What is a formal review hearing with the DMV?
It's not criminal court. There's no jury, no prosecutor, and no judge in the usual sense. A hearing officer from the Bureau of Administrative Reviews decides whether the suspension was properly imposed.
The process runs on a schedule. The demand goes in within ten days, generally on the department's application form. If your license was valid, a 42-day permit issues so you can drive while the review is pending. The department sets a date, sends a notice, and your attorney can subpoena witnesses.
That subpoena power is the part worth understanding. This is often the first time the arresting officer testifies about the case, under oath, before the State Attorney's office has worked the file. What he says there is on the record.
Suspensions do get invalidated at these hearings — for defects in the paperwork, in the stop, in the implied consent warnings, or because a subpoenaed officer doesn't appear.
There's usually a document that settles it — the question is whether anyone's asked for it. ---
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