San Francisco Criminal Lawyer Blog

Whether you’re a law school graduate taking the bar exam, an investment professional taking the Series 7, a high school student taking the SAT or ACT for your college applications or an individual taking the written exam required for your driver’s license, you know the stress and pressure of needing to perform on a written test. Unfortunately, that pressure can sometimes cause some people to seek a “leg up” through improper means, such as cheating. And that fact also unfortunately means that the DMV, in its effort to root out cheating, may sometimes identify certain examinees as cheaters when they really weren’t. The consequences of an assertion by the DMV that you cheated on a written driver’s exam can be very serious in California, so if the DMV had made such a claim you should take it seriously and engage in all the necessary steps to protect yourself, including contacting a skilled San Francisco DMV defense attorney.

A person can engage in what California calls “fraudulent activity” in a written DMV test in several ways. One way is to sit for the test and to cheat (by actions such as using a “cheat sheet”) during the completion of the exam. Another way is to have someone pretend to be you and take the exam in your place. These actions aren’t just against DMV rules, they are a violation of California law. If a person is found guilty of having violated this statute, the state can prosecute the violation as a misdemeanor crime, which means that the violator could possibly face a fine or even jail time.

Certainly, most people aren’t going to jail for allegedly cheating on their written driving tests. However, the consequences are still very serious. Perhaps the DMV required you to come in to take (and pass) a written test in order to complete the re-examination process and avoid a lack-of-skill suspension. An allegation of cheating will result in an automatic declaration that you failed the test, which means that you will lose your license and that the suspension will be in place for 12 months.

We’ve probably all seen it while behind the wheel. Some may have even done it. “It” is road rage or aggressive driving. Whether it’s the tailgating, the screaming, the horn-blaring, the high-beam headlight flicking, the obscene gestures, the brake-checking, the swerving, the abrupt lane changes or other actions, road rage and aggressive driving create dangers for everyone on the road. For those that engage in aggressive actions, there may be an additional risk, however: the suspension of driving privileges. While a license suspension for road rage or anger issues may be appropriate under the law in some situations, it might not be in others. If you’ve had your driving privileges suspended due to alleged anger issues, you may have options for reversing that outcome. As always, talk to a knowledgeable San Francisco DMV defense attorney to find out how you should proceed to get your license back.

Recently, the Los Angeles Times reported on a Sacramento area road-rage incident that left both drivers dead. The drivers collided while on Interstate 5. They exited their cars. They fought, which left one man dead. The other tried to flee, but walked into traffic and was run over by another vehicle.

While most road rage incidents don’t escalate to that level, there are still lots of ways to encounter trouble due to road rage. If a driver commits an assault on another driver, passenger, bicyclist or pedestrian, then that driver may have violated Section 13210 of the Vehicle Code. If a driver is found to be in violation of that statute, it generally means a six-month suspension for a first offense, and a 12-month suspension for a second offense.

One of the most frightening non-criminal bureaucratic actions the state can impose against you is the suspension of your driver’s license. That suspension may affect not only your sense of personal freedom but your very livelihood. If you find yourself facing a possible loss of your California driver’s license based upon a “lack of skill” suspension, you should be aware that there can be several steps to the process, which means that you have several opportunities to present information that may help you avoid this kind of license suspension. To work toward avoiding this suspension, it is important to understand the difference between a lack-of-skill interview as opposed to a lack-of-skill hearing, and how you need to handle each type of event. As with any type of situation that may impact your continued ability to drive legally, make sure you’ve retained an experienced San Francisco DMV defense attorney to give you the advice you need.

As noted above, an interview is very distinct from a hearing. The interview phase takes place near the beginning of a lack-of-skill case. One mistake that too many people make is that they fail to appreciate the seriousness of a loss-of-skill interview. They do not recognize the risks facing them and walk into the interview ill-prepared. These unprepared drivers may not be ready for the questions they get from the hearing officer and, due to that lack of preparation and knowledge, do not know how to respond properly to the questions they’re asked. When that happens, this interview process may go badly and be enough to lead the DMV to issue a suspension.

