Checklist · Criminal

Responding to a Traffic Citation or DUI Arrest: A Practical Checklist

5 U.S.C. § 706

Type: Checklist
Jurisdiction: National
Date: 2025-11-26
Topic: Criminal

This checklist runs a traffic citation or DUI arrest from release through disposition, in nine phases, with the one irreversible deadline placed first. Phase 1 covers the first twenty-four hours and the administrative hearing request that expires in days, and Phase 2 covers the preservation letter that saves video and calibration records before retention periods run. Phases 3 through 5 cover the client's contemporaneous account, the administrative hearing and what to preserve in it, and criminal discovery. Phases 6 and 7 walk the suppression sequence from stop through testing and the attacks available on the chemical evidence. Phase 8 covers plea evaluation, including the four consequences that usually exceed the sentence itself, and Phase 9 covers ordinary citations, points, and reductions. Four model letters and a ranked failure-mode list close the checklist.

Responding to a Traffic Citation or DUI Arrest: A Practical Checklist

Criminal > Traffic and Impaired Driving | Published 26 November 2025 - Updated 19 July 2026 | UpLaw - uplaw.us

Phase 1 has one item in it that cannot be done later. Everything else in this checklist waits; that one does not.

Keywords: hearing deadline, preservation, discovery, suppression, chemical evidence, plea consequences, points, reduction

How to use this checklist

Nine phases. Each has - [ ] items and a Why it matters, and the traps note. A fictional case — a taillight stop, three roadside tests, a 0.09, and a ten-day notice in an envelope — runs throughout.

Doctrine is in Traffic Offenses and Impaired Driving: A Comprehensive Guide to Stops, Testing, License Suspension, and Defense. The narrative is The Stop, the Test, and the Two Cases: What Really Happens After a DUI Arrest. The materials are in The Traffic and Impaired Driving Defense Toolkit.

Phase 1 — The first twenty-four hours

[ ] Read every page in the release envelope.
[ ] Find the administrative notice — separate from the citation and from the court date.
[ ] Find the deadline to request a license hearing. Commonly 7 to 30 days.
[ ] Request the hearing, in writing, today. Keep proof of the request.
[ ] Confirm whether requesting the hearing stays the suspension in your state.
[ ] Write the criminal court date on a calendar.
[ ] Do not discuss the facts with anyone but counsel.
[ ] Do not post about it.
[ ] Note whether you hold a commercial license — the consequences are separate and harsher.
[ ] Note whether you hold a professional license with a self-report obligation.
[ ] Note whether you are not a citizen.

Why it matters, and the traps. One arrest, two cases. The criminal case announces itself with a court date. The administrative license case arrives as a notice in an envelope handed to an exhausted person at four in the morning, and it expires in days.

This is the single most common preventable harm in impaired driving practice.

The structure is lawful — Mackey v. Montrym, 443 U.S. 1 (1979) and Dixon v. Love, 431 U.S. 105 (1977) permit suspension before a hearing, applying Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U.S. 319 (1976), provided a prompt hearing is available. It is available. It must be requested.

Phase 2 — The preservation letter

[ ] Send it within days, not weeks.
[ ] Demand body camera footage — all officers, not just the arresting officer.
[ ] Demand dashcam footage — all units present.
[ ] Demand booking and station video, including the breath test room.
[ ] Demand the instrument's calibration, maintenance, and certification records.
[ ] Demand the operator's certification and training records.
[ ] Demand the observation log.
[ ] Demand dispatch and computer-aided dispatch logs establishing timing.
[ ] For a blood case, demand the chain of custody, tube lot and expiration, and storage records.
[ ] For a checkpoint, demand the written plan, supervisory approval, and selection formula.
[ ] Request confirmation of preservation in writing.

Why it matters, and the traps. Retention schedules are measured in weeks. Non-evidentiary footage is routinely overwritten in thirty to ninety days, and footage from a secondary unit or a station area is frequently never flagged as evidentiary at all.

Demand by unit and time window, not by case number.

The video decides more of these cases than the chemistry does — and it is the only neutral witness to observations that appear in the report as checkboxes.

