If you were arrested in the state of Arizona for DUI, you will be involved in two separate legal proceedings:

1. A “criminal” proceeding held with a city or justice court in Arizona and…
2. A “civil” proceeding held with the Arizona Department of Motor Vehicles.

These two proceedings are not dependent on one another. This means that the outcome of one does not affect the outcome of the other.

After your arrest for DUI, you will be given a citation that lists the date and location of your first court appearance. This is a pre-trial hearing and the beginning of your “criminal” proceeding. You will be asked to make a plea of guilty or not guilty at this hearing. If you plead not guilty, a jury or bench hearing will be scheduled. If you plead guilty, a second hearing with a state prosecutor will be scheduled. At this hearing you will be able to discuss a plea bargain with the prosecutor before you are sentenced by the judge. You may hire a lawyer or request a court appointed lawyer at anytime prior to sentencing. However, the prosecutor will typically only ask for the minimum sentence for a first offense DUI.

The arresting officer will also furnish two copies of the “Admin Per Se/Implied Consent” form. The yellow copy serves as your temporary driver’s license until sentencing or an agreed upon date for your license suspension to begin. You may request a summary review or a hearing with the DMV by completely the pink copy and mailing it to:

Arizona Department of Transportation
Executive Hearing Office
Mail Drop 507M
P.O. Box 2100

If you do not request a summary review or hearing within 15 days of your arrest, your driver’s license suspension will automatically tale effect.

If you win the “civil” proceeding and anticipate that you may loose the “criminal” trial either by a plea of guilty or a guilty finding, you still want to agree to the license suspension.

If your “criminal” proceeding is settled prior to your “civil” proceeding you may want to request an extension so that you can contact the DMV hearing office and agree to the suspension before your “criminal” sentence is delivered.

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