In the State of Indiana when arrested and charged with an Indiana DUI, the individual’s right to drive in Indiana will be suspended until further notice. The suspension procedure is as follows:
At the Defendant’s initial hearing where he or she is informed of the dui charge(s) against them, the judge will suspend the individual’s driver’s license without a finding of guilt to the dui offense charged. This initial suspension imposed prior to a determination of guilt being established, is based upon the “probable cause” that the individual either failed a chemical breath test for intoxication or refused to take such a test. This probable cause determination is sent to the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles who has the duty to send by mail notice of the suspension to the person’s last reported Indiana address listed with the bureau. If sent to an old address not updated with the bureau, the individual is legally culpable irrespective of whether they recieve this notice. Further, in such circumstance notice will be proven should the court record of initial hearing demonstate judicial notice to the defendant of the suspension.
This license suspension in Indiana imposed before guilt is called an “administrative license suspension” and is not imposed by the court. Rather, the suspension is imposed by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicle’s administrative rules suspending an Indiana drivers license if probable cause that one either failed a chemical test for intoxication or refused to submit to such a test. In Indiana, one holding an indiana driver’s license will presumably receive in the mail notice of license suspension, usually effective on the date of initial hearing or otherwise when probable cause was judicially determined. This time lag between the initial hearing and receipt of mailed suspension notice can often be perilous, for it is not uncommon for people to believe that they can still drive irrespective of whether or not they have received this mailed notice. To be clear, from the time a judge orders the individual not to drive the individual can be guilty of driving while suspended even if notice from the bureau of motor vehicles never arrives in the mail or arrives weeks later.
Unless someone has been alleged to have refused a chemical breath test, any time suspended during the pendency of the case will be credited toward the person’s utimate license suspension in Indiana. For example, if one is found guilty at a plea hearing and has agreed to serve a ninety day (90) license suspension, all time suspended up to the date the bureau reinstates the license would be “retroactively” credited. One who had their license suspended for probable cause on January 1 and had case resolved March 1 would therefore be entitled to sixty days (60) of credit time toward the ninety (90) day suspension as of March 1. Such person would continue to accumulate credit toward the ninety days until reinstatement.
If someone is judicially found to have refused a chemical breath test for intoxication, they are not entitled to credit for any suspension time imposed to the license from the initial hearing date forward. In such cases, an Indiana dui attorney will often attempt to “terminate” a refusal suspension. This means that for a first offense, instead of a mandatory one year license suspension for a refusal being added to a minimim ninety day period, the one year in addition would be eliminated. However, credit toward the ninety day suspension in this hypothetical would not begin until the case has been concluded in court. Optimally, it is best to detrmine whether an agreement can be reached to “stipulate to no refusal” with a prosecutor whereby not only would a minimum one year suspension be lifted, but credit from the initial hearing suspension forward could be applied.
For someone with an out of state license who has been arrested for dui in Indiana, the process of license suspension and reinstatement can be trickier. Although the out of state resident is instructed the same as someone in Indiana, the holder of an out of state license can avoid having the administrative suspension affect their out of state license whie their case is pending. Unlike the holder of an Indiana Driver’s license, the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles does not have power nor jurisdiction over the suspension and/or reinstatement of an out of state license. As a result, many out of state dui residents charged with dui in Indiana are often at an advantage. For such individuals, the out of state license is likely to continue to show valid during the pendency of the dui case. Consequently, should the individual be found guilty, he too would get retroactive credit for the license suspension from the date of initial hearing forward. However, unlike the holder of an Indiana drivers license, such an individual’s license most likely was valid through the prosecution, in effect, a win win situation for the out of state resident.
Once the dui case is concluded for the out of state license holder, the court order will in fact be directed to the issuing state suspending the license under the terms mandated by the Indiana court. However, please know that the out of state Bureau or Department of Motor Vehicles would ultimately have to agree to the suspension imposed by the court in Indiana. Although most of state license bureaus will accept the judicial findings for the suspension imposed in Indiana, some states will not. It is always a good idea in such a situation to confer with an experienced dui attorney in the license holder’s state as to whether that state will accept the suspension terms imposed by the Indiana court.