The answer is most likely yes, unless you have a good legal argument against the suspension. Driver's can request a hearing within 14 days of the arrest to challenge the suspension. The request is in the form of a written letter wherein the driver lists his or her name, address, date of birth, license number, and the date of the stop and the police agency's name. The letter needs to specify whether you want a "telephone" hearing or an "in-person" hearing and whether you prefer the officer to appear by way of a subpoena. Most DUI practitioners prefer to request "in person" hearings and want the officer to appear "in person." The strategy is to force the arresting officer to appear in person in hopes that he or she may skip the hearing or miss for other work or family-related reasons. When an officer fails to appear at the hearing, the hearing officer (a.k.a administrative "Judge") will generally dismiss the suspension against the driver. While most arresting officers appear at their hearings, occasionally an officer will miss for unknown reasons. This is the exception.
I should add that the Judge has discretion whether to reschedule the hearing. This could occur when the arresting officer contacts the Judge by phone the day of the hearing to advise that he or she must remain at the police station to complete a recent arrest report or to assist in other enforcement activities. This rarely happens, however. The norm is the arresting officer appears at the hearing, the driver's attorney appears with or without the driver, and a 5-10 minute hearing ensues. The administrative hearing result can be appealed to district court if the driver believes the Judge overlooked a valid legal argument that should cause a dismissal of the suspension. Appeals to district court are rare but should certainly be considered when the driver has a legitimate legal claim. I would recommend that you retain a lawyer to handle the driver's license hearing since there are both legal and procedural issues at play. A skilled lawyer can find these issues and make an intelligent argument on your behalf. I have handled hundreds of license hearings and have an eye for the winning and losing issues.
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