Suspended License

The risk of losing a license has been greatly increased by recent DUI legislation. Now if you are arrested for a DUI or Physical Control and gave a breath or blood sample of .08% or higher, the Department of Licensing will attempt to suspend your license for at least 90 days, apart from any license suspension that would result from a court conviction. In most instances, though, you must request a hearing with the Department of Licensing and send $375.00 for the hearing within 7 days of the date of arrest. The rules are different if you are under 21. You face a minimum of 90 days license suspension if you have an alcohol level of .02% or higher. Again, you can request a hearing to fight the license suspension.

Also, if a person of any age is arrested for DUI or Physical Control and refuses to properly complete a breath test, or in some instances to give a blood sample, his license will be revoked for at least one year. However, if you are facing such a loss of license, you may be eligible for an Ignition Interlock License. You should discuss it with your attorney.

A person is also subject to license suspension for reckless driving, hit and run attended, eluding a police officer, vehicular assault and vehicular homicide, as well as for certain convictions for driving while a license is suspended or revoked. Worse yet, if a person accumulates three or more of certain kinds of driving offenses within a five-year period, he will be declared to be a Habitual Traffic Offender and will lose his license or driving privilege for seven years.

There are a number of legal defenses to license suspensions, but there are some very strict deadlines for requesting most hearings. If you are faced with a reclassification of your license or a possible suspension or revocation of your license, you should immediately consult an attorney who is experienced in those matters. Kip Kendrick of Kendrick, Malane & Webber has over thirty-five years of experience in successfully defending thousands of such cases. If you have a Commercial Drivers License (CDL) you are at particular risk. Even if you were driving a personal vehicle at the time of an arrest for DUI or physical control, a conviction will result in at least a 1-year loss of CDL. Also, the Department of Licensing will initiate a separate process to take away your CDL for at least 1 year, regardless of what happens in the court case. In most instances, you have only 7 days from the date of arrest to request a DOL hearing to fight the CDL suspension.

Initial consultations on license suspensions, DUIs, criminal offenses, and serious traffic offenses are free. Our fees for representing clients in their cases are reasonable, and we will usually work out payment plans with clients.

In cases of emergency feel free to call us at Kendrick, Malane & Webber at 1-509-966-4255 or 1-800-354-2310, day or night. In such emergencies, even after hours, our answering service will connect you to an experienced