A bill being considered by the West Virginia House Judiciary Committee would eliminate that state’s Department of Transportation’s Office of Administrative Hearings, moving all of the matters regarding driver’s license suspensions and revocations for DUIs to the state court system.
In a hearing held in Charleston, West Virginia on March 30, parties both for and against the DUI court proceedings bill voiced their concerns. Prosecutors are opposed to the proposed law, while magistrate judges favor it.
Kanawha County Prosecutor Chuck Miller stated that magistrates will need additional financial resources to handle the extra work.
On the other side, Julie Yeager, Kanawha County Magistrate Judge representing the West Virginia Magistrates Association, supports the bill. She noted at the hearing that she thinks it will help law enforcement and that the driver’s license suspensions and revocations could all be handled at once at the court level. One problem with the DMV administrative hearings is that there can be a delay of days or even weeks before the case is heard.
Others argue that the bill will increase the number of drunk drivers on West Virginia roads. Another magistrate judge said that the bill would not overburden the court system. He noted that it could lessen the burden because there would not be a long delay for the DMV court to finish their process and make a decision before the DUI case could be dealt with.
Our View
Our Virginia and North Carolina personal injury attorneys want to see as few drunk drivers on American roads as possible. In 2014, 9967 people died in drunk driving crashes, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. This is a problem that kills thousands of people every year, and while there has been progress in recent years, there still are far too many deaths and injuries from drunk drivers. The CDC reports that 28 people are killed in drunk driving crashes every day.
We trust that the legislature in West Virginia will make a decision on this bill that serves the interests of the public. It is important for administrative license suspensions and DUI court cases to be handled as quickly as possible, and for suspensions, revocations and other punishments to be meted out as required by state law.
Our personal injury attorneys have dealt with many DUI cases where people were seriously injured or even killed, such as this drunk driving case where the driver rear ended our client, resulting in a $112,000 settlement. Whatever it takes for there to be fewer deaths on American roads from alcohol and drugs, we are in full support.
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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