Case Name: People v. Valverde , District: 4 DCA , Division: 3 , Case #: G045332
Opinion Date: 7/6/2012
, DAR #: 9417
Case Holding:
Where defendant
suffered one conviction for driving under the influence (DUI) she is not entitled to issuance of a restricted
license under a statute which only
applies to those convicted of DUI on more than one occasion. Defendant pled guilty to driving under the influence
and the DMV suspended her license for
six months, concurrent to a one-year administrative suspension. She then
asked the DMV to issue her a restricted
license under Vehicle Code section 13352,
subdivision (a)(3) after she met the requirements listed in the statute.
The DMV denied the request because that
subdivision applies to drivers who have suffered more than one DUI conviction and appellant
had only one DUI conviction. The trial
court ordered the DMV to issue the restricted license. Reversed. Based on its language, section 13352, subdivision
(a)(3) does not apply to a person who
has suffered only one conviction for DUI. The legislative history does
not reflect why first offenders are
treated differently. The court noted that
another statute, section 13352.4, provides for issuance of a restricted
license for an offender, like
appellant, whose license was suspended under section 13352. However, appellant did not seek a
restricted license under section
13352.4 and her request to apply that section to her case on appeal was
denied as forfeited.
If you have been convicted of more than one DUI, you have the right to apply for a restricted driver's license. According to the above case, you do not specifically have this right if only convicted of one DUI. I believe there is some wiggle room with the DMV in applying for a restricted license after only one DUI conviction. If you are facing your first DUI, contact the Law Offices of George M. Derieg.
George Derieg
Attorney at law
510-355-2747
No comments:
Post a Comment