DUI-
Differences between Criminal and Administrative
A DUI offense involves two separate processes
and is explained in writing on the Notice and Order of Revocation
that you received from the police on the day of the DUI incident.
The DUI laws have two separate areas of concern:
- a violation of a criminal law
- an individual's driving behavior and
road safety
The two different focuses of the law are
the reason a license may be revoked administratively when a criminal
charge has been dropped.
The court action is a legal
proceeding that takes place because a person has violated a criminal
law. It is handled by a state or municipal attorney, depending
upon the jurisdiction in which the incident took place. The attorney
can consider many issues in deciding how to proceed with a particular
case.
The administrative license
revocation law and hearing process are geared around the issues
of driver behavior and road safety. The hearing officers are limited
by law to consideration of only certain issues at these hearings.
The issues are whether the:
- arresting officer had probable cause
to believe that you were driving or operating a motor vehicle
while under the influence
- breath test result was .08 or greater
or you refused to give a breath sample
This is the reason that the license revocation
is not always tied to the court proceeding. If you have specific
questions about the reinstatement process, you may contact the
Anchorage Driver Licensing staff at the Anchorage Benson Boulevard
DMV office for assistance. They can be reached at 269-3770 or by
sending a message to DOA.DMV.ADL@Alaska.gov.
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