ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE SUSPENSION APPEAL AND IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICE LIMITED PERMIT INFORMATION

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1 Main Office 306 S. Hammond Drive Post Office Box 765 Monroe, Georgia (678) [phone] (678) [fax] Satellite Offices (by appointment only) 189 W. Pike Street Suite 107 Lawrenceville, GA S. Milledge Avenue Suite 220 Athens, GA ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE SUSPENSION APPEAL AND IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICE LIMITED PERMIT INFORMATION New Permit Background Georgia law changed beginning July 1, 2017, so that persons who have been charged with driving under the influence (DUI) in Georgia and whose Georgia driver s license is subject to an administrative license suspension (ALS) may have the option to obtain a new type of limited driving permit from the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS). The new permit, technically referred to as an Ignition Interlock Device Limited Permit, will be conditioned upon the person whose driver s license is subject to an ALS voluntarily waiving his or her right to an administrative hearing and having an ignition interlock device installed on any vehicle they intend to drive. The current ALS process, including the right to an administrative hearing, will remain in place as an option for persons whose driver s license is subject to an ALS and either do not qualify for or do not wish to obtain the new permit. A major change is that instead of 10 business days to appeal, you now have 30 calendar days to either file a standard ALS appeal or to apply for an Ignition Interlock Device Limited Permit. Options The standard ALS appeal option remains in place. Within 30 days, you can file the standard ALS appeal letter at the end of this form. Your driver s license will remain valid until you have a hearing on the appeal. At the hearing, your license will either be reinstated in full (either due to the officer not showing up in court, the officer agreeing to a plea agreement to DUI or a reduced charge, or by winning the hearing in front of the judge), or your license will be suspended for a full 12-month period. This is a hard suspension, meaning that you cannot get a limited driving permit or work permit: no driving at all for 12 months. With the enactment of this new procedure, persons who meet the conditions below have an option to apply for the ignition interlock device limited permit, which has additional costs and restrictions associated with it. The permit must be obtained at any Department of Driver Services location within 30 days, and unlike the standard ALS appeal option, it guarantees that you will be able to keep driving without risking a license suspension or having to negotiate a plea in order to keep driving. 1

2 Conditions for Obtaining the Permit - Application must be made within 30 days of being served with the 1205 form, which is usually done at the time of arrest. - The ALS cannot involve a motor vehicle crash with serious injuries or fatalities. - The applicant must have a valid Georgia driver s license. - A CDL licensee must downgrade to a non-commercial license to get the permit. - The applicant must be at least 21 years old. - The applicant cannot have a prior DUI conviction within the last 5 years. - The applicant must surrender their current license, either to the officer or DDS. Driving Restrictions on the IID Limited Permit If you obtain an ignition interlock device limited driving permit, you are only allowed to drive for the following listed purposes. Driving for any other purpose may be a new traffic/ criminal offense. The allowed purposes are: - Going to the holder s place of employment or performing the normal duties of his or her occupation; - Receiving scheduled medical care or obtaining prescription drugs; - Attending a college or school at which he or she is regularly enrolled as a student; - Attending regularly scheduled sessions/meetings of treatment support organizations for person who have addiction or abuse problems related to alcohol or other drugs, which organizations are recognized by the commissioner of DDS; - Attending, under court order, any driver education or improvement school or alcohol or drug program or course approved by the sentencing court or the commissioner of DDS; - Transporting unlicensed immediate family members for work, to obtain medical care or prescriptions, or to school; - Attending any program, event, treatment, or activity ordered by a judge presiding in an accountability court; or - Going for monthly monitoring visits with the permit holder s ignition interlock device service provider. Many people with a limited permit have the question can I go get groceries, can I go to a restaurant? You can run errands, but only along the route to and from one of the allowed purposes listed above. If you re pulled over for a traffic violation, such as speeding, once the officer sees the restricted license he will probably ask where you re going to or coming from; the answer should always be one of the approved purposes listed above. How Long Until Full License Reinstatement? A person who consents to the state-administered chemical test at the time of the DUI arrest and opts for the new permit will be required to successfully maintain the ignition interlock device on their vehicle for a period of 4 months. If he or she is subsequently acquitted of the 2

