Table of Contents
An arrest for Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants in Oregon sets two separate legal machines in motion at the same time. A criminal case moves through the Multnomah County Circuit Court under ORS 813.010, and an entirely independent administrative case moves through the Oregon Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division under ORS 813.410. The two cases have different judges, different burdens of proof, different timelines, and different penalties. The most common way a Portland driver loses a DUII case before it starts is by focusing on the criminal charge and letting the DMV clock run out. That clock is ten days long.
This guide walks through what Oregon DUII actually is under ORS 813.010, how the criminal and DMV tracks operate side by side, the mandatory penalty tiers under ORS 813.020, the DUII Diversion Program under ORS 813.200 and its eligibility rules under ORS 813.215, the Ignition Interlock Device requirements under ORS 813.602 through 813.606, when DUII becomes a felony under ORS 813.011, the defenses that can matter at trial, and the practical steps a Portland driver should take in the first ten days after arrest. It is written for the person who was booked at the Justice Center on Southwest Third, released with a citation, and is now trying to figure out what to do before Monday morning.
This article is general information about Oregon law, not legal advice about your specific case. Facts matter, and the ten-day DMV window means the sooner you talk to a lawyer, the more of your options remain open. BFQ Law's Portland office handles Oregon DUII defense in Multnomah, Washington, and Clackamas County Circuit Courts. For a confidential consultation, reach us through our contact page, call (971) 754-7629, or email secretary@BFQLaw.com.
Table of Contents
- ➤ What Oregon DUII Actually Is (ORS 813.010)
- ➤ The Two Parallel Tracks: Criminal Case and DMV Suspension
- ➤ The 10-Day Window to Request a DMV Hearing (ORS 813.410)
- ➤ Chemical Testing and Refusal Under ORS 813.100
- ➤ Sentencing Tiers Under ORS 813.010 and 813.020
- ➤ The DUII Diversion Program (ORS 813.200)
- ➤ Ignition Interlock Device Requirements (ORS 813.602 through 813.606)
- ➤ Felony DUII Under ORS 813.011
- ➤ Common Defenses in Oregon DUII Cases
- ➤ What to Do (and Not Do) in the First 10 Days
- ➤ Frequently Asked Questions
- ➤ Conclusion
What Oregon DUII Actually Is (ORS 813.010)
Oregon does not call the offense DUI or DWI. The statute is ORS 813.010, and the offense is Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants. The word intoxicants is doing meaningful work. Oregon's DUII law reaches alcohol, cannabis, controlled substances, and inhalants, and it treats a combination of any of those as a separate way to commit the same offense. A Portland driver who is stone sober on alcohol but who took a prescription sedative earlier in the evening can be charged and convicted under exactly the same statute as a driver who blew a .16 on the breath machine at the East Precinct.
ORS 813.010(1) sets out three independent theories that the state can use to convict. First, the per se theory: the driver had a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or more at the time of a breath, blood, or urine test taken within a reasonable time after driving. The reading itself is the offense; the state does not have to prove that the driver was actually impaired. Second, the actual impairment theory: the driver was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, cannabis, a controlled substance, or an inhalant while driving. Under this theory the state relies on the officer's field observations, the field sobriety tests, and often a Drug Recognition Evaluation rather than a numeric test result. Third, the combined influence theory: the driver was under the influence of any combination of alcohol, cannabis, controlled substances, or inhalants. This third theory catches the polydrug case that would fall short under either the alcohol-only or the drug-only prong.
The per se threshold for adult non-commercial drivers is 0.08 percent. Oregon uses a lower 0.04 percent threshold for commercial drivers behind the wheel of a commercial motor vehicle. Drivers under 21 are subject to a zero-tolerance rule under separate provisions that treat any measurable alcohol as a basis for license consequences. The 0.08 number in ORS 813.010 is not a safe harbor. A driver who blows a .07 can still be prosecuted and convicted under the actual impairment or combined influence prongs if the officer's observations and the totality of the evidence support impairment.
A first or second DUII conviction is a Class A misdemeanor. The maximum statutory penalties for a Class A misdemeanor in Oregon are one year in jail and a $6,250 fine, and DUII carries its own mandatory minimums on top of the misdemeanor framework. DUII becomes a Class C felony under ORS 813.011 when the driver has been convicted of DUII or a substantially similar out-of-state offense at least two times in the ten years before the current offense - in other words, on the third qualifying offense within ten years. The felony version is discussed in its own section below.
