DUI in california

[Blastx99]

On 4th of July weekend had a little to much to drink and ended up totaling my car, no one was hurt but ran into the back of a parked pick up truck. Got taken down to the station spent the rest of the day in jail. I'm 20 years old and have never had any kind of run in with the law.

My question is, will it be possible to get my licence back or will it be suspended for 1 whole year? I keep reading that i have to go to the DMV and request a hearing of some sort, but does that apply to me or not since im not 21?

[CdwJava]

You are almost certainly losing your license for the full year. You can ask for a restricted license provided you can show a critical need to drive, but judges and the DMV are not likely to hold much sympathy for an under-21 DUI driver that smashed another car.

- Carl

[Blastx99]

So i shouldnt follow up with the DMV? Does that hearing apply to me or not?

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by Blastx99

So i shouldnt follow up with the DMV? Does that hearing apply to me or not?

The hearing must be scheduled within 10 days or your license will be suspended after 30.

If you schedule the hearing, you will delay what is likely inevitable, but it is your right. And, you never know ... perhaps the DA will offer a plea deal to a lesser offense (perhaps a "wet reckless" per VC 23103.5). So, you really have nothing to lose by scheduling the hearing.

- Carl

[Blastx99]

for this hearing id have to contact the dmv?

[BigMistakeFl]

Yes, you would need to contact the DMV to request your hearing.

But as Carl stated above, it most often only delays the inevitable. In my case for instance, getting the hearing meant I got a temp' license back until said hearing, which was a little over a month later. Since I was going to get six months' suspension, I managed to simply make the clock start ticking later. Had I let the original suspension take its course, I would have gotten my license back six months later rather than over seven months later.