How a Criminal Case Can Affect a Driver's License

How can a criminal case affect a driver's license?

This page compares selected Florida and Ohio provisions affecting a driver's license. Florida's statute directs an officer acting on behalf of the department to suspend driving privileges under its specified unlawful-alcohol-level or test-refusal conditions. Ohio's statute permits a sentencing court to suspend a license for specified drug offenses involving use of a vehicle, and requires suspension in the additional circumstances described below. These are selected examples, not a survey of every state. [1][2]

Which laws does this page draw on?

This page uses Florida and Ohio statutes as examples. It does not survey every state or describe a federal driver's-license rule. The sections below identify which statute each example comes from; they do not present either state's procedure as a nationwide rule. [1][2]

What are the main ways a case can lead to a license suspension?

The selected Florida and Ohio provisions assign different roles. Under Fla. Stat. § 322.2615, an officer acts on behalf of the department, and the statute provides for departmental review. Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2929.33, the sentencing court may order a suspension for a specified drug abuse offense involving use of a vehicle; suspension is required in the additional circumstances described below. [1][2]

Ohio allows a sentencing court to suspend a license for certain drug offenses involving use of a vehicle. Florida's selected statute permits a license consequence for a young person meeting its age requirement who violates the specified statutes, under separate juvenile-adjudication and adult-conviction provisions. Both Florida provisions require no prior conviction or delinquency adjudication for any criminal offense, regardless of whether adjudication was withheld, and offer the license consequence as an alternative to the particular sentences they list. [2][4]

How does Florida's administrative suspension work after a DUI arrest?

Fla. Stat. § 322.2615 describes two suspension grounds separately. One concerns a person driving or in actual physical control of a motor vehicle who has the unlawful blood-alcohol or breath-alcohol level specified in the statute. The other concerns a person who refuses to submit to a urine test or a test of breath-alcohol or blood-alcohol level. The notice provisions specify a lawful test for the refusal ground. [1]

The officer takes the license and issues a notice of suspension. If the person is otherwise eligible to drive, the officer also issues a short temporary permit. The suspension period begins on the date the notice is issued. [1]

The notice tells the driver the basis for the suspension and its length. The statute sets different periods for a test refusal and for an unlawful alcohol level. It also sets longer periods when the person's privilege was suspended before. [1]

Subject to the exception for the statute's opening suspension provision, the officer forwards specified materials to the department: the license, an affidavit stating the officer's grounds for belief, test results or an affidavit stating that a requested test was refused, the officer's description of any field sobriety test, and the notice of suspension. The statute separately addresses additional materials and late submissions. [1]

What does a Florida license review decide?

A Florida license review decides whether the department's suspension should stand. The driver may request a formal or informal review by the department within a time limit the statute sets. Alternatively, the driver may request a review of eligibility for a restricted driving privilege under a separate statute. [1]

An informal review is a paper review. A department hearing officer examines the materials submitted by the officer and by the driver. The officer and other witnesses do not have to be present, and the driver may submit any relevant materials. [1]

A formal review is a hearing before a hearing officer designated by the department. The hearing officer may issue subpoenas for officers and witnesses identified in the specified documents the law enforcement officer provided. The hearing officer may also administer oaths, examine witnesses, receive relevant evidence, regulate the hearing, question witnesses, and rule on the suspension. [1]

For both formal and informal review, the hearing officer uses the statute's preponderance-of-the-evidence standard. For an unlawful-alcohol-level suspension, the listed issues concern probable cause to believe the person was driving or in actual physical control while under the influence, and the specified unlawful alcohol level. For a refusal suspension, the listed issues concern that probable cause, refusal after a test request, and whether the person was told of the suspension consequences of refusing. [1]

After an informal review, notice of the department's decision sustaining, amending, or invalidating the suspension must be provided to the person. The statute specifies mailing or email and the applicable period. For a formal review, it separately requires the department to send notice of the hearing officer's decision within the period stated for that hearing. [1]

Is the license case separate from the criminal case?

