The Washington State Department of Licensing may suspend your driver’s license if you are charged with physical control or a DUI in Washington State. The law of implied consent is in effect in Washington, as it is in the majority of states. This means that when you apply for a driver’s license, you implicitly consent to having your blood alcohol content (BAC) measured to determine whether you are driving while intoxicated.
According to the implied consent statutes, the DOL will suspend your license if you legally decline to submit to a breath or blood test or if you do and your BAC is 0.08 percent or more unless you request a hearing to contest the suspension within seven days.
A license suspension will now start 30 days from the date of the arrest or the hearing date, whichever comes first, and a motorist must now request an administrative hearing no later than seven days after the date of the arrest. (A hearing must be scheduled no later than 30 days after the hearing request, and the DOL must give the driver five days’ notice before the hearing). You are entitled to drive legally between the time of your arrest and the suspension (or non-suspension) of your license.
Although you have the right to contest any decision the DOL makes, the onus is entirely on you. Washington drivers may be perplexed by the administrative suspension procedure and the prospective criminal case suspension. Even if you are not charged with DUI legally, the DOL administrative procedure and subsequent license suspension will still take place. This implies that even if you are never charged with DUI or physical control, your Washington driver’s license may still be suspended. Many drivers think there is little point in asking for and showing up for an administrative hearing, but with a skilled DUI attorney on your side, your chances of winning the hearing are significantly increased—many drivers do.
It is definitely worth taking the time and allowing your Washington DUI attorney to fight on your behalf because there are major benefits to winning a hearing. A copy of the police report will be sent to your attorney when you ask for an administrative hearing. Due to this, both in your administrative case and in your criminal case, your DUI attorneys may be able to develop a stronger defense. Additionally, at an administrative hearing, your attorney has the right to compel the police officer to testify under oath about any interactions they had with you prior to the arrest.
You may still apply for an ignition interlock license, which would let you keep driving if you lose the hearing. In the best-case scenario, you might triumph in the administrative hearing, keep your regular license, and avoid the need for an SR-22 insurance policy and an ignition interlock license.