When to Subpoena the Arresting Officer in a DOL Hearing
The DOL hearing occurs when an individual gets arrested for a DUI. This hearing determines whether or not a drivers license suspenson will occur. Although this is a civil hearing, that is unrelated to the criminal legal action there are still rules of evidence that apply and legal strategies that need to be made.
One such strategy is deciding whether or not to subpoena the arresting officer. Generally in my opinion there are three situations when the arresting officer should be sent a subpoena and required to attend the DOL hearing.
The first would be if there are no technical arguments based on the documentaton sent by DOL. Sometimes DOL will send the police report to the attorney. When looking at the police report is the arresting officer forgot to check a certain box, or wrote the wrong date, or wrote the wrong name for the defendant, or forgot to send the breath test ticket or a section of the police narrative these are all technicalities that could result in the license suspension being dismissed. In these situations it is best to not hav the arresting officer present to correct these mistakes.
Secondly would be if the arresting officer is unavailable. Sometimes I have heard of police officers being on an extended leave, or simply moved to a different jurisdiction. If this is the case and you're aware of it then send a properly served subpeona to the arresting officer. If the officer doesn't appear at these DOL hearings then the license suspension could be dismissed if you can prove the officer was properly served a subpoena and has ignored that request.
Lastly would apply if the above two situations are not going to work and the defense attorney would like to have essentially a free deposition with the arresting officer without the Prosecutor in the criminal case being present. Remember the DOL hearing is not a criminal action, so the Prosecutor would not be present during the examination of the arresting officer. There would be a hearing officer who works for the DOL, but they have no part in the criminal case. Having the Officer present for the DOL hearing gives you the ability to cross examine them. If they say something that is inconsistent with the police report, or if you catch them in a lie you can always get a copy of the transcripts and use them in the criminal case.
Matthew Leyba is one of the premiere Seattle DUI Attorneys in Washington State. If you have been charged with a DUI dont wait contact a Seattle DUI Attorney ASAP!
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