The Two Parallel Tracks: Criminal Case and DMV Suspension
The single most important structural feature of Oregon DUII is that the arrest triggers two separate cases, and one of them will start running against you before the other one has its first court date. Understanding both tracks is the difference between preserving your license and losing it by default.
The Criminal Case in Circuit Court
DUII is a state offense prosecuted in Circuit Court. For a Portland arrest, that means Multnomah County Circuit Court at the Central Courthouse on Southwest First Avenue. Portland's municipal court does not hear DUII cases. Neither do the city police courts in the smaller Multnomah County jurisdictions. If your citation lists a courtroom, it will be a Circuit Court department. The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office prosecutes the case. The state must prove each element of ORS 813.010 beyond a reasonable doubt. The criminal case is where the fine, jail, probation, treatment, and permanent conviction come from.
The DMV Administrative Case
The DMV's implied consent suspension under ORS 813.410 is a civil administrative action, not a criminal one. It is triggered by two things and only two things: a breath, blood, or urine test result of 0.08 percent or higher for an adult non-commercial driver, or a refusal to submit to a lawfully requested test. The DMV suspension applies whether or not the criminal case is ever filed, whether or not the criminal case is ultimately dismissed, and whether or not the driver ever enters diversion. It is a separate consequence with its own timeline.
For a first-time test failure at 0.08 or higher, the standard implied consent suspension is 90 days. For a first refusal, the suspension is one year. Repeat refusals or repeat test failures within a lookback period carry longer suspensions - a repeat refusal within five years, for example, runs three years. The refusal suspension is longer than the test-failure suspension by design. The legislature wanted a stiff administrative cost for withholding evidence from the state.
The suspension does not depend on a conviction and does not wait for the criminal case to resolve. The paperwork the officer served you with at the scene of the arrest starts the DMV clock the same day. If you do nothing, the suspension takes effect automatically on the 30th day after service of the notice.
The 10-Day Window to Request a DMV Hearing (ORS 813.410)
Under ORS 813.410, a driver who has been served with a notice of implied consent suspension has ten days to request an administrative hearing before the Office of Administrative Hearings. Not thirty. Not until the criminal arraignment. Ten calendar days from the date of the notice. The notice is usually the pink-copy form the officer gives you at the scene, or in some cases a form mailed to you if the officer had to send test results to a lab. Miss the ten-day window and the suspension takes effect automatically. There is no motion to reconsider, no oversight of whether the officer got the paperwork right, and no chance to challenge the reason for the stop before the license goes into a hard suspension.
The hearing itself is limited to a narrow set of issues, but those issues are meaningful. The Administrative Law Judge asks whether the officer had reasonable grounds to believe you were driving under the influence, whether the officer read you the ORS 813.130 rights and consequences form, whether you were given a reasonable opportunity to consult with an attorney before deciding whether to test, whether the equipment was working correctly, and whether the test result actually meets the statutory threshold or the refusal actually qualifies as a refusal. A hearing loss does not preclude challenging the same issues in the criminal case, and a hearing win can suppress the license consequence even when the criminal case is still pending.
Requesting the hearing is a short form submitted to DMV in Salem. Any Oregon DUII lawyer will file it for you as the first act after being retained. The mechanical reason to hire an attorney fast is not that the criminal case is urgent - your arraignment is usually a few weeks out - but that the DMV clock is not.
Chemical Testing and Refusal Under ORS 813.100
Oregon's implied consent law is codified at ORS 813.100. By driving on Oregon roads, you have consented in advance to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test if a police officer has lawfully arrested you for DUII and has reasonable grounds to believe you were driving under the influence. Consent is implied by conduct; it does not require a separate signature on anything.
Before the test is administered, ORS 813.130 requires the officer to read you a specific rights and consequences form. The form spells out that a refusal will result in a longer administrative suspension, a separate refusal fine, and the fact that the refusal itself can be used as evidence against you in the criminal case. It also tells you that you have the right to consult with a lawyer before deciding whether to test, provided that the consultation does not unreasonably delay the test. If the officer skips the form, reads it incompletely, or refuses to give you a real opportunity to reach an attorney, the DMV hearing is the forum where those failures matter.