Phase 3 — The client's own record

[ ] Write down what was consumed, how much, and when — with times.
[ ] Write down what was eaten and when.
[ ] Describe the route and the driving.
[ ] Describe the stop: what was said, in order, by whom.
[ ] Describe the surface where field sobriety tests were administered — slope, gravel, lighting, traffic.
[ ] Note footwear, injuries, medical conditions, and medications.
[ ] Note fatigue and time awake.
[ ] Note whether field sobriety tests were explained and demonstrated.
[ ] Note whether the implied consent advisement was read, and what it said.
[ ] Note the times — stop, arrest, arrival, test.
[ ] Identify any passengers or witnesses.

Why it matters, and the traps. Written in week one, this is contemporaneous. Written in month four, it is reconstruction — and it will be cross-examined as such.

The absorption question depends entirely on the timeline. Two standard drinks over three hours is a different case from two drinks in the twenty minutes before driving, and only the client knows which.

Phase 4 — The administrative hearing

[ ] Confirm the date and appear.
[ ] Know the narrow issues: reasonable grounds · lawful arrest · proper advisement · refusal or a prohibited concentration.
[ ] Expect to lose. Have it anyway.
[ ] Cross-examine on the surface and conditions of the field sobriety tests.
[ ] Cross-examine on the observation period before the breath test.
[ ] Cross-examine on the advisement, word for word.
[ ] Establish what the officer recalls versus what the report says.
[ ] Preserve every objection with its ground — review is confined to the record under the state analogue of 5 U.S.C. § 706.
[ ] Order the transcript.
[ ] Ask about a stay pending review — the analogue of 5 U.S.C. § 705.
[ ] Apply separately for a hardship or restricted license, with its own deadline.

Why it matters, and the traps. The officer testifies under oath, months before any criminal-case deposition, without a prepared trial narrative. That transcript is the cheapest and most useful discovery in the entire case.

State motor vehicle hearings follow the state administrative procedure act, tracking 5 U.S.C. § 554 through 5 U.S.C. § 557, with the burden on the proponent under 5 U.S.C. § 556 and a right to counsel under 5 U.S.C. § 555. Licenses are addressed specifically at 5 U.S.C. § 558.

Waiving the hearing to save a fee gives away the single best piece of discovery available.

Phase 5 — Criminal discovery

[ ] Serve discovery demands at the first appearance.
[ ] Obtain everything listed in Phase 2, whether or not it was preserved.
[ ] Obtain the police report and any supplements.
[ ] Obtain the field sobriety score sheets.
[ ] Obtain the breath instrument's full maintenance history, not a summary certificate.
[ ] Obtain the source code or operating manual where the jurisdiction permits.
[ ] For blood, obtain the laboratory's accreditation, protocols, and analyst qualifications.
[ ] Obtain any prior convictions the state intends to use, and verify each.
[ ] Obtain the checkpoint plan, if applicable.
[ ] Track the speedy trial clock — the state analogue of 18 U.S.C. § 3161.

Why it matters, and the traps. A summary certificate is not the maintenance history. Demand the underlying records.

Verify prior convictions. Where a prior was uncounseled, or the record is incomplete, it may not be usable to enhance — and enhancement is where the sentence exposure actually lives.

Phase 6 — The suppression sequence

[ ] The stop. Was there reasonable suspicion or a traffic violation? Note Whren v. United States, 517 U.S. 806 (1996) forecloses the pretext argument, and Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (1968) supplies the standard.
[ ] A random stop is unlawful — Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648 (1979).
[ ] A checkpoint requires neutral predetermined criteria — Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444 (1990). Compare the plan to what happened.
[ ] The expansion. Was each step supported by what had been observed at that point? Was the stop prolonged beyond its purpose?
[ ] The arrest. Probable cause, assessed on the video rather than the report.
[ ] A blood draw. Was there a warrant? If not, which exception — and do the facts support it? Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757 (1966); Mitchell v. Wisconsin, 588 U.S. 840 (2019) for the unconscious driver.
[ ] Any vehicle search — Arizona v. Gant, 556 U.S. 332 (2009).
[ ] Statements after custody attached, without warnings.
[ ] Whether a request for an independent test was made and denied.

Why it matters, and the traps. The stop is rarely the winning issue. The expansion frequently is.

