Legal Question in DUI Law in California

if I have residence in arizona, i.e, verifiable jobs, state food stamps, utilities in my name, rental contract in my name,etc. in almost 4 months of living there i get a dui and all i had was my california license for id with the interstate compact laws, wouldnt my residency time in az with all the verified sources of az being my new state of residency, wouldnt that make it wrong and illegal of the state of california to have a red flag on my license? This was back in 1993 and because of that i still dont have my license to this day because california says i need to complete an 18 month alcohol program. not having a license has made my life terrible. I dont have the money now or then to pay for the class that ca wants me to take. I lived in AZ for 4 years not able to get an az license after the dui because of the flag from california, and when i came back to california of course they wont issue me a license either. I was a resident in az and have proof on paper of it when the dui occurred so doesnt that make california s flag irrelevent?


Asked on 7/31/17, 9:31 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

You committed a crime in CA, which resulted in your license being suspended under CA law. It didn't matter what state you 'resided' in at the time or how long after. All other states reciprocally honor that suspension and other penalties, just as they do with all criminal convictions. If you had been caught driving on that suspended license in AZ or elsewhere, you would have been charged with the same new misdemeanor crime as in CA. If you have been driving at all since conviction, you are 'lucky' you haven't been caught.

CA law requires you to do certain things before your license can be reissued. No other state has the power [or desire] to change CA law and requirements. REPEAT: All other states reciprocally honor that suspension and other penalties. If they didn't, someone could ignore convictions and court orders in one state by fleeing to another and getting a 'clean slate' and make CA law 'irrelevant'.

There are no exceptions to this rule: You will have to comply with CA requirements for re-issance of license before you can get a license in any other state. There are no 'hardship' exceptions, or

'run and hide' defenses. Those hardships are an inherent foreseeable part of the penalties, punishments, and consequences of conviction of the crime. You and your attorney should have discussed them at the time you were convicted. You couldn't have changed them, but you would have known of them from the beginning.

Bottom line: you need to find a way to return to CA for the program classes, OR try to get approval from CA DMV to take some other state's equivalent programs. Unlikely to be granted, but you can ask.

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Answered on 8/01/17, 4:10 pm


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