Driver’s who fail to appear at refusal hearing waive their rights to a hearing on the matter. In order to get a hearing rescheduled, the driver has to petition the commissioner for a new hearing. This process can be achieved with the assistant of a competent New York City DWI / DUI lawyer. The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles is a large agency with hundreds of bureaus. It is important to have a working knowledge of the New York State DMV, its bureaus and their specific functions. DMV matters are case and time sensitive, therefore, it imperative to hire an experienced New York City DWI / DUI lawyer to defend your drunk driving case.
Experienced DWI/DUI Attorneys Matter
Both the Criminal Court case and the DMV case should be handled by an experienced New York DWI / DUI lawyer. The Department of Motor Vehicles case is conducted at the local DMV traffic violations hearing office in front an administrative law judge. Drivers are not required to be represented by counsel at the DMV refusal hearing, but a lawyer from our firm will appear at your refusal hearing. Attorney Daniel A. McGuinness has attending numerous refusal hearings and has had great success in defending drivers at the hearings. Often times our clients have busy schedules and cannot attend their refusal hearing. In that case, one of our lawyers will appear at the refusal hearing on your behalf.
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The DMV action following a DWI / DUI arrest is governed by 15 NYCRR Part 127, by Article 3 of the New York State Administration Procedure Act, by case law, and by the Constitutional right to Due Process. A skilled New York City DWI / DUI lawyer such as Daniel A. McGuinness knows that there are four critical issues to be determined at a DMV refusal hearing. Each of these issues must be scrutinized and attacked in order to prevail at a DMV refusal hearing. One important question that must be answered at a DMV refusal hearing is whether the driver was advised of the consequences of his/her refusal, and whether the driver continued to refuse the test after being advised of the consequences.
DMV refusal hearings can involve live witness testimony. The Rosario rule is applicable at a refusal hearing. Thus, items such as the police officer’s memorandum book (memo book) must be made available to opposing counsel. On the other hand, DMV refusal hearings allow testimony of hearsay evidence, which is generally inadmissible at the criminal court trial. Refusal hearings are considered a civil action, not a criminal action. Therefore, there are less Constitutional protections when it comes to the DMV. This is why it’s imperative that why you should be represented by a lawyer who is knowledgeable with the DMV refusal hearing process. Law Offices of Daniel A. McGuinness, PC will request to review any and all non-confidential information in the hearing file prior to the date of the hearing. This will insure that your case has been completely dissected and analyzed prior to the hearing.
The license suspensions imposed by the DMV if the driver doesn’t win at the hearing can be severe – for a first offense, the license is suspended for one year, with no opportunity to get a restricted license.
The DMV process may seem biased against the driver, but drivers accused of drinking and driving can prevail at hearing by contacting a New York City DUI / DWI lawyer.