3 underlying DUI charge, or the underlying DUI charge is dismissed or reduced, the ignition interlock device may be removed at no cost and the driver s license may be replaced. A person who refuses the state-administered chemical test at the time of the DUI arrest and opts for the new permit will be required to successfully maintain the ignition interlock device on their vehicle for a period of 12 months, regardless of the outcome of the DUI charge. Other Changes to the ALS Process In addition to the new permit process, the period of time a person may legally drive on a DS-1205 form after being charged with DUI and served notice of an ALS will increase from 30 days to 45 days. And, the period of time a person has to request an administrative hearing after being charged with DUI and served notice of an ALS will increase from 10 days to 30 days. Cost Comparison Ignition Interlock Devices aren t cheap to install and maintain, and there are a number of maximum fees set by statute, such as: -a $25 permit fee -a $75 installation fee -a $75 monthly monitoring fee -$300 total for 4 months (blew over 0.08) -$900 total for 12 months (refused the State s test) -a $75 removal fee -a $100 license reinstatement fee There may be other fees contracted with the provider, such as mouthpieces, insurance for the device, a reset fee, etc. A provider may charge less than these maximum fees. However, all in, you re looking at a total cost of about $575 for a four-month permit or $1,175 for a twelvemonth permit. The cost for filing a standard ALS appeal still remains at $150. What To Do Next Within 30 calendar days of receiving the 1205 form (usually provided to you at the time of your arrest), you must consider the information above and decide whether you want to (1) apply for an ignition interlock limited driving permit or (2) appeal the license suspension. If you want to apply for an ignition interlock limited driving permit, go to any Department of Driver Services location when they re open and you can apply for the permit there; be sure to bring the $25 permit fee with you. If you want to appeal the license suspension, continue to the instructions on the next page and follow them to successfully file an appeal. The attached form is what our law firm files on behalf of clients who are appealing a proposed ALS suspension. We understand that due to the strict time constraints, some people are unable to hire an attorney within the 30-day window when the appeal must be filed. While we offer this form as a courtesy, we strongly recommend that you hire an attorney to represent you at the ALS appeal hearing. 3

4 INSTRUCTIONS: 1. Fill in the fillable areas on the first and third pages of the following document. Provide your name where it says LICENSEE; your ADDRESS where you receive mail (notice of your court date will be sent here, so provide a valid address; your DATE OF BIRTH; your DRIVER S LICENSE NUMBER, which can be found on your traffic citations or 1205 form; the ALS INCIDENT DATE which is the date of your arrest; and TODAY S DATE. On the third/last page of the letter, type your full name at the bottom. 2. Verify that all of the information that you typed in is correct. 3. Print the appeal and sign it on the third page. 4. Obtain a money order or write a check in the amount of $ payable to Department of Driver Services. Please note that DDS will not accept starter checks from the bank, the checks must have a name and address printed in the top left corner. 5. Make 2 copies of both your letter and your check or money order. One copy is for your records, the second is for your attorney. 6. Mail the original three pages of the appeal form (do not include the preceding letter or this instructions page) and your check or money order by CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED. This provides you proof that you sent the letter by the deadline and that DDS received it. Mail the letter to: Georgia Department of Driver Services ALS Unit PO Box Conyers, GA Hire an attorney as soon as possible prior to your hearing date. 4

5 VIA CERTIFIED & REGULAR U.S. MAIL Georgia Department of Motor Vehicle Safety ALS Unit P.O. Box Conyers, GA RE: Licensee: Address: Dear Sir or Madam: Date of Birth: Driver s License No.: ALS Incident Date: I wish to appeal the administrative license suspension for allegedly refusing the state administered test or allegedly testing 0.08% or higher after being stopped for the offense of DUI. Please send all communications regarding this case to the address given in the letterhead above. I hereby request an immediate hearing regarding the administrative license suspension. I will challenge the probable cause regarding the stop, the probable cause to arrest for DUI after the police officer came in contact with me, the propriety and validity of the field sobriety tests administered, the reasonableness of the request to administer a chemical test, the accuracy and completeness of the implied consent warning given to me, and all aspects of the procedures followed by the police. I waive nothing. Pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Department of Public Safety, as administered through the Georgia Administrative Procedures Act, I request that my suspension be stayed until such time as a hearing can be held on this matter, and a ruling is made by your department. I would face the loss of employment and other possible irreparable harm if a stay is not granted. I will contend at the requested hearing that: (1) the arresting officer did not have an articulable suspicion sufficient to authorize a stop of the vehicle; (2) the arresting officer lacked probable cause to arrest me for the offense of DUI (O.C.G.A ); (3) I was not properly placed under arrest for DUI; 1

