DUI driver’s license revocations are tossed for lack of speedy hearings

The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals has ruled that the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety’s failure to schedule speedy driver’s license revocation hearings in more than 20 drunken-driving cases should result in those revocation actions being dismissed.

The decisions could impact hundreds, if not thousands, of similar cases scattered throughout the Oklahoma court system, said Charles Sifers, an Oklahoma City DUI attorney involved in the appellate case.

The Department of Public Safety plans to appeal the decisions to the Oklahoma Supreme Court and is reviewing whether the decisions could apply to other drivers, agency officials said.

The Court of Civil Appeals decisions will not impact criminal DUI convictions, which are the result of separate legal proceedings, Sifers said.

Friday’s appellate court decisions involve cases where motorists requested hearings on whether their driver’s licenses should be revoked.

Such requests are made after motorists are arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and either refuse a blood or Breathalyzer test or fail such a test, Sifers said.

Agency’s response

The Court of Civil Appeals looked at 23 cases where the Department of Public Safety had delayed setting revocation hearings for 13 to 19 months after the hearings were requested.

Judges found such delays were unacceptable because they violated the arrested person’s right to a speedy trial under the Oklahoma Constitution.

The court did not specify how much of a delay it would consider acceptable.

In a statement, the Department of Public Safety said it currently conducts administrative hearings Monday through Friday except on holidays and days when the agency is closed.

Because of the backlog, it takes about 12 months from the date a request is made to the next available opening for a hearing, the agency said.

“This time frame is dictated primarily by the large volume of hearing requests, the number of requests for a continuance, the availability of witnesses and the limited number of DPS hearing officers and staff,” the agency said.

“Ultimately, the Department of Public Safety is doing everything it can to reduce the length of time to have a hearing,” department officials said. “The timeliness of the hearings is not due to a lack of effort. We are attempting to upgrade our computer system and if possible, hire additional staff, which is extremely challenging in the midst of a significant budget reduction for fiscal year 2017. We are also exploring changes to Oklahoma law that will better address driving under the influence and reduce its impact on our state.”

Agency officials said most of the drivers affected by the court opinions issued Friday were not repeat offenders.

“Typically, a repeat offender will not qualify for a deferred sentence and is more likely to receive a conviction,” officials said. “If any of these drivers had received a conviction for the crime of driving under the influence, state law requires that their driving privileges be automatically revoked, even if they request an administrative hearing.”

When a driver is arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Oklahoma, in addition to being charged with a crime, the driver is given notice that his or her driving privileges will be revoked.

Driving privileges automatically are revoked 30 days after the driver receives notice of the revocation unless the driver files a request for an administrative hearing within 15 days of the date they receive notice.

Drivers who request administrative hearings retain their driving privileges while awaiting revocation hearings and while decisions are on appeal.

Last year, the agency received 21,391 affidavits from law enforcement officials after arrests. Drivers requested administrative hearings 13,144 times, but only 3,064 hearings were actually held last year.

Drivers who lose their Department of Public Safety hearings can appeal to county judges.

While judges decide cases on their individual merits, a trend has developed — particularly in Oklahoma County — of judges reinstating driving privileges to drivers who had to wait more than a year for their Department of Public Safety hearings. Judges found the delays violated the drivers’ constitutional right to a speedy trial.

Sifers said delays of between one and two years have become common in the past couple years but said that has not historically been the case.

The Court of Civil Appeals indicated that it understood the challenges facing the Department of Public Safety but couldn’t legally condone such delays.

“We empathize with DPS’s budgetary constraints and applaud the agency’s recent efforts to expedite revocation hearings,” the court said in one case. “Keeping drunk drivers off Oklahoma’s roadways is of paramount importance. However, the facts of this case dictate a finding that ... (the appellant) was deprived of her constitutional right to a speedy trial.”