For a blood case the first question is always the warrant, and the second is whether the claimed exception matches the facts rather than a boilerplate recital.

Phase 7 — The chemical evidence

[ ] Check the observation period against the timestamps.
[ ] Check calibration dates against the test date.
[ ] Check the operator's certification currency.
[ ] Identify mouth alcohol sources: dental work, medication, reflux, recent consumption.
[ ] Apply the instrument's margin of error to a reading near the limit.
[ ] Build the absorption timeline — was the driver still absorbing at the time of driving?
[ ] Consider retrograde extrapolation and whether an expert is warranted.
[ ] For blood: chain of custody · preservative and anticoagulant · storage temperature · fermentation · analyst qualifications.
[ ] For drugs: presence is not impairment; challenge the drug recognition evaluation protocol and certification.
[ ] Remember there are usually two charges — per se and impairment — and defeating one does not defeat the other.

Why it matters, and the traps. A test result is evidence, not a verdict.

The absorption point is not a technicality. If alcohol was still absorbing, the reading taken forty minutes after the stop may exceed the concentration behind the wheel — a real defense the state must answer.

Phase 8 — Evaluating a plea

[ ] Price the insurance consequence — usually the largest financial item by far.
[ ] Check commercial license disqualification, which is separate, harsher, and frequently unmaskable by deferral.
[ ] Check any professional licensing self-report obligation and its deadline.
[ ] Obtain immigration advice before any plea where the client is not a citizen.
[ ] Ask specifically about diversion or deferred adjudication — it exists in many places and is rarely volunteered.
[ ] Confirm the ignition interlock requirement and duration.
[ ] Confirm whether the suspension runs concurrently with the administrative suspension.
[ ] Confirm future expungement or sealing eligibility — see Petitioning to Expunge or Seal a Criminal Record: A Practical Checklist.
[ ] Confirm how the conviction will appear on background screening — 15 U.S.C. § 1681g, 15 U.S.C. § 1681i.
[ ] Note sentencing considerations track 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Why it matters, and the traps. The court costs are rarely the largest consequence. Insurance, employment, licensure, and immigration usually are, and all four should be priced before a plea rather than discovered after one.

Phase 9 — Ordinary traffic citations

[ ] Do not simply pay it — paying is pleading guilty and assesses the points.
[ ] Determine the points and the insurance surcharge.
[ ] Appear and ask for a reduction to a non-moving or non-pointed offense.
[ ] Ask about traffic school or deferral — it must be requested.
[ ] Check the accumulated points against the suspension threshold.
[ ] If suspended, understand driving while suspended is a separate and far more serious offense.
[ ] If the problem is inability to pay, request an ability-to-pay determination, payment plan, community service, or waiver.
[ ] If the fine went to collection, note 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692–1692p applies — see Disputing a Credit Report Error and Defending a Debt Collection Suit: A Practical Checklist.
[ ] If the citation arose from an accident, do not resolve it without considering the civil case — see Documenting and Presenting a Car Accident Claim: A Practical Checklist.
[ ] Commercial licence holders: a conviction in a personal vehicle still counts.

Why it matters, and the traps. The fine is not the cost. The insurance surcharge runs three years and frequently exceeds the fine several times over.

A reduction eliminates that consequence entirely, is available on request in many courts, and is the most under-used option in traffic practice.

Model letters

A. Administrative hearing request

"Re: driver [name], license [number], arrest date [date], notice number [___]. I hereby request a hearing on the proposed suspension of driving privileges, within the period allowed by [statute]. Please confirm the hearing date in writing and advise whether the suspension is stayed pending the hearing. I request that the arresting officer be present and subject to cross-examination, and I request copies of all documents the agency intends to rely upon in advance of the hearing."

B. Preservation letter

"Re: arrest of [name] on [date] at approximately [time] at [location], case [number]. Please preserve, and suspend any automatic deletion or overwriting of, all body-worn camera and in-car video from every officer and unit present; booking and station video including the testing area; the calibration, maintenance, and certification records for instrument serial [___]; the operator's certification and training records; the observation log; dispatch and CAD logs; and, for any blood specimen, the chain of custody, collection records, tube lot and expiration, and storage records. Please confirm preservation in writing."