Refusing the breath test in Oregon is not a free option. A first refusal costs your license for one year through the DMV, comes with a separate refusal fine of at least $650, is admissible in the criminal case as evidence of consciousness of guilt, and does not stop the state from getting a warrant for a blood draw. In practice, an Oregon driver who refuses often ends up with the blood test happening anyway, plus the refusal penalty stacked on top. Whether refusal makes sense in any given situation is highly fact-specific and is exactly the kind of question that benefits from a phone call to a lawyer while you are still at the station.
Sentencing Tiers Under ORS 813.010 and 813.020
Oregon DUII sentencing is highly structured. The mandatory minimums come from ORS 813.020 and rise with each prior conviction and with aggravating facts. A judge has almost no discretion to go below the statutory floors.
First Offense
A first DUII conviction carries a mandatory minimum fine of $1,000 under ORS 813.020. The judge must also impose either at least 48 hours in jail or between 80 and 250 hours of community service. Formal probation is standard. The driver must complete a substance use screening and any treatment recommended by the screener. An ignition interlock device is required for one year after the license is reinstated. The court also imposes a one-year hard driver license suspension as part of the criminal sentence, separate from the administrative suspension.
Second Offense
A second DUII conviction carries a mandatory minimum fine of $1,500, longer minimum jail time, mandatory treatment, and a three-year license suspension in the criminal case. IID requirements extend to two years after reinstatement.
Third Offense Within Ten Years
A third DUII within ten years is felony DUII under ORS 813.011 and is discussed below. If the third offense falls outside the ten-year window, it is charged as a misdemeanor but carries a mandatory minimum fine of $2,000, extended treatment obligations, and heavier jail exposure.
Aggravated Fines for High BAC or Minor Passenger
ORS 813.020 raises the mandatory minimum fine substantially when the driver's breath or blood alcohol content was 0.15 percent or higher, or when a passenger under 18 years of age who was at least three years younger than the driver was in the vehicle. In either aggravating scenario the mandatory minimum fine jumps to $2,000 on a first offense, higher on repeats. The high-BAC finding also triggers a longer IID requirement and heavier treatment recommendations.
The DUII Diversion Program (ORS 813.200)
The DUII Diversion Program under ORS 813.200 is the single most important tool in Oregon DUII defense for a first-time offender. Diversion is a one-year program that, if completed successfully, ends in dismissal of the DUII charge. The driver enters a guilty or no-contest plea at the start of diversion, but that plea is held in abeyance. If every diversion condition is satisfied, the plea is withdrawn and the case is dismissed with prejudice. If the driver fails, the plea is entered as a conviction with no further trial.
Eligibility Under ORS 813.215
ORS 813.215 sets out the disqualifying facts. A petitioner is ineligible for DUII diversion if any of the following applies: the current offense involved a motor vehicle crash that caused death or physical injury to a person other than the driver; the petitioner has participated in DUII diversion in Oregon or a substantially similar program in any state within the 15 years before the current offense; the petitioner has a prior conviction for DUII or a substantially similar offense that was not itself dismissed through diversion; the petitioner holds a commercial driver license, and this applies whether the CDL holder was in a commercial vehicle or a personal vehicle at the time of the current offense; or the petitioner has a pending felony charge involving death or physical injury.
The commercial driver license disqualifier catches many working drivers by surprise. A Portland truck driver who was off duty in a personal Subaru on a Saturday night is still ineligible for diversion because the holder of a CDL is disqualified regardless of what vehicle the DUII arrest happened in. Federal regulations require the state to treat CDL holders more strictly, and Oregon's diversion statute reflects that.
The Petition Process Under ORS 813.220
ORS 813.220 requires the petition for diversion to be filed within 30 days of the arraignment on the DUII charge, and the petition must include a plea agreement, an affidavit that lists prior offenses, an acknowledgment of the diversion program's requirements, and a jury trial waiver. The prosecutor has a chance to object, most commonly on eligibility grounds, and the court holds a short hearing before deciding whether to allow the petition.
What the Program Requires
During the one-year program, the driver must complete a substance use screening and any recommended treatment; attend a Victim Impact Panel; abstain from alcohol, cannabis, and controlled substances except as lawfully prescribed; install and maintain an Ignition Interlock Device on any vehicle the driver operates; pay the diversion filing fee, program fees, and treatment costs; and commit no new offenses. Positive alcohol readings from the IID, missed treatment sessions, or a new arrest can each be grounds for termination of the program and entry of the conviction on the underlying plea.
