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James A. SaraceniAttorney at Law · Norwalk, Connecticut Call (203) 853-2700

DUI & the DMV

A Connecticut DUI is two cases at once: a criminal charge in Superior Court, and a Department of Motor Vehicles suspension that runs on its own clock. The office handles both.

Wall Street, Norwalk, a few blocks from the office on Mott Avenue
Wall Street, Norwalk, a few blocks from the office on Mott Avenue.

The criminal case turns on the stop, the field sobriety tests, the breath or blood test and the way the arrest was handled. The DMV case turns on paperwork and a deadline: your license is on a separate administrative track, and the time to request a hearing is short and printed on the notice you were given.

Missing that deadline means the suspension simply happens. The notice is typically mailed seven to ten days after the arrest and proposes a forty-five day suspension. Calling as soon as possible is the single most useful thing you can do after a DUI arrest. DUI is one of the two most common cases the office handles.

What the office handles

  • The thresholds0.08 blood-alcohol for most drivers. 0.02 if you are under 21. 0.04 with a commercial license.
  • Implied consentHolding a Connecticut license means you have agreed to the chemical test. Refusing it triggers its own suspension, separate from the criminal case.
  • The DMV hearingA separate administrative hearing on the suspension, with its own deadline to request it. Miss it and the suspension takes effect.
  • Repeat offensesSecond and third convictions within ten years bring longer jail exposure and longer suspensions. Every prior matters.
  • Other optionsThere may be other ways to resolve a first-time case short of a trial. Whether one applies to you is the first question to answer.

How a case starts

  1. Call the day of the arrest, or the day afterThe DMV deadline is the reason.
  2. Free consultationThe first 30 minutes are free. Bring the arrest paperwork, the DMV notice and the temporary license.
  3. Two filesThe office requests the hearing, then reviews the stop, the tests and the video for the criminal case.
  4. Court and the DMVAttorney Saraceni represents you at the DMV hearing and in Superior Court.

Questions people ask first

Will I lose my license?

Possibly, and possibly before the criminal case is decided. The DMV suspension is administrative and separate from any conviction. Requesting the hearing on time is how that suspension gets contested.

Should I have refused the breath test?

That decision has already been made by the time most people ask. What matters now is that a refusal carries its own suspension and can be used against you at trial, and that both can still be defended.

Is a first offense serious?

Yes. A first conviction is a criminal record, a suspension and, in many cases, an ignition interlock. It is also the offense most likely to have other options short of a trial, which is why the first call matters.

Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case turns on its own facts. Nothing on this site is legal advice, and contacting the office does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Other practice areas

Talk to the office before you talk to anyone else.

The first 30 minutes are free. Call, or tell us about your case and the office will call you.

(203) 853-2700
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Call(203) 853-2700If he is in court, the answering service takes the message and it reaches him.
Office9 Mott Avenue, Suite 307, Norwalk, CT 06850By appointment. In person or by phone.
ConsultationThe first 30 minutes are free.
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