Lake

A person who operates a motor vehicle while intoxicated is subject to criminal prosecution and penalties. Prior to the criminal trial, however, the Department of Motor Vehicles (hereafter DMV or the department) must suspend the individual’s driver’s license as an administrative matter if it determines the person was driving a motor vehicle with a blood-alcohol concentration (hereafter sometimes BAC) of .08 percent or higher. (Veh. Code, § 13353.2, subd. (a)(1); all further statutory references are to the Vehicle Code unless otherwise stated.) In those cases where the individual requests an administrative hearing, whether he or she was driving with a prohibited BAC is often proved by the introduction into evidence of the arresting police officer’s sworn report describing the circumstances of the arrest, together with the results of a breath test administered by the officer. If the driver chose instead to have a blood or urine test, the driver’s BAC is usually established at the hearing by introduction of a forensic laboratory report documenting the results of a scientific analysis of the blood or urine sample.

We granted review in this case to address two issues: first,…