What Diversion Does Not Solve
Diversion is a criminal-case tool. It does not stop the DMV administrative suspension under ORS 813.410. A driver who blew a 0.09 and enters diversion the same day still faces the 90-day implied consent suspension. Diversion also does not remove the arrest from the driver's record; it prevents the conviction, but the arrest and the diversion participation are visible to future courts and to future employers who see the full court file.
Ignition Interlock Device Requirements (ORS 813.602 through 813.606)
Oregon's Ignition Interlock Device rules are codified at ORS 813.602 through 813.606. An IID is a breath-alcohol sensor installed on the vehicle's ignition system. The driver must blow into the device to start the vehicle and must provide random rolling retests while driving. A reading above the calibrated threshold locks out the ignition and generates a report to the state monitoring authority.
IID is required in three distinct Oregon DUII contexts. First, participants in the DUII Diversion Program under ORS 813.200 must install and maintain an IID for the duration of the program on any vehicle they operate. Second, drivers convicted of DUII under ORS 813.010 must install an IID for a statutory minimum period after license reinstatement - one year for a first conviction, two years for a second conviction, and longer for third and subsequent convictions. Third, drivers with an aggravating high-BAC finding of 0.15 or higher at the time of the offense face an extended IID period beyond the ordinary conviction minimum.
The IID must be installed by a state-approved provider. The driver pays for installation, monthly monitoring, and removal. Costs typically run several hundred dollars up front and roughly $80 to $100 per month for the duration of the requirement. Tampering with the device, disconnecting it, or asking someone else to provide the breath sample is a separate criminal offense under ORS 813.606 and will extend the interlock period.
The interlock period runs from the date of installation, not from the date of the conviction. A driver who does not install the device promptly after reinstatement extends the total time the requirement will remain in place. The state's monitoring authority certifies completion; the driver does not simply reach a date and remove the device on their own.
Felony DUII Under ORS 813.011
ORS 813.011 elevates DUII from a Class A misdemeanor to a Class C felony when the driver has been convicted of DUII or its statutory counterpart in another jurisdiction at least twice in the ten years before the current offense. In other words, the third qualifying DUII within a rolling ten-year window is felony DUII.
Felony DUII carries a presumptive prison sentence under Oregon's sentencing guidelines, though the exact term depends on the defendant's criminal history score. The statute imposes a mandatory minimum jail term of 90 days on a felony DUII conviction, and probation is not available in the same forms as it is for the misdemeanor version. A felony conviction also carries a lifetime driver license revocation with limited possibility of reinstatement, mandatory extended IID after any reinstatement, and lifetime prohibition on future DUII diversion. Federal law prohibits a person convicted of a felony from possessing firearms, and Oregon law adds its own consequences on top.
The counting rule in ORS 813.011 counts out-of-state DUI, DWI, OWI, and similar convictions if the underlying offense is substantially similar to Oregon DUII. A Washington DUI conviction from four years ago and an Idaho DUI conviction from seven years ago will both count toward the felony trigger on a fresh Portland DUII arrest. Whether a prior conviction actually qualifies is a technical statutory question that turns on the elements of the out-of-state offense, and it is one of the first things a defense lawyer will audit when reviewing a client's history.
Common Defenses in Oregon DUII Cases
Oregon DUII cases are defensible. The state's evidence has technical requirements at every stage, and defense counsel's job is to find the weak links between the observed driving pattern and the courtroom claim of impairment beyond a reasonable doubt.
The Stop Itself
An officer needs reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or a criminal offense to pull a driver over. Oregon courts under Article I, Section 9 of the Oregon Constitution have been more protective than federal courts on several stop-and-detain issues. A stop for a broken taillight that quickly expands into a DUII investigation without independent basis to suspect impairment is a common suppression target. If the stop falls, everything gathered after it - the field observations, the breath test, the officer's report - can fall with it.
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus and Field Sobriety Tests
Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, or HGN, is the pen-follow test where the officer watches the driver's eyes. It is admissible in Oregon under State v. O'Key with a foundational showing that the officer is certified and administered the test correctly. HGN evidence is often overstated by prosecutors, and cross-examination on the officer's training, the environmental conditions at the stop, and the driver's baseline eye behavior can weaken the state's case. The Walk and Turn and One Leg Stand tests are subjective and highly sensitive to age, weight, footwear, and the roadside surface. A defense expert can walk a jury through the ways an average person can fail these tests stone sober.
