One of the first questions we hear from new clients after a DUI arrest is simple and urgent: can I still drive? Understanding how a DUI arrest affects your driver’s license can relieve some anxiety and help you avoid making a mistake that could worsen your situation.
The first and most important thing to know is that being arrested for DUI does not, by itself, suspend or revoke your driver’s license. An arrest alone does not take away your legal ability to drive. While a DUI conviction can absolutely lead to license suspension and other DMV penalties, the initial arrest does not automatically do so.
However, many people charged with DUI in South Carolina actually face two separate legal matters. The first is the DUI charge itself, which will be handled in criminal court. The second is a potential implied consent suspension, which is an administrative driver’s license issue handled outside of court.
Implied consent violations occur when law enforcement alleges that a driver refused a breath test, blood test, or urine test during the DUI arrest process. They can also occur when a driver submits to a breath test and registers a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 percent or higher. In Lexington and Columbia, South Carolina, roughly forty percent of people arrested for DUI refuse to take a breath test. Of those who do submit to testing and test positive for alcohol, a little over half register high enough to trigger an implied consent violation.
If an implied consent violation is part of your case, the arresting officer is trained to take your physical driver’s license at the scene and issue you a written Notice of Suspension. When this happens, your driver’s license is considered suspended immediately, even though it may take several days for the paperwork to reach the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles (getting a duplicate copy of your license from the DMV during this time does not solve your problem). During this period, you should not drive. Driving after receiving a Notice of Suspension can lead to a new charge for driving under suspension, which can significantly complicate your case.
When we represent clients facing an implied consent suspension, their primary goal is often to regain legal driving privileges as quickly as possible. The first step is filing a legal challenge with the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings, commonly referred to as the OMVH. This process is completely separate from the DUI case in criminal court.
The OMVH is an administrative hearing office that handles disputes involving driver’s licenses. It is not a court, and there is no judge. Instead, a hearing officer reviews whether law enforcement followed the requirements of South Carolina’s implied consent law and whether the suspension is legally required. The outcome of the OMVH case does not affect the DUI charge in court, and the outcome of the DUI case does not affect the OMVH proceeding. They are entirely independent of one another.
The potential suspension from an implied consent violation is in addition to any driver’s license penalties that may result from a DUI conviction. When we are retained, we immediately prepare and file the required paperwork with the Office of Motor Vehicle Hearings, often within an hour. In many cases, this results in legal driving privileges being restored within two business days.
Even if your DUI arrest does not involve an implied consent suspension, you may still face license suspension and other DMV penalties depending on how your DUI case is resolved in court. If you are convicted of DUI, license suspension and related penalties are imposed automatically by law. The judge has no discretion to change or waive them.
The only way to avoid DUI-related license penalties is to avoid a DUI conviction. That may involve obtaining a favorable reduction to a non-DUI charge, a dismissal, or a not-guilty verdict at trial, depending on the facts of the case.
The DUI defense lawyers at the Law Office of James R. Snell, Jr., LLC, help clients pursue the best possible outcome in DUI cases throughout South Carolina. We will not hesitate to fight a DUI in court if it is not dismissed or favorably reduced to our client's satisfaction. We offer free consultations and represent clients charged in Lexington, Columbia, Camden, Newberry, and statewide. Attorney James R. Snell, Jr. has over twenty years of experience defending misdemeanor and felony DUI cases, is a member of the National College for DUI Defense, is the author of South Carolina DUI Defense: The Law and Practice, and has completed DUI Detection and Field Sobriety Testing training equivalent to that provided to law enforcement officers. He does not teach these courses. He uses that knowledge to defend clients.
Same-day appointments are typically available. To discuss your situation, call (803) 359-3301.
All cases are unique. Prior results obtained by an attorney in one matter do not indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients in other matters. No lawyer, including those with the Law Office of James R. Snell, Jr., LLC, can ever promise or guarantee anyone a specific outcome in a DUI or other criminal law matter.