Pros and cons of in-person vs. telephonic DMV Hearings
The Administrative Per Se (APS) hearings are held in the DMV Driver's Safety Office nearest to the location of the arrest. The APS hearings are run by DMV employees, called hearing officers. The request for the APS hearing must be made within 10 calendar days of the arrest, or else the defendant's license will automatically be suspended 30 calendar days after the date of arrest.
The APS hearing may be conducted in two ways: telephonically or in person. There are upsides and downsides to each method, depending on the type of evidence to be heard and whether there will be any live witnesses.
Telephonic APS Hearing
APS hearings are usually scheduled as telephonic. Often, a defendant will set up the hearing on their own and not realize that they could ask for an in-person hearing. Telephonic hearings are the least expensive and most convenient method of hearing for the DMV, so the DMV doesn't often inform the defendant of alternative options.
An APS hearing by telephone has the advantage of saving time for the lawyer, client and the APS hearing officers. The DMV has closed a number of Driver's Safety Offices, resulting in more of these hearings held telephonically. The effect is that these offices are busier and a hearing by telephone makes it easier for them to hear more cases on a daily basis.
The DMV will set up a time to conduct the hearing. The Driver's Safety office will call the lawyer at the designated time, perhaps including the client or expert witness by conference call. All parties identify themselves for the record, as the proceedings are recorded in order to make a permanent record of the hearing. The
If the lawyer has a good relationship with the hearing officers, then a telephonic hearing is perfectly all right. The advantage to doing it this way is that it saves the lawyer time, as well, resulting in less cost to the client.
Where there are no live witnesses, the telephonic hearing is a good option. If there is expert testimony submitted via declaration, the declaration is read into the record. The advantage to this is that there may be no cross-examination and the defendant's expert testimony stands on its own.
In-Person APS Hearing
As mentioned above, the DMV will usually set up a telephonic hearing by default. The defendant may not even know they have the option of an in-person hearing. However, once legal representation is retained, the attorney can most likely reschedule the telephonic hearing to an in-person hearing. There are advantages and disadvantages to an in-person APS hearing.
An APS in-person hearing is most advantageous where there will be live witnesses. The defense attorney can do a more effective cross-examination of the police officer and better gauge the flow of questioning if it is face-to-face.
Another advantage is where the attorney is not familiar with the hearing officers. In such a case, an in-person hearing allows the attorney to relate personally to the hearing officers, which goes a long way when it comes to their rulings.
The disadvantage to an in-person hearing is that it takes more time. As time is money, this ends up costing the client more money because of the several hours the lawyer has to set aside in terms of drive time and hearing time. Where there is an expert, the expert will invariably charge by the hour, dramatically increasing the client's cost.
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