Breath Test Problems
The Intoxilyzer 8000 is Oregon's standard breath testing instrument. The state must show a valid 15-minute observation period during which the driver did not burp, belch, or place anything in the mouth, a properly calibrated instrument, and an operator qualified to run it. Mouth alcohol, GERD reflux, dental work that traps alcohol, and residual mouth alcohol from a recent drink can all inflate readings above the driver's actual blood alcohol content. Machine malfunctions, expired calibration certificates, and operator error are recurring issues that surface in discovery.
Medical Conditions and Prescription Medications
Diabetes, low-carb diets in ketosis, and certain neurological conditions can generate signs that mimic alcohol impairment on field sobriety tests and, in the case of ketosis, can produce isopropanol readings that some instruments confuse with ethanol. Prescription medications taken as directed are still intoxicants under ORS 813.010's actual impairment prong, but they are not per se DUII, and the state must prove that the specific medication actually impaired driving at the time.
Rising BAC and the Timing Problem
The per se prong of ORS 813.010 asks about the driver's BAC at the time of the test, not at the time of driving. Alcohol takes time to absorb. A driver who had a drink shortly before being pulled over may still have been absorbing alcohol when the breath test happened 40 minutes later at the station, meaning the reading at the station was higher than the actual BAC at the wheel. The rising BAC defense requires supporting facts - a documented last drink, an established stop time, and often a defense toxicology expert - but it can move a per se .09 case back toward reasonable doubt.
What to Do (and Not Do) in the First 10 Days
The first ten days after a Portland DUII arrest are structurally the most important stretch of the case. Every option remains open at day one and several close by default at day ten. A short checklist:
Do
Read the paperwork the officer served you with. It will identify the criminal charge, list a court date for arraignment, and include the DMV implied consent notice with the ten-day hearing request deadline printed on it. Note the date. Contact a DUII defense lawyer promptly - the same week if at all possible. Make sure the DMV hearing request is filed on time whether or not you have decided how to handle the criminal case. Write down what you remember about the stop while it is fresh: where you were coming from, what you had to drink and when, what the officer said, what you said back, how the field tests were administered, and whether the officer read the ORS 813.130 rights and consequences form. Preserve any receipts, GPS records, dash camera footage, or witnesses that might establish the timeline. Start thinking about substance use screening and treatment now - if the case ends in diversion or in a conviction, treatment will be required, and early engagement often reads well to the court.
Do Not
Do not talk about the case on social media. Screenshots of Instagram stories and Facebook posts do end up in prosecutor discovery. Do not contact the arresting officer to explain your side. Do not call the DA's office to argue the case. Do not miss the ten-day DMV window because the arraignment is still weeks away - the two clocks are independent, and the DMV clock runs faster. Do not drive without a valid license once the administrative suspension takes effect. Driving While Suspended is a separate offense under ORS 811.175 and 811.182, and a DWS on top of a pending DUII narrows every option that was still on the table.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is DUII a misdemeanor or a felony in Oregon?
For a first or second offense, DUII is a Class A misdemeanor under ORS 813.010. It becomes a Class C felony under ORS 813.011 when the driver has been convicted of DUII or a substantially similar out-of-state offense at least twice in the ten years before the current offense. That means the third qualifying offense within a rolling ten-year window is felony DUII, with a presumptive prison sentence, a mandatory minimum 90-day jail term, lifetime license revocation, and permanent ineligibility for future DUII diversion.
I only had a BAC of 0.08. Isn't there a threshold below which I'm safe?
No. The 0.08 number in ORS 813.010 is the per se threshold - the point at which the reading itself is the offense, without any further proof of impairment. It is not a safe harbor for lower readings. A driver who blows a .07 can still be prosecuted and convicted under the actual impairment prong or the combined influence prong if the officer's observations, field sobriety tests, and any drug evidence support impairment. Commercial drivers face a 0.04 per se threshold, and drivers under 21 face zero-tolerance rules. A low breath reading is a helpful fact for the defense but it does not automatically end the case.
Can I refuse the breath test? What happens if I do?
You can refuse. It is not a free option. A first refusal costs your license for one year through the DMV under ORS 813.410, comes with a separate refusal fine of at least $650, and is admissible in the criminal case as evidence of consciousness of guilt. Repeat refusals carry longer suspensions. Refusal also does not prevent the state from obtaining a warrant for a blood draw. Whether refusal makes sense in a given case depends on facts that are hard to assess at the roadside - the strength of the state's other evidence, prior convictions, and CDL status. This is exactly the moment the ORS 813.130 rights form's opportunity to consult with an attorney is meant to protect.