In Florida's DUI process, the license suspension runs as a separate proceeding. The officer suspends the privilege on behalf of the department, not a court. A department hearing officer, rather than the criminal judge, decides whether the suspension stands. [1]

Florida's statute links the proceedings in specified ways. A party may seek subpoena enforcement in a criminal court case arising from the same driving. The department's decision, or circuit court review of it, may not be considered at the specified DUI trial. The disposition of related criminal proceedings does not affect a refusal suspension. For an unlawful-alcohol-level suspension, however, the department must invalidate it if the suspended person is found not guilty at trial of the underlying violation identified in the statute. [1]

Not every license consequence comes through a separate proceeding. Under Ohio Rev. Code § 2929.33, the sentencing court itself orders the suspension. In that situation, the license consequence is part of the criminal case. [2]

When can a criminal court suspend a license as part of a sentence?

Ohio law gives a sentencing court this power for certain listed drug offenses when the offender used a vehicle to further the offense. In those cases, suspension is generally up to the court. It becomes required if the offender was also convicted of a violation of Ohio Rev. Code § 4511.19, or a similar law, arising from the same circumstances. [2]

Ohio's statute covers both ordinary and commercial driver's licenses. It also caps how long the court's order can last. After a waiting period the statute sets, the offender may ask the court to end the suspension, and the court may do so for good cause. [2]

Fla. Stat. § 812.0155 permits a court to revoke, suspend, or withhold a license for a young person meeting its age requirement who violates Fla. Stat. § 812.014 or Fla. Stat. § 812.015, as an alternative to the listed sentences. Its separate juvenile-adjudication and adult-conviction provisions both require no previous conviction or delinquency adjudication for any criminal offense, regardless of whether adjudication was withheld. [4]

Under that Florida statute, the court directs the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles to act. For a person too young to hold a license, the court can order the department to withhold one. The statute also states that it does not prevent the court from imposing other sanctions. [4]

What is the temporary permit a Florida officer issues after a DUI arrest?

Under Fla. Stat. § 322.2615, when an officer suspends a driving privilege, the officer takes the person's license. If the person is otherwise eligible to drive, the officer issues a temporary permit along with a notice of suspension. The permit is short-term. The statute sets when it expires, measured from the date the notice of suspension is issued. [1]

Does refusing a breath, blood, or urine test affect a Florida license?

Yes. Florida's statute treats refusal as its own basis for suspension. The officer suspends the driving privilege of a person who has refused a urine test or a breath-alcohol or blood-alcohol test. The statute sets different suspension periods for a refusal and for an unlawful alcohol level. It also sets a longer period when the person's privilege was previously suspended for refusing a test. [1]

What happens if a driver misses a Florida formal review hearing?

Under Fla. Stat. § 322.2615, if the person requesting a formal review fails to appear and the hearing officer finds no just cause, the right to that hearing is waived and the suspension is sustained. Its general witness-absence provision says a subpoenaed witness's absence is not grounds to invalidate the suspension and provides for subpoena enforcement. A separate provision requires invalidation if the arresting officer or breath technician fails to appear pursuant to a subpoena issued as provided in the formal-review subsection. [1]

Can an Ohio court end a drug-related license suspension early?

Ohio Rev. Code § 2929.33 allows the offender to file a motion asking the sentencing court to end the suspension. The motion can be filed only after a waiting period the statute sets. That period runs from sentencing or from final release from jail or prison, whichever is later. The court may end the suspension if it finds good cause. [2]

Can a criminal charge affect licenses other than a driver's license?

Ohio's concealed handgun license statute supplies a separate example, not a driver's-license rule. For the arrests or charges specified in Ohio Rev. Code § 2923.128, the issuing sheriff must suspend the license on becoming aware of the arrest or charge. The statute treats that suspension as beginning on the arrest or charge date, regardless of when notice is given, and says it ends when the charges are dismissed or the licensee is found not guilty of the specified offense. It separately addresses protection orders and other suspension or revocation grounds. [3]