Hall

The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) revoked Branden Lee Hall’s driver’s license because, after being arrested for driving under the influence, he refused to submit to a chemical test for blood-alcohol content. (Veh. Code, § 13353, subd. (a)(2).) Hall filed a petition for a writ of mandate or review (petition) in the superior court, seeking an order directing the DMV to vacate the revocation on the grounds there was no admissible evidence that police properly admonished him that refusing to submit to a blood-alcohol test would result in his license being revoked.

While Hall’s petition was pending, the DMV hearing officer who upheld the revocation, Alva Garrido Benavidez, pleaded guilty in federal court to taking bribes in exchange for giving favorable treatment to persons arrested for driving under the influence.

Hall amended the petition to allege Benavidez’s corruption deprived him of his due process right to a fair hearing. The DMV filed opposition, asserting there was no evidence Benavidez was actually biased in deciding Hall’s case.

In a ruling the Attorney General characterizes as “inherently contradictory,” the court “denie[d] the writ”—hut granted Hall relief…