There are two proceedings that arise in vast majority of DUI cases - a criminal and an administrative proceeding.  These two proceedings are independent of one another, and must be dealt with separately.

Not only is one held before a trial judge and the other held before an administrative law judge, but the proceedings have different rules of evidence and potential adverse consequences are at stake. Essentially, in the criminal proceeding a person faces jail time, probation, fines, and the assessment of points on your driving record, while in the administrative proceeding the person faces a loss of their privilege to drive.  It is very important to consult with an experienced DUI attorney immediately after your arrest as there are many decisions that must be made, and actions taken, to protect your rights in your case.

As to the administrative proceeding, an immediate decision you must make is whether to request an administrative hearing as you are not automatically provided a hearing.  Indeed, you must quickly decide whether to request a hearing to contest your license suspension, whether to simply take a suspension of your license without a hearing, or whether to agree to have interlock installed in your vehicle.  If your license has been taken by the police officer, and you were issued a temporary paper license, you are permitted to drive on this temporary paper license for 45 days from the time of your arrest.  After that 45 day period has passed, if you have taken no action to request a hearing, your ability to drive will be automatically suspended for a period of time between 45 days and one year depending on the circumstances of your case. 

Attached to the temporary license the police officers gives you will be a request for a hearing, and if you wish to have a hearing before your suspension begins to take effect, you must request the hearing within 10 days of your arrest.  If you request a hearing within 10 days of your arrest, you will receive a letter from the Motor Vehicle Administration (MVA) extending your privilege to drive until the hearing takes place, which means you can continue to drive as normal beyond this initial 45 day period.  While you can actually request a hearing to contest your license suspension up to 30 days after your arrest, you will not be guaranteed a hearing before the suspension of your privilege to drive commences.  This means that depending on the length of suspension, you could end up having to serve a significant portion of the suspension even if you ultimately prevail at the hearing when it is held.  That is why it is so important to request the hearing within 10 days of your arrest if you desire one. 

The potential suspension faced by an individual will depend on their prior history and the circumstances surrounding their test results.  For a test result over 0.08 but less than 0.15, a persons license is suspended for 45 days for the first offense, and 90 days for a second or subsequent offense.  For a test result over 0.15 or more, a persons license is suspended for 90 days for a first offense and 180 days for a second or subsequent offense.  If a person refused to take a test, their license will be suspended for 120 days for a first offense, and one year for a second or subsequent offense. 

At a hearing, you can contest the evidence presented to the administrative law judge by the MVA and ask that no action be taken against you.  If you prevail, you will immediately be able to obtain your physical license again and suffer no suspension.  In other situations, even if you do not prevail in obtaining no suspension of your license, at a hearing you may be able to obtain at least request a restricted license so you can drive for such things as work and alcohol treatment.  Of course, another important consideration is whether or not you wish to take advantage of the option to install an interlock device on your vehicle for a year so that you can continue to drive without attending a hearing.  While sometimes you can still obtain this result after losing at a hearing, depending on the circumstances of your case (e.g. the blood alcohol content obtained, available defenses to the suspension, and prior offenses) this may sometimes be a better option than requesting a hearing as the administrative law judge may refuse to permit that option after hearing the evidence at a hearing.  Additionally, there are other potential ramifications to this initial decision as to whether to request a hearing.  For example, if you have a commercial drivers license (CDL), if there is any suspension of your license even if you obtain a restricted license at a hearing.  You must also be aware that if you are under the age of 21, you may also receive an additional suspension notice that will seek to suspend your license.  You must separately request a hearing on that matter as well if you desire a hearing.  The confusion over the need to make an additional request for a hearing when the driver was under 21 years of age has resulted in some drivers losing their license despite their initial request for a hearing.  That is why it is critical to speak with an attorney immediately after arrest so that you can explore which option is the best in your particular situation.

While you must request a hearing to contest your license suspension, a criminal trial will be automatically scheduled to address the charges lodged against you.  In some counties, a trial date is scheduled immediately upon your having seen a court commissioner prior to your release, while in others the trial date is scheduled at a later date.  Obtaining an attorney immediately is important because an experienced DUI attorney will need the time to obtain police reports, information on the breath or blood testing performed, and consult with any necessary experts before your trial date.  Moreover, there is many times evidence that could be preserved or documented immediately that will be lost as time passes.  While this is independent of the administrative hearing, if a person is convicted of a DUI offense that will receive another suspension notice from the MVA that will again require them to request a hearing to contest their suspension before the administrative law judge.  

As to both administrative and criminal proceedings, you are best served by involving an experienced attorney immediately.  After all, this is only a summary of the various considerations that a person must make, and should not be considered in any way legal advice as to what may be appropriate for your particular situation.