Officer said suspending my driver license

Can an Officer unilaterally suspend a driver license?

Question: I was stopped by an officer and he said he was going to suspend my driver license.  Can an officer suspend my driver`s license without sending me to court? He said he would suspend it but didn`t issue a ticket.

I was pulled over by the officer after I was riding my scooter on a freeway and the traffic was stuck so I tried to pass the car using the shoulder.  The officer pulled me over and said he would suspend my driver`s license but didn`t issue any ticket. I don`t really know what’s gonna happen.  Any thoughts on that situation?

Answer: The Officer does not have the direct ability to suspend a driver license.  The DMV is the government agency that suspends driver license, and there are many reasons why they can.  A court can also order a driver license suspended (and the DMV would then take the action of following through with that suspension).  But an officer generally speaking does not suspend a driver license directly.  They can forward documentation to the DMV requesting DMV to take action against a driver license (ie. based on concerning negligent driving), but I would not expect that would happen based on the situation you described (albeit the information provided is limited). 

Writing a ticket would appear to be the logical thing an officer would do based on the limited information you provided.  It also doesn’t make much sense to me that the Officer would report someone for negligent driving based on an infraction-type offense, but not issue any kind of ticket. 

Was there an accident caused by your driving?  Or almost an accident?

If the DMV did take action against your license based on negligent related driving they are supposed to send you a notice of suspension with the right to challenge/appeal that decision.  If challenged that would lead to a DMV hearing, etc.  You can also check your DMV record on dmv.ca.gov and run a history check on your driver license to see if there is anything unusual on there.  Should you become aware of action by the DMV, feel free to contact me to discuss further as time to challenge such action is limited.

In the even you get a notice from the DMV or a traffic ticket in the mail related to this matter (or another matter) call me to discuss further.  I handle both defending traffic tickets and defending clients at DMV hearings.  

Thanks, Philip Hache, Attorney

Phone: 818-336-1384