If the DMV does suspend your license after the interview phase, then the hearing phase may follow. To get your case to a hearing, though, you have to act properly and quickly. You must make a valid request and get the hearing scheduled within 14 days. At your hearing, the outcome you’re looking for is a reversal of that suspension of your license. To get that outcome, it once again (just as in the interview phase) comes down to solid preparation and giving the hearing officer what he/she needs to hear/see in order to determine that you are, in fact, safe to drive.

Everyone who has gone through the (often stressful) process of obtaining a driver’s license knows “the drill.” You have to pass a written test and you must also pass a “behind the wheel” exam to get your license. What’s more, you may have to take (and pass) one or both again if you’ve had problems behind the wheel and been referred to the DMV for supplemental testing. Many people are able to pass these tests on the first or second attempt. However, what do you do if you find yourself struggling with the road test? If you cannot pass this behind-the-wheel test, even after multiple tries, should you just give up and accept that you will be unable to drive legally? No, you should not. You still have options. To learn more about ways to deal with your struggles with your driving test, contact a knowledgeable San Francisco DMV defense attorney right away to learn how you may be able to drive going forward.

There are actually several ways that you can be referred to the DMV for a Supplemental Driving Performance Evaluation (SDPE). You may have been involved in a traffic violation, traffic accident or unsafe driving observed by a law enforcement officer, or you may have been referred by a medical provider. (Doctors are required to inform the DMV about any conditions that could impact a driver’s ability to drive safely.)

As you can see from these descriptions, seniors can be one group that is particularly susceptible to being referred to the DMV for supplemental testing. Even an ordinary accident may trigger a referral if you’re a senior and you were legally to blame for the accident. Also, if you experienced a major medical event, that illness alone could lead to the referral.

You don’t have to be in a large urban center like San Francisco or Oakland to be somewhere where traffic violations are a concern. In fact, recently, the police department for the northern California city of Eureka announced that it had received a $60,000 grant from the state Office of Traffic Safety to engage in a “year-long enforcement and public awareness program.” In addition to things like DUI checkpoints, the police indicated that the program would seek to crack down on speeding, traffic signal and stop sign non-compliance, and distracted driving.

While most people consider a moving violation to be serious, as it may involve a steep fine and possibly points on your license (if it is not successfully challenged), there are some encounters with law enforcement that can trigger even more severely negative consequences. One of those possible consequences for some is the “lack of skill” suspension of your driving privileges. If you’re facing that scenario, don’t delay. Contact an experienced San Francisco DMV defense attorney right away.

A lack of skill suspension can be triggered by any of a variety of events. Those can include accidents, failing to pass a written test, failing to pass a driving test or a referral from law enforcement based upon your moving violations or alleged erratic driving. In some situations, this process may take place in multiple steps. For example, say a woman in her late 80s has an accident in which she strikes a parked car several times. Police respond and the officer requests that the DMV perform a regular reexamination of the driver. Failing to appear or appearing and failing to pass (either the written test or the driving test) could trigger a lack-of-skill suspension.

On September 21 of this year, the Sacramento Bee reported that Governor Jerry Brown directed the DMV to undergo an audit. The governor’s directive placed the task of handling the audit, which will focus on extremely long wait times and outdated technology, with the Department of Finance instead of the State Auditor. The audit comes on the heels of an explosion in wait times at the DMV, with some Californians at certain field offices having to wait multiple hours to receive service.

While this issue might not seem like a “big deal” to some, the problem of excessively long wait times at a DMV office is far from a trivial matter. For many working people in California, including the state’s poor and undocumented immigrants, waiting multiple hours at the DMV means taking multiple hours off from work which, in turn, means multiple hours for which they’re not getting paid wages, putting even greater financial strain on these vulnerable families. While many of the people in the recent news reports simply sought to obtain or renew their licenses, others face different problems from the DMV, such as a license suspension. If your DMV issues require the utilization of the legal system, be sure to contact a knowledgeable San Francisco DMV defense attorney about your situation.

Back in early September, the New York Times reported on the frustrating conditions at certain DMV offices. At the Hollywood office, the wait time to renew a driver’s license approached two hours, according to the report. In an NBC Bay Area report, one woman told the source that it took her five hours to get a driver’s license at the South San Jose office. Some Bay Area patrons reported waiting two hours even with an appointment, according to NBC. Patrons in Hollywood told the Times that there was a six-week wait to get an appointment at the DMV, which is why many people showed up without an appointment