How to Win a School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing
Can I Win a School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing at the DMV? Without question, the most trusted of all professional drivers is the School Bus Driver. These quiet professionals transport our most precious cargo, our nation’s children. Day in and day out, through all weather conditions, we trust School Bus Drivers to deliver our children to their destination safely. Because of the tremendous amount of trust placed in School Bus Drivers, the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has a policy of monitoring and reviewing any action of a School Bus Driver, both on-duty and off-duty, that may suggest he or she is not worthy of that trust.
If the DMV receives information suggesting that a School Bus Driver has been involved in any criminal, immoral, or questionable conduct, it will seek to deny, suspend. or revoke that driver’s School Bus Driver Certificate. If you have received a notice from the DMV announcing the cancellation of your School Bus Driver Certificate, the only way to prevent the action is to schedule and win a School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing. There is no other option.
School Bus Driver Certificate Hearings absolutely CAN BE WON at the DMV. Winning a School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing requires immediate action, thorough preparation, and a thoughtful and professional presentation. The School Bus Driver Certificate Hearing is a full-blown, legal proceeding where a professional driver fights to prevent the denial, suspension, or revocation of their Special Certificate to operate a School Bus in the State of California.
If the DMV has focused upon you and is seeking to end your professional driving career by stripping you of your School Bus Driver Special Certificate, there is simply no other way to prevent that action. You have no choice; you must take on and defeat one of the most bureaucratic State agencies in existence, the California Department of Motor Vehicles.
A School Bus Driver can WIN his or her hearing, but to do so requires a commanding knowledge of The California Vehicle Code, The California Penal Code, The Evidence Code, The California Code of Procedures and the provisions of Administrative Law. Mastering these codes and perfecting appropriate defenses in this area requires years of training and experience. It is nearly impossible for the average driver to win a Special Certificate Hearing because there is just too much to learn in a short period of time. Also, the California Department of Motor Vehicles is not a “warm and fuzzy” agency devoted to helping drivers defend themselves. The only thing the DMV does well is to deny, suspend, or revoke Special Certificates. They have no interest in the negative impact the termination of your Special Certificate will have on your life. If you want to win your School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing, it’s up to you to find a way to do it. The DMV is not your friend and they will not assist you. On the other hand, we are here and we will help you.
To win a School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing you should immediately telephone the DMV Defense Experts at California Drivers Advocates. We have been fighting and winning these hearings up and down the State of California for years. We are ready to begin working immediately to protect your future.
How to Win a School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing at the DMV? If you hope to win your School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing, you must realize this will require much, much more than having a simple chat with the DMV Hearing Officer. Make no mistake; a properly conducted School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing is a full-blown, evidentiary hearing.
This action has occurred because the DMV has received information, from some source, that you have been involved in some event that demonstrates you do not meet the high standards required of a School Bus Driver. Most often, this occurs because the DMV believes that you have been involved in a criminal act or some other act of Moral Turpitude that demonstrates poor character or judgment. The DMV can also seek to strip you of your School Bus Driver Special Certificate if they believe you no longer possess the physical or mental capacity to safely operate a School Bus. The bottom line is the DMV believes they have a valid reason to strip you of your Special Certificate, and the only way you will prevail at a Special Certificate Hearing is through professional, focused, representation by someone who knows what they are doing.
California Law permits you to be represented by an attorney or any other representative of your choosing. Administrative Hearings at the DMV are a little known area of law. There are very few attorneys who even know how to conduct a DMV Hearing and even fewer who know how to do them well. At California Drivers Advocates, we do NOTHING but DMV Hearings….Period! From Northern California to the Mexican Border, CDA represents School Bus Drivers at Special Certificate Hearings dozens of times per year. The School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing is a complex, confusing, and frustrating process that can potentially ruin a person’s professional career if not handled correctly. Call us now……… We can help you!
Conducting the School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing
When a School Bus driver receives notification that the DMV is taking an action against his or her Special Certificate, there is always a “time sensitive” element to the notification. In almost all instances, the driver must request a School Bus Special Certificate Hearing within the first 15 days after the receipt of notification. At the same time the Administrative Hearing is being requested, a request to “stay” the suspension or revocation should be filed. For those drivers holding a School Bus Certificate, the DMV’s decision to grant or deny a “stay” is often predicated upon whether or not the safety of students is in question.
At the School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing, the DMV hearing officer will present the DMV’s case. The DMV is permitted to introduce its own records into evidence along with other reports or records received from various government agencies, employers, or other sources. Your representative from CDA will appear with you to ensure the DMV only introduces accurate or trustworthy information as evidence. As the “respondent” you are permitted to introduce your own evidence, records, witnesses, and other pieces of evidence to “rebut” the DMV’s position.
Concluding the School Bus Driver Special Certificate Hearing: Unlike APS and Negligent Operator hearings where the hearing officer decides the fate of one’s driving privilege, at a Special Certificate Hearing, the hearing officer is only permitted to make a recommendation to a reviewing board. The hearing officer’s recommendation is not binding on the review board.
School Bus Driver Review Board:
For those issues related to the various types of school bus certificates, the DMV will convene a Review Board comprised of the following members: A DMV Representative, who acts as the Board Chairman, A CHP Representative & A Board of Education Representative.
The Review Board has the power to sustain, modify, or “set aside” the DMV action against the School Bus Driver Special Certificate. If the Review Board feels that it requires more information, or that the Hearing Officer’s recommendation is not sound, it may remand the issue back to the Hearing Officer for further work. Ultimately, the School Bus Review Board’s is final. If the Review Board issues an unfavorable ruling, the driver can appeal the decision through two proceedings: A Request for Administrative Review or a Writ of Mandamus.
The Request for Administrative Review is the least productive of the two appellate options. This is a request for the DMV to review itself. As you can imagine it is rare for the Mandatory Actions Unit of the DMV to overturn the decision of the School Bus Review Board.
The Writ of Mandamus is a much more successful form of appeal where the driver asks a California Superior Court to review and overturn the action of the Review Board. Because the judiciary is independent of the DMV, this is a much more positive approach to an appeal. One should be cautioned, however, the Writ of Mandate can be a quite long and costly process.
Call us now, we can win a school bus driver special certificate hearing.
The School Bus Driver Special Certificate is issued to those professional drivers who maintain a level of professional and personal conduct that far exceeds every other driver on the road.
Because School Bus Drivers transport our most precious resource, it is appropriate that they be held to such a standard, however, in their zeal to ensure student safety, the DMV will often overstep their bounds and seek to suspend or revoke the School Bus Driver Special Certificate of truly trustworthy people. A School Bus driver’s employment is predicated upon the possession of the School Bus Driver Special Certificate. If the loss of your Special Certificate will result in the loss of your job, you simply cannot leave anything to chance.
Telephone the DMV Defense Experts at California Drivers Advocates. Throughout the State of California, we are known as professional and stalwart representatives of our clients. We stand ready to immediately investigate, prepare, and handle your Special Certificate Hearing. Don’t let the DMV steal your career without a fight.