Getting Your License Back After a DUI

While driving to wherever you notice a few police cars in front of you. Suddenly, one officer gets behind you. Your new vehicle doesn’t have any tags on it yet.  Now the police car lights come on and you have to pull over.  He asks for your license and to”step out of the vehicle”.  He pats you down, took you to his car, and asked to search your car.  Then he asks if you had anything to drink. You say no. They search your car and find an empty cup they think you were drinking from. They did not ask you to perform any sobriety tests, but did ask you to take a breathalyzer test. You refuse. Now you’re charged with DUI for not taking the test. Is this a DUI case you can win?

It will never go away unless you have your DUI Expunged.Most DUI convictions are misdemeanors (providing there were no injuries or heavy damage). People convicted of DUI (misdemeanor or felony) will have a subsequent criminal record. This record can haunt you and affect your future lives in more ways than you can imagine, especially when it comes to present or future employment.

There is a common misunderstanding that a DUI will only remain on your record for five, seven or ten years. These periods are used to determine repeat offenses if another DUI happens within a set time period.  In fact, a DUI will remain on your criminal record indefinitely. It will remain there forever for employers, credit bureaus, and government agencies to see unless you take the initiative to change it, meaning to get it Expunged.

When records of an arrest or conviction are expunged, an entry is made in the file that the records are sealed, or off limits to all who inquires, except for other law enforcement purposes.  In this case, a person can typically go about their business and make like the expunged arrest or conviction never happened. The rules about eligibility for expungement and the extent of the expungement vary from state to state and case by case.

Eventually everything will be allright; it’s just a Major bump in the road. No one should lose their job; it’s just a misdemeanor, that is, depending on what type of job you have. It shouldn’t go on your credit report but a criminal background check will show it. After a set number of years (depending on your state) you should be able to get it expunged - as if it never happened in the first place. However, there is a stigma attached to being a DUI person, especially if you’ve had more than one DUI. Most people understand one because a lot of people have done it, and the person judging you probably deserved one at one time or another, as well. Nevertheless, once you have the second, you will be considered an alcoholic and that should not be taken lightly. There is a way to get past that stigma.  By then you either regularly attend or have been required to join AA and stop drinking altogether. Next, in any job interview, or if it comes up at your existing job, be open and tell about it.  You may want to mention that you are now in AA and that you stopped drinking. This will change the vibe of the conversation, but it will also show that you aren’t hiding anything and that you took steps to fix your life.

Unless you’re looking for a driving job it probably won’t affect you that much, except according to the recency of the DUI and the sensitive nature of the job. When filling out an application, make sure to write that down under the Convictions section. If it only  requires to report any felonies, no need to report it.  However, if it asks for misdemeanors, you should be honest or it may come back and bite you!. Now, once they go over the application with you, make sure to bring it up, be sincere about what happened and how you learned your lesson. Many employers will see that you’re an honest person and may simply leave it at that.  Never give up and don’t let it get you down!

Most are regretful that they’ve been there too, and are not sure they’ll be able to keep from losing their license either, at least for a small while. With the first time around you may get a resticted or provisional license, depending on the seriousness.  This is a bummer and you just lost at American Roulette.  It can happen to anyone.

You don’t need to sit in a fog and wait for circumstances to inadvertantly come your way if you plan on getting your license back after a DUI.  It ain’t going to happen.  If your business requires you to drive what’s your plan now?  The typical DUI process focuses on punishment and remorse, not a red carpet back to the DMV for DUI license reinstatement. You DO need to take your own action now to clear your DUI record, save on SR-22 insurance, continue to pass background checks, and get your drivers license back.  There’s no better source than the DUI Process Manual on the Right.

Getting a DUI (or DWI) is a Horrible experience and the first thing you need to know is this: You don’t have to go through it by yourself. But, don’t go running out and hiring an attorney right away either. You need education first and the book on the right or all of them at the bottom are where to start!

Throughout the nightmare of first getting pulled over, the sobriety tests, chemical tests, reading of rights, being handcuffed and placed under arrest, transported, booked, jailed, processed and released, a huge number of factors can get in the way of making a DUI conviction a perfect “clean-cut-and-dried” case. DUI cases are born by the hundreds (even thousands) every day and certainly, not all of them go to full conviction and loss of a drivers license after DUI. Too many factors enter the scenario such as human error, improper following of procedure, insufficient evidence and, of course, clever lawyers that prevent all drunk driving cases from closing. Nevertheless, far too many cases do close resulting in no chance for a license after DUI due to small details that the driver is unaware of and, if exposed in court, would be grounds for a dismissal.