Formal Review Hearing

A DUI arrest in Tampa leads to a mandatory suspension of your driver’s license for a period of many months depending upon your arrest history. When you are charged with a Tampa DUI, you have 10 days in which to file for a formal review hearing. This hearing is an important part of a Tampa DUI defense. It can lead to the reinstatement of your license and the strengthening of your criminal defense case.

License Suspension Issues

If this is your first offense and you elect to take a chemical test, then your license can be suspended for up to 6 months with a 1 month outright ban on any kind of driving. For those who refuse the tests, a 1-year ban and 3-month hard ban are waiting. The formal review hearing is your chance to fight this and retain your right to drive, at least for a short while.

It is imperative that you contact a Tampa defense lawyer immediately after you are charged, since a timely formal review request filing is of the utmost importance. Requesting this hearing is important to your case for a wide range of reasons. For one, the Tampa DUI attorney can help you win a temporary, 42-day permit that gives you the time to make other arrangements for driving if necessary. This is almost always granted when a petition for formal review is filed.

Winning The Formal Review Hearing

At Musca Law, we can help you not only contest the license suspension, but also win your formal review. There are a number of ways that a good Tampa DUI lawyer can win one of these cases. If one or more of the prosecution witnesses fails to show up, there is a chance you will win this hearing. Likewise, this forces the police to prove that they followed the correct procedure in everything from the initial traffic stop to the administration of implied consent warnings. Skilled Tampa DUI attorneys can take any small failing and turn it into a returned license for you.

The Side Benefits Of The Formal Review Hearing

Even if you are unsuccessful in restoring your license, the formal review process is an essential part of winning your criminal DUI case. Tampa DUI lawyers can question witnesses and take formal depositions during this hearing process. They can force law enforcement officials to tip their hands in terms of what evidence they will use at trial. This knowledge can prove to be a powerful advantage when your DUI case heads to trial.