CA Driver license, DMV important Question

Question:  Hi, I’ve seen a lot of confusion information regarding whether DMV counts points from violation or conviction date. My question is regarding DMV reporting towards CDL drivers for a regular speeding ticket or something like changing lane ticket.

I received a ticket in 2021, but was convicted 2022. We called mandatory actions in CA, and they say it’ll stay for 3 years and 3 months after conviction date. I spoke to some other attorneys and I am getting different answers.

On the DMV website it says under “abstracts”: DMV Abstract 3 years from violation date unless it’s a specific code in commercial vehicle, which is what I understand referred to hit-n-run, DUI, etc.

It’s so confusing, please advise if you know when I can expect the point to fall off my record for DMV point purposes. Thank you very much!

Answer:  For purposes of negligent point operator points (ie. DMV points) it goes from violation date to violation date.  For example:

• 3 DMV points in an 11 month span with violations from March 1, 2022 to March 1, 2023
• You pick up another violation Feb. 15th where you are convicted in April 2023

That would still count towards your 4th point in a 12 month span since the violation was in the 12 month span, triggering a negligent operator suspension.  Delaying a conviction in that situation does not help avoid the negligent operator issue with the DMV.

Similarly,  for DUI prior-ability purposes if you were to get a second DUI arrest, it is also measured from violation date to violation date, not conviction date.  Once in a while I still run into a prosecutor that disagrees with that. I then file a motion to strike the prior DUI when the prosecutor is counting from conviction date to conviction date, and I have never lost. 

Mandatory actions saying 3 years and 3 months makes no sense. I am not sure why they said that if your inquiry was as to Negligent operator suspension issues.  Negligent operator suspension issues run on a 12 month, 24 month, and 36 month cycle. 

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions, but I regularly defend DUI‘s as well as Negligent operator DMV hearings, and it’s always been a violation date to violation date issue. 

Sincerely,

Philip Hache, Attorney