6 (4) I was not involved in a motor vehicle accident or collision resulting in serious injury or fatality such that the arresting officer had legal grounds to demand a test; (5) the arresting officer did not fully and completely inform me of implied consent rights as required by O.C.G.A , and ; moreover, the officer did not accurately state the consequences of submitting or refusing to submit to a state administered sobriety test; (6) the implied consent warnings given to me were deficient in their wording, false, misleading and fatally defective, thereby making the apparent consent to take the test not willful and not voluntary and making the test result inadmissible; (7) the Form 1205 used by the state to document my alleged suspension does not match (in substance) the wording given to me by the arresting officer during implied consent advisements, and also varies from the statutory provisions applicable to ALS suspensions; (8) the DPS form used was not a sworn document, as required by law, and was not filed and processed properly by the arresting officer; (9) I am not subject to administrative suspension, because the machine I was tested upon has not been adequately maintained utilizing meaningful calibration and maintenance procedures, thereby rendering any test result invalid and unreliable; (10) the arresting officer and testing officer failed to comply with the requisite 20 minute observation period, thereby rendering the result obtained unreliable; (11) I am not subject to administrative suspension because the breath machine used for testing was not "4 1 started" from an "off" position and then turned "on" before testing for purposes of having the machine go through its self-diagnostics review, thereby rendering any test result invalid and unreliable; (12) the arresting officer did not sign the form in all required places; (13) no proper DUI citation number is given on the 1205 form; (14) no police department agency name is properly given; (15) no notary stamp is visible on the form; (16) the DPS form used was not a properly sworn document, as required by law, and was not timely filed, contemporaneously notarized, and was not processed properly by the arresting officer; (17) no photocopy of the Intoxilyzer 9000 operator's permit will be introduced into evidence at the hearing; (18) no original printout of the Intoxilyzer 9000 results will be properly introduced into evidence at the hearing; (19) the forms required by law were not completed and sent to DPS within 10 days, as required by law; and (20) I hereby challenges the method of setting hearings before a non-lawyer DPS hearing officer based upon such officer being an administrative employee (like the arresting officer); such procedures violate the separation of powers clauses of both the Federal and State Constitutions (Ga. Const., Art I, II, para. III). I do not acquiesce to such a hearing unless a judicial officer hears this matter, or a properly designated, independent administrative hearing officer who is a member of the Georgia bar. Moreover, beyond the foregoing, I wish to raise State and Federal constitutional challenges to the procedures used and the substance of the implied consent warnings. 2

7 The relief I am seeking is: (1) the return of my Georgia driver s license and the full, unrestricted restoration of all driving privileges; (2) a finding that the arresting officer did not have reasonable grounds that I was driving a moving motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance and that I was not lawfully placed under arrest for violation of O.C.G.A ; (3) a finding that I was not properly informed of implied consent rights and the consequences of submitting or refusing to submit to such chemical test; and (4) a finding that I did not improperly refuse to submit to chemical testing. I may testify at the hearing and reserve the right to call additional witnesses to appear at said hearing that are unbeknownst at this time. I do not waive any required proof or full and complete compliance by the arresting officer with all statutory and regulatory prerequisites at the administrative hearing. You will find enclosed a check or money order in the amount of $ as required under the July 1, 2010 revision to Georgia Law in order to request a hearing. Finally, I wish to make an independent tape recording of the DPS administrative hearing. Please advise the assigned hearing officer that I wish for the official DPS tape to be PRESERVED, regardless of whether I win or lose the administrative case. I will need a copy of this for the subsequent DUI case. Respectfully, 3