have been arrested for a DUI.  For this reason alone it is vital to contact a DUI attorney experienced in defending people who have been arrested and are awaiting conviction.


Administrative Process


If a person refuses a chemical sobriety test, or the person’s BAC shows to be .08 or higher, the officer on the scene of the arrest will immediately take the person’s driver’s license and offer them form AST-60.  This form acts as the person’s temporary permit in place of their license.  The permit expires 45 days after the arrest.  Within the first 10 days after the arrest the DUI offender has the right to ask for an administrative review.  This is a hearing held before the Alabama Department of Public Safety and gives the defendant a chance to challenge the license suspension.  All requests for administrative review must be made in writing.  The failure to request it in writing, or to request the hearing within the 10 days, results in the suspension of an arrested person’s license based on the criteria listed above.


Administrative Review Hearings


Once the review hearing has been requested a date will be set to hold the review in the country where the DUI arrest occurred.  An agent of the Director of Public Safety rules over the hearing and this agent is the jury and the judge.  This person has the sole authority to determine whether or not the license should be suspended.  It is here that the DUI defense attorney can challenge the validity of stopping the defendant, how the arrest was carried out and the handling of the chemical test.  It is possible to have a case dismissed if the attorney can prove that any part of the procedures was not followed in compliance with the law. 


For those persons that refused to submit to the field sobriety test the agent will need to determine if the arresting officer explained the Implied Consent law to the defendant and if the test was legitimately refused.  Witnesses can be subpoenaed to the hearing and the arresting officers may be asked to provide their testimony as well.  If the attorney can prove there is not a justifiable reason for the license suspension, the person’s license will be promptly restored.  If the suspension is deemed lawful by the agent, the defendant can appeal the decision to circuit court.

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