C. Discovery demand excerpt

"Defendant requests: the complete police report and all supplements; all video described in the preservation letter of [date]; the field sobriety test score sheets; the full maintenance and calibration history of the instrument, not a summary certificate; the operator's certification; the observation log; the laboratory's accreditation, protocols, and analyst qualifications; certified records of any prior conviction the State intends to use for enhancement; and, if a checkpoint was involved, the written plan, supervisory approval, and selection criteria."

D. Hardship license application cover

"I am applying for a restricted license under [statute]. My license was suspended effective [date] arising from an arrest on [date]. I require driving privileges for [employment / medical treatment / education], described as follows: [details, with employer or provider letters attached]. I am prepared to comply with an ignition interlock requirement and any other condition the agency imposes."

Failure modes, ranked

Missing the administrative hearing deadline.
Waiving the hearing, and losing the earliest sworn testimony.
Not preserving video before it is overwritten.
Talking at the roadside — the recording outlives the memory.
Assuming a low reading ends the case.
Assuming a high reading ends the case.
Accepting a summary calibration certificate instead of the maintenance history.
Not verifying prior convictions used for enhancement.
Pleading without checking commercial license consequences.
Pleading without immigration advice.
Missing a professional licensing self-report deadline.
Ignoring the insurance consequence in the plea calculus.
Simply paying a traffic citation instead of asking for a reduction.

The deadline table

Deadline	Typical window	Consequence of missing it
Administrative hearing request	7–30 days from arrest	Suspension takes effect automatically; no hearing, no officer testimony
Video preservation	30–90 days (retention)	Footage overwritten permanently
Criminal arraignment	Days to weeks	Bench warrant
Hardship license application	Varies; often after a waiting period	Delayed driving privileges
Professional license self-report	Frequently 30 days from arrest or conviction	A separate violation, often worse than the offense
Commercial license employer notice	Frequently 30 days	Independent employment consequence
Petition for judicial review of suspension	Short — often 30 days from the order	Administrative decision becomes final
Speedy trial	Statutory	Waived if not asserted

Only the first four are commonly explained at release. The rest are the client's to discover, which is why they are on this list.

Who does what

The client. Phase 3, entirely. Nobody else can reconstruct the timeline of consumption, food, sleep, and route — and it is worthless if written in month four.

Defense counsel. Phases 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Phase 1's hearing request is counsel's if counsel is retained in time, and the client's if not — which is why it is written to be done by a person alone at four in the morning.

A DUI-experienced practitioner. The chemical evidence in Phase 7. Calibration records, absorption timelines, and retrograde extrapolation are specialist material, and a general practitioner should associate rather than improvise.

Immigration counsel. Phase 8's immigration item, before any plea. Not after.

An expert. Where the reading is close to the limit, where absorption is genuinely contested, or in a drug case where the drug recognition evaluation is the state's proof.

A traffic-court practitioner or the client alone. Phase 9. Ordinary citations rarely justify counsel — but they always justify appearing and asking.

The two sentences that do the most work

"There are two cases, and the license one has a deadline in days."

Say it to anyone who has just been released. It is the difference between a suspension that was contested and one that simply arrived. The structure is lawful — the Supreme Court approved suspend-first-hear-promptly in Mackey and Dixon — but the promptly-available hearing has to be asked for, and the notice announcing that is the least conspicuous page in the envelope.

"Preserve the video now."

Retention runs in weeks. The report describes the driving; the footage shows it. Those are frequently different, and only one of them survives ninety days by default.

Responding to a Traffic Citation or DUI Arrest: A Practical Checklist

How to use this checklist

Phase 1 — The first twenty-four hours

Phase 2 — The preservation letter

Phase 3 — The client's own record

Phase 4 — The administrative hearing

Phase 5 — Criminal discovery

Phase 6 — The suppression sequence

Phase 7 — The chemical evidence

Phase 8 — Evaluating a plea

Phase 9 — Ordinary traffic citations

Model letters

A. Administrative hearing request

B. Preservation letter

C. Discovery demand excerpt

D. Hardship license application cover

Failure modes, ranked

The deadline table

Who does what

The two sentences that do the most work

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