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Edward Stone
Attorney at Law
435.658.3366 |
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UTAH DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSION
Please select from below for applicable Utah statutes and explanations:
* This is by no means intended to be a
complete description of driver's license rights in the State of
Utah. This page is intended to give a litigant an idea
of his/her rights. A complete description
of rights can be found in the Utah Code and the Utah Rules.
Do not rely on this page alone for guidance; consult with
an attorney. This page does not create an attorney-client
relationship.
Please contact Edward Stone for more information.
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When a person is arrested for a
DUI, he/she will have their Utah driver's license
confiscated. If the person is licensed from
another state, the license will not be confiscated.
If the license is confiscated, the police officer will
issue the driver a white piece of paper. The white
piece of paper is the person's driver's license for the
next 30 days, depending on whether they requested a DLD
hearing. If they did, then the white piece of
paper will be a valid driver's license for the 30 days
(depending on what it indicates on the paper itself).
If the person does not request a hearing within that
time, then the license will be suspended after the lapse
of the 10 day period. An out of state licensed
driver does not physically lose their license, but the
timing to request a hearing is the same. A person,
whether licensed in Utah, or another state, has 10 days
to request a driver's license division administrative
hearing to challenge an administrative suspension of the
person's driving privileges in the State of Utah.
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With respects to a DUI in the
State of Utah, a person must win both a criminal
case and a civil administrative hearing in order to
avoid suspension of his/her driving privileges.
The civil hearing will almost always occur first.
In a DUI case, an administrative hearing will be
held within 30 days of the arrest, assuming the
driver requested the hearing in a timely fashion.
At the time of the hearing, the hearing officer
determines whether the police officer had reasonable
suspicion at the time of the arrest that the driver:
(1) was operating or in control of the vehicle; (2)
under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Strict evidentiary rules do not apply.
Unfortunately, a recent rule restrains defense
attorneys from asking questions of the officer;
prior to the new rule, a DLD hearing was a perfect
time to develop a motion to suppress. If the
hearing officer determines the police officer had
reasonable suspicion of the two prongs, then the
license will be suspended, regardless of what
happens in the criminal action. If the hearing
officer determines that the two prongs have not been
met, then the license will not be suspended at the
time, but could be suspended if the driver does not
prevail in the criminal action. In the
criminal action, if the driver is convicted of any
one of a number of crimes, the court will send
notification of the suspension to the driver's
license division and the driver's license will be
suspended as a result of the conviction.
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Driver's License Suspension for
Other Offenses
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53-3-220. Offenses requiring mandatory
revocation, denial, suspension, or disqualification
of license -- Offense requiring an extension of
period -- Hearing -- Limited driving privileges.
(1) (a) The division shall immediately revoke
or, when this chapter or Title 41, Chapter 6a,
Traffic Code, specifically provides for denial,
suspension, or disqualification, the division shall
deny, suspend, or disqualify the license of a person
upon receiving a record of the person's conviction
for any of the following offenses:
(i) manslaughter or negligent homicide
resulting from driving a motor vehicle, or
automobile homicide under Section 76-5-207;
(ii) driving or being in actual physical
control of a motor vehicle while under the influence
of alcohol, any drug, or combination of them to a
degree that renders the person incapable of safely
driving a motor vehicle as prohibited in Section
41-6a-502 or as prohibited in an ordinance that
complies with the requirements of Subsection
41-6a-510(1);
(iii) driving or being in actual physical
control of a motor vehicle while having a blood or
breath alcohol content prohibited in Section
41-6a-502 or as prohibited in an ordinance that
complies with the requirements of Subsection
41-6a-510(1);
(iv) perjury or the making of a false affidavit
to the division under this chapter, Title 41, Motor
Vehicles, or any other law of this state requiring
the registration of motor vehicles or regulating
driving on highways;
(v) any felony under the motor vehicle laws of
this state;
(vi) any other felony in which a motor vehicle
is used to facilitate the offense;
(vii) failure to stop and render aid as
required under the laws of this state if a motor
vehicle accident results in the death or personal
injury of another;
(viii) two charges of reckless driving
committed within a period of 12 months; but if upon
a first conviction of reckless driving the judge or
justice recommends suspension of the convicted
person's license, the division may after a hearing
suspend the license for a period of three months;
(ix) failure to bring a motor vehicle to a stop
at the command of a peace officer as required in
Section 41-6a-210;
(x) any offense specified in Part 4, Uniform
Commercial Driver License Act, that requires
disqualification;
(xi) discharging or allowing the discharge of a
firearm from a vehicle in violation of Subsection
76-10-508(2);
(xii) using, allowing the use of, or causing to
be used any explosive, chemical, or incendiary
device from a vehicle in violation of Subsection
76-10-306(4)(b);
(xiii) operating or being in actual physical
control of a motor vehicle while having any
measurable controlled substance or metabolite of a
controlled substance in the person's body in
violation of Section 41-6a-517;
(xiv) until July 30, 2015, operating or being
in actual physical control of a motor vehicle while
having any alcohol in the person's body in violation
of Section 53-3-232;
(xv) operating or being in actual physical
control of a motor vehicle while having any
measurable or detectable amount of alcohol in the
person's body in violation of Section 41-6a-530;
(xvi) engaging in a motor vehicle speed contest
or exhibition of speed on a highway in violation of
Section 41-6a-606; and
(xvii) operating or being in actual physical
control of a motor vehicle in this state without an
ignition interlock system in violation of Section
41-6a-518.2.
