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Starting more than 20 years ago, the federal government “encouraged” the states to pass new laws to punish drivers suspected of
DUI/DWI for merely taking the state’s test and having a test result that exceeded the state’s “legal limit”. All states had already passed statutes calling for loss of license if the person refused to submit to the state’s blood, breath or urine testing, where an officer suspected that the driver was drunk or drugged.
Some states call their form of immediate license snatching a “suspension”. Others call it a “revocation”. This “administrative” punishment for taking the test and rendering a test score over the state’s limit was designed to be in addition to all the punishments that traditionally follow a
DUI/DWI criminal conviction, such as license suspension, jail time, probation, community service hours, possible ignition interlock, alcohol and drug rehabilitation, etc. These administrative penalties are basically an immediate taking of the driver’s license, subject to some sort of due process rights in the form of a hearing to try to get the immediate suspension/revocation set aside (rescinded, dismissed, etc.). This means that a
DUI/DWI arrest triggers not only a criminal case, but also triggers and administrative case against the driver.
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