How does diversion work, and can I get my DUII dismissed?
The DUII Diversion Program under ORS 813.200 is a one-year court-supervised program that ends in dismissal of the underlying DUII charge if the driver completes every condition. At the start of diversion the driver enters a guilty or no-contest plea that is held in abeyance. During the year the driver must complete substance use screening and any recommended treatment, attend a Victim Impact Panel, abstain from alcohol and non-prescribed drugs, install and maintain an IID, pay the fees, and commit no new offenses. Successful completion results in dismissal with prejudice. A failure results in the plea being entered as a conviction without further trial. Diversion does not stop the DMV implied consent suspension, which runs on its own track.
I have a CDL. Can I still get diversion?
No. ORS 813.215 makes commercial driver license holders categorically ineligible for DUII diversion, and the disqualification applies whether the driver was in a commercial vehicle or a personal vehicle at the time of the DUII arrest. Federal regulations require the state to treat CDL holders more strictly than ordinary license holders on DUI-related offenses, and Oregon's diversion statute reflects that. A CDL holder's DUII case must be defended through the criminal system - motions, negotiation, and trial - without diversion as a fallback.
What is the 10-day DMV clock, and what happens if I miss it?
The ten-day clock comes from ORS 813.410. From the date the officer serves you with the implied consent suspension notice, you have ten calendar days to request an administrative hearing before the Office of Administrative Hearings. If you miss the ten-day window the suspension takes effect automatically on the 30th day after service of the notice - 90 days for a first test failure of 0.08 or higher, or one year for a first refusal. There is no motion to reconsider a missed deadline. The DMV clock runs independently of the criminal case, and it starts before your first courtroom appearance.
Will I lose my license immediately?
Not immediately. The officer takes your license at the scene and issues a temporary paper permit that is generally valid for 30 days from the date of the notice. During that 30-day window you may drive on the paper permit. If you have requested an implied consent hearing, the suspension is stayed until the hearing decision is issued. If you did not request a hearing, the administrative suspension takes effect on day 30. On top of the administrative suspension, a criminal conviction under ORS 813.010 or 813.011 imposes its own separate court-ordered suspension that runs after or concurrently with the DMV action depending on the sequencing.
How long does DUII stay on my record in Oregon?
A DUII conviction stays on the Oregon driving record indefinitely, and Oregon does not permit expunction of DUII convictions - a DUII conviction is specifically excluded from Oregon's set-aside statute. The conviction is visible to future courts for the ten-year lookback under ORS 813.011 and to insurers, employers, and licensing bodies who run driving records. A successful DUII diversion ends in dismissal rather than conviction; the dismissal itself is not a conviction on the record, but the arrest and the diversion participation remain visible in court records and to background checks that look at case files rather than only at conviction summaries. The 15-year lookback under ORS 813.215 counts prior diversion participation when determining eligibility for a future diversion.
Conclusion
Oregon DUII is one of the most tightly structured criminal offenses in the state code. ORS 813.010 defines the offense through three independent theories - per se, actual impairment, and combined influence - and lets the state pick whichever theory the evidence supports. ORS 813.020 sets mandatory minimum fines and jail terms that rise with priors and with aggravating facts. ORS 813.100 and ORS 813.130 govern the implied consent testing process. ORS 813.410 imposes an administrative license suspension that starts before the criminal case does, on a ten-day clock that runs whether or not you have hired a lawyer. ORS 813.200 provides a diversion pathway to dismissal for eligible first-time offenders, and ORS 813.215 lists the disqualifiers that shut that door for CDL holders, prior participants, and accident-with-injury cases. ORS 813.011 elevates the offense to a Class C felony on the third qualifying offense within ten years. ORS 813.602 through 813.606 requires the Ignition Interlock Device before, during, and after license reinstatement.
The two-track structure - criminal case in Circuit Court and DMV suspension on a parallel administrative track - is where most Portland drivers lose ground by default. The DMV clock is short and it does not care that your arraignment has not happened yet. Filing the ORS 813.410 hearing request within ten days preserves options that are simply gone at day eleven, and it is the first thing an Oregon DUII lawyer will do on the case.
If you have been arrested for DUII in Portland, or in Multnomah, Washington, or Clackamas County, and want to talk through the criminal case, the DMV hearing, or diversion eligibility, reach BFQ Law's Portland office through our contact page, call (971) 754-7629, or email secretary@BFQLaw.com to schedule a confidential consultation.
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