(b) The division shall immediately revoke the
license of a person upon receiving a record of an
adjudication under Title 78, Chapter 3a, Juvenile
Court Act of 1996, for any of the following
offenses:
(i) discharging or allowing the discharge of a
firearm from a vehicle in violation of Subsection
76-10-508(2); and
(ii) using, allowing the use of, or causing to
be used any explosive, chemical, or incendiary
device from a vehicle in violation of Subsection
76-10-306(4)(b).
(c) Except when action is taken under Section
53-3-219 for the same offense, the division
shall immediately suspend for six months the license
of a person upon receiving a record of conviction
for any of the following offenses:
(i) any violation of:
(A) Title 58, Chapter 37, Utah Controlled
Substances Act;
(B) Title 58, Chapter 37a, Utah Drug
Paraphernalia Act;
(C) Title 58, Chapter 37b, Imitation Controlled
Substances Act;
(D) Title 58, Chapter 37c, Utah Controlled
Substance Precursor Act; or
(E) Title 58, Chapter 37d, Clandestine Drug Lab
Act; or
(ii) any criminal offense that prohibits:
(A) possession, distribution, manufacture,
cultivation, sale, or transfer of any substance that
is prohibited under the acts described in Subsection
(1)(c)(i); or
(B) the attempt or conspiracy to possess,
distribute, manufacture, cultivate, sell, or
transfer any substance that is prohibited under the
acts described in Subsection (1)(c)(i).
(2) The division shall extend the period of the
first denial, suspension, revocation, or
disqualification for an additional like period, to a
maximum of one year for each subsequent occurrence,
upon receiving:
(a) a record of the conviction of any person on
a charge of driving a motor vehicle while the
person's license is denied, suspended, revoked, or
disqualified;
(b) a record of a conviction of the person for
any violation of the motor vehicle law in which the
person was involved as a driver;
(c) a report of an arrest of the person for any
violation of the motor vehicle law in which the
person was involved as a driver; or
(d) a report of an accident in which the person
was involved as a driver.
(3) When the division receives a report under
Subsection (2)(c) or (d) that a person is driving
while the person's license is denied, suspended,
disqualified, or revoked, the person is entitled to
a hearing regarding the extension of the time of
denial, suspension, disqualification, or revocation
originally imposed under Section 53-3-221.
(4) (a) The division may extend to a person the
limited privilege of driving a motor vehicle to and
from the person's place of employment or within
other specified limits on recommendation of the
trial judge in any case where a person is convicted
of any of the offenses referred to in Subsections
(1) and (2) except:
(i) automobile homicide under Subsection
(1)(a)(i);
(ii) those offenses referred to in Subsections
(1)(a)(ii), (a)(iii), (a)(xi), (a)(xii), (a)(xiii),
(1)(b), and (1)(c); and
(iii) those offenses referred to in Subsection
(2) when the original denial, suspension,
revocation, or disqualification was imposed because
of a violation of Section 41-6a-502,
41-6a-517, a local ordinance which complies with
the requirements of Subsection 41-6a-510(1),
Section 41-6a-520, or Section 76-5-207,
or a criminal prohibition that the person was
charged with violating as a result of a plea bargain
after having been originally charged with violating
one or more of these sections or ordinances.
(b) This discretionary privilege is limited to when
undue hardship would result from a failure to grant
the privilege and may be granted only once to any
individual during any single period of denial,
suspension, revocation, or disqualification, or
extension of that denial, suspension, revocation, or
disqualification.
(c) A limited CDL may not be granted to an individual
disqualified under Part 4, Uniform Commercial Driver
License Act, or whose license has been revoked,
suspended, cancelled, or denied under this chapter.
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If a person is assessed 200 points
for traffic convictions in a three-year period, the
person will be asked to appear for a driver license
hearing and may be placed on probation or the person's
license could be suspended or revoked for three months,
six months, or one year. The person may also be required
to take the defensive driving course offered by the Utah
Safety Council ($40). If the person is under 21, it
takes only 70 points to trigger a hearing and possibly
the suspension or revocation of a license.
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Utah Driver's License Points
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- Reckless driving: 80 points
- Speeding (depending on severity): 35 to 75
points
- Failure to yield right-of-way: 60 points
- Following too closely (tailgating): 60
points
- Wrong side of road: 60 points
- Wrong way on one-way street: 60 points
- Running a red light: 50 points
- Running a stop sign: 50 points
- Improper lookout: 50 points
- Improper passing: 50 points
- Negligent collision: 50 points
- Other moving violations: 40 points
Points on your record aren't permanent. Points
for a violation remain on a person's license for
three years from the date the violation occurred.
Half of the points will be removed if a person
drives for one year without any further convictions,
and two successive years of perfect driving will
clear all points.
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A person may be eligible to have
50 points removed from their driving record when they
complete a defensive driving course offered through the
Utah Safety Council. The course can only be taken
once in a three year period.
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