WARNING
You have only fifteen days to challenge the automatic
suspension of your driver's license.
Administrative License Revocation
The State has Already Started the Process to Suspend Your License
At the time of your arrest, the police should have
taken away your driver's license and presented you with a Notice of
Suspension/Temporary Driving Permit.
You should be aware that your license is not suspended at the time of
arrest. Rather, the notice of suspension informs you that you face an
automatic suspension effective 40 days after the date of arrest (or
the date you were served with the notice, whichever is later) unless you or
your attorney request a hearing in the manner prescribed by law.
The importance of requesting this hearing can not be overstated.
If you retain me, this is the first formal step I will take to
protect your legal rights and preserve your right to drive.
Why You Should Challenge the Automatic Suspension
You have the right to a hearing before your license is suspended.
This hearing is separate and distinct from the criminal proceedings and is
an administrative process which is civil in nature. As a result your
right to due process is limited. The process is call "Administrative
License Revocation" (ALR).
At this hearing you can challenge the police officer's right to stop or
detain you in the first place as well as the reasonableness of his opinion
that you might have been intoxicated. Frequently, there are technical
or procedural defects in the State's case which allow me to defeat the
license suspension altogether. However, saving your driver's license
is not the only reason to fight the license suspension.
As soon as you retain me, I will file a discovery
request seeking to obtain copies of documents prepared by the arresting
officer setting forth the officer’s observations of you which form the basis
for his decision to initially detain and ultimately arrest you.
In addition, if you took a breath test I will obtain a copy of the
breath test slip along with maintenance records for the specific machine on
which you were tested.
Under most circumstances, it will be to your benefit to
subpoena the arresting officer, breath test operator and technical
supervisor to testify at the ALR hearing.
At the hearing, I will have the opportunity to learn what each
witness will say at trial.
Often police officers do not come to these hearings prepared to testify,
they often guess, contradict their written reports or other witnesses.
I will obtain a written transcript of all testimony.
This is ammunition that will be available at the criminal trial to
impeach the officer in the event he later tries to change his testimony.
The information obtained at the hearing is critical to
an informed decision as to whether or not the criminal case should be set
for trial or resolved by a plea agreement.
The State's Burden at the ALR Hearing
What the State must prove depends on whether you failed
the breath / blood test or refused to take one.
Blood/Breath Test Failure
The issues that must be proved at a hearing by a
preponderance of the evidence are whether:
-
the person had an alcohol concentration of .08 or
greater while operating a motor vehicle in a public place; and
-
reasonable suspicion to stop or probable
cause to arrest the person existed
Refusal to Take
Breath/Blood Test
The issues at a hearing under this subchapter are
whether:
-
reasonable suspicion or probable cause existed to
stop or arrest the person;
-
probable cause existed to believe that the person
was operating a motor vehicle in a
public place while intoxicated;
-
the person was placed under arrest by the officer
and was requested to submit to the taking of a specimen; and
-
the person refused to submit to the taking of a
specimen on request of the officer.
Length of Suspension
The length of suspension depends on whether you failed or refused a
breath / blood test and whether you have any prior suspension for drug or
alcohol related reasons. The suspension period for a first time
refusal is 180 days. A first time failure will result in a 90 day
suspension.
Occupational Driver's License
An occupational driver’s license is a restricted
license issued by DPS which allows you to drive to and from work, school and
in the performance of necessary household duties during the period of
suspension. The license may
limit the times you are allowed to drive to specified hours, counties or
roadways. Alternatively, the court may authorize you to keep a log
detailing your driving activities which can be inspected to ensure that your
driving does not exceed what the judge has authorized.
No Relief for Commercial Driver's License (CDL) Holders
Unfortunately, an occupational
driver’s license will not permit you to operate a
commercial vehicle.
Anthony R. Segura, DWI Defense Lawyer
The Park at Sugar Creek
14015
Southwest Freeway, Suite 5 · Sugar Land · Fort
Bend County · Texas · 77478
281-242-7070 Telephone
· 281-242-7073 Facsimile
www.sugarland-dwi-lawyer.com
ars@fortbend-dwi-lawyer.com
