Las Vegas DUI Lawyer

DUI License Issues

It is the case that any issue concerning a DUI will also have an impact on your license and driving record. These impacts can then have further personal ramifications like higher insurance premiums, for instance.

A person arrested for DUI / Drunk Driving in Nevada will face two separate proceedings:

Court proceedings regarding the criminal DUI / DWI charges. This will determine whether the person will be convicted of a Nevada DUI, or of a lesser offense, and if so what the penalties will be (or whether the case will be dismissed). For most DUI arrests in the city of Las Vegas, court will take place at the Regional Justice Center in downtown Las Vegas
Administrative proceedings at the Nevada DMV to determine whether a drivers license suspension will be imposed.

Local Nevada State License :

If you were arrested for a Nevada DUI, and you elected to take a breathalyzer test and the machine indicates that your BAC reads .08 or higher, the arresting officer will confiscate your drivers license. In its place, he or she gives you a pink sheet of paper that acts as a temporary driving permit. You have 7 days to contact the Nevada DMV to request a hearing. The Nevada DMV will issue a temporary driver's license within 48 hours after receiving the request. You must then go to a local DMV office, pay a $2.50 fee and have a photo taken. You will then receive a temporary DMV license which will remain valid until the Administrative Law Judge renders a decision after the hearing; if the decision is adverse, the suspension of your regular driver’s license will take effect.

If a blood test was taken, the results of that analysis generally take the lab 30-45 days. In Las Vegas DUI cases, the police send the blood sample to Quest Diagnostics Laboratory for analysis. It may take 3 months or more before Quest completes this analysis and provides a result. In the meanwhile, no action will be taken by the DMV on your license. But once the result comes back, if the BAC reads .08 or higher, this process begins. Therefore, your license will not be confiscated at the police station. If the results later show a blood-alcohol concentration of .08% or higher, you will receive a card in the mail from the DMV stating that your driving privileges will be suspended, with the beginning and ending dates. If you contact the DMV and request a hearing you must wait 48 hours and then go to a local DMV office and get a temporary license.

Out of State DUI

The Drivers License Compact

The Drivers License Compact [DLC] is an interstate compact [agreement] used by States of the United States to exchange information concerning license suspensions and traffic violations of out-of-state visitors and forward them to the state where they are licensed [the home state]. Its theme is One Driver, One License, One Record. The home state would treat the offense as if it had been committed at home, applying home state laws to the out-of-state offense. The action taken would include, but not be limited to, points assessed on a minor offense such as speeding and suspension of license or a major violation such as DWI/DUI. It is not supposed to include non-moving violations like parking tickets, tinted windows, loud exhaust, etc.

Under the Driver License Compact, in order for a driver's state to penalize him/her for an out-of-state offense, the driver's state must have the equivalent statute. If the driver's state does not have the statute, no action can be taken.

Nevada was the first state to institute the compact and several western states followed suit. Under the Beemer Resolution passed by Congress in the late 1950s, states were automatically given permission to form compacts in the areas of traffic safety. Originally, the Driver License Compact dealt with dangerous driving violations such as drunk driving, reckless driving, commission of a felony involving a motor vehicle and others. Later on, minor violations were included as well.

All states are members except for Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Tennessee (dropped out in 1997), and Massachusetts

Out of State DUI

If you were given a breathalyzer test, you have 7 days to contact the DMV to request a hearing. Even though your license is from another state, the Nevada DMV will contact your home state DMV and put a hold on your license. This means that if you or your attorney do not contact the Nevada DMV and request a hearing, your out-of-state driver’s license will be suspended. This DMV request will allow you to continue driving until the DMV Hearing is completed and the Administrative Law Judge has made a decision regarding the suspension of your driving privileges in the state of Nevada, or the removal of the hold from your out-of-state license.

If you were given a blood test, it takes approximately 30-45 days for the blood test results to come back. After the blood test results have been determined, DMV will send you a letter informing you that your driving privileges will be suspended for a 90 day period.

If you have a driver's license from another state, it cannot be lawfully seized by the officer as it is not the property of Nevada. However, you will still be given a notice of suspension of your privilege to operate a motor vehicle in Nevada. Even though your license cannot be suspended by Nevada, you or preferably your attorney should request a hearing from the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles; since the Nevada DMV will probably notify your home state of the suspension, under the provisions of an interstate compact, your state will probably take action against your license, unless the suspension is vacated in the Nevada hearing.

The National Driver Register

The National Driver Register (NDR) is a computerized database of information about drivers who have had their licenses revoked or suspended, or who have been convicted of serious traffic violations such as driving while impaired by alcohol or drugs. State motor vehicle agencies provide NDR with the names of individuals who have lost their privilege or who have been convicted of a serious traffic violation. When a person applies for a driver's license the state checks to see if the name is on the NDR file. If a person has been reported to the NDR as a problem driver, the license may be denied.

Requesting your record: Under the provisions of the Privacy Act and Title 23 § 1327.7 "Procedures for NDR information requests", you are entitled to request a file search to see if you have a record on the NDR. As a private citizen, you must send a notarized letter, commonly referred to as a “privacy act request”, to the NDR indicating that you would like an NDR file check. Individuals should send their request to the National Driver Register, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. 20590. Please include in your request your full legal name, DOB, State and Driver License Number, Sex, Height, Weight, and Eye Color (your social security number is optional).* There is no charge for this service.

*It is our understanding that you should never provide your social security number to anyone, nor any agency, except for the social security administration itself. The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 prohibits states from displaying your SSN on drivers' licenses or motor vehicle registrations. The law went into effect on December 17, 2005, and applies to all licenses, registrations, and state identification cards issued after that date. Hire or contact a lawyer for any legal questions you might have concerning providing your social security number.

Warning About the NDR: Identity Theft

According to National Drivers Register officials, problem drivers' records posted to the NDR database by the states are made available to all states in the U.S. Information supplied by one state to the NDR is obtained by another state from the NDR using the first four letters of the driver's first and last names, the date of birth, and, often, if it is published, that driver's social security number and/or license number.

This presents a huge potential breech in the security of your identityand privacy. While nearly anyone can request your NDR information, as per the law, they can also supply information to the NDR Problem Driver Pointer System (PDPS) as administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA has taken absolutely no steps to prevent this, nor has anyone in the federal government.

Be very careful when dealing with this agency and with checking your information nationally. You could potentially setting your own self up for a breech in your personal security, identity and privacy the likes of which you could never imagine. If you are at all concerned, we highly recommend you contact an attorney to discuss this potential breech and what measures you could take to protect yourself from the NHTSA and the NDR.

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