Have you been arrested for a DWI or related offense? If so, your driver's license was likely confiscated. It is imperative that you request a Texas administrative license revocation (ALR) hearing within 15 days to try to save your driving privileges. Even though this hearing is not a criminal procedure, in many ways it feels and acts like one. Contact a Board Certified DWI defense attorney immediately for legal representation.
At the Doug Murphy Law Firm, P.C., Doug Murphy and his team are committed to smart, strategic DWI defense. Part of that defense is the ALR hearing. He will aggressively pursue these hearings as though your life depended on it. And in many ways, it does if you are dependent on driving from one place to another place for your job, school, family matters, or whatever the case may be. Here's what you need to know about an ALR hearing request in Harris County or any other county throughout Texas.
What is a Texas ALR Hearing?
The Administrative License Revocation program is an administrative procedure apart from the criminal procedure related to your DWI charge. This administrative procedure is invoked at the time you fail a breath or blood test related to a DWI charge or refuse to submit to a breath or blood test. If you wish to prevent your driver's license from being suspended, you can request an ALR hearing.
You have 15 days to request a hearing. The clock starts ticking at the time the police confiscate your driver's license and provide you with a notice that your license will be suspended. This notice is known as a pink paper and is usually provided after you are released from police custody. The only time the police may not immediately confiscate your driver's license is if you are an out-of-state resident.
The pink sheet of paper acts as the formal notice -- as mentioned -- of an immediate license suspension, but it also informs you that for the next 40 days, the paper will serve as a temporary license. If you request a hearing, however, you can drive until the administrative judge rules on your case.
When is your driver's license suspended after a DWI arrest in Harris County TX?
Your driver's license is suspended at the time of your DWI arrest, but it is important to understand that you will be able to continue driving for up to 40 days after the issuance of the pink sheet. The pink paper is based on the law of implied consent. This law provides that any person operating a motor vehicle is presumed to have consented to a breath or blood alcohol test.
If you are in possession of your pink paper, you can legally drive your vehicle up to 40 days after it was issued. If, however, you timely requested an ALR hearing, you can continue driving until the ALR judge makes a decision about your case.
How do you request an ALR Hearing in Harris County TX?
Even though your driver's license was suspended immediately and you were provided with a pink paper to act as a temporary license for 40 days, you can contest the suspension by requesting an ALR hearing. This is also where an experienced, Board Certified DWI criminal defense attorney is important. By retaining Doug Murphy directly after your DWI arrest, you provide him the time to request an ALR hearing on your behalf as your attorney. Once the request has been made, DPS will send a letter advising the attorney of the date, time, and location of the ALR hearing. It is usually held within 120 days, and you can continue driving during this period.
If you do not retain an attorney to request the hearing for you, you must do so. Failure to request it within 15 days means the request will be denied. DPS will notify you by mail and inform you that the suspension takes effect 40 days after the date of your DWI or DUI arrest.
What must the State prove to suspend your driver's license?
The ALR hearing will likely be held before your criminal trial, that is, if you plead not guilty and choose to fight the charge(s). The ALR hearing is much less formal than hearings held during a criminal procedure. Also, in an ALR hearing, there is less evidence provided. In fact, the only witness for the State will likely be the arresting officers. With that said, the State must prove three specific elements -- using its only witness -- in order for the ALR judge to uphold the driver's license suspension.
1. Reasonable Suspicion
The State must demonstrate that the stop of your vehicle was done only after reasonable suspicion that you committed some kind of traffic violation, like speeding or improperly changing lanes or some other type of criminal activity. The arresting officer must be able to articulate facts that can show that finding. The standard of proof for this showing, however, is relatively low.
2. Probable Cause
The State must also demonstrate that there was probable cause for the DWI arrest. Probable cause means that it was more likely than not that the person committed the alleged crime. The police officer can derive at probable cause by way of his or her own observations made during the traffic stop, especially while administering field sobriety tests while administering a drug recognition examination, or reviewing the results of a portable breath test.
3. Blood Alcohol Content Level
The State must prove that you agreed (or refused) to perform a breath or blood test and the results of the test indicate you were over the legal limit to drive. In Texas, the legal limit for any adult is 0.08 percent or 0.04 percent if you are a commercial driver's license holder or any detectable amount if you are a minor.
If any one of these three elements is not sufficiently proven or demonstrated, then your driver's license suspension will not be upheld.
What happens if you lose a Texas ALR hearing?
An administrative law judge (ALJ) will oversee the ALR hearing. After hearing the evidence, the ALJ will issue a decision and order that is both final but appealable.
If you fail to win your Texas ALR hearing, then the penalty you face is the moving forward with your driver's license suspension. The length of suspension will be dependent primarily on two things:
- Whether or not you have any prior DWI convictions; and
- Whether or not you voluntarily provided a breath or blood sample to determine your BAC level.
The penalties for the ALJ's decision to uphold the suspension is outlined in the Department of Public Safety's website.
Periods of Suspension for Adults
An adult will have his or her driver's license suspended according to the specific circumstances of the case.
Failure to Pass a Breath or Blood Test
- 90 days for a first offense, or
- 1 year if prior suspensions due to failing or refusing a blood or breath test for a DWI, intoxication assault, intoxication manslaughter within the last 10 years.
Refusal to Provide a Blood or Breath Specimen
- 180 days for a first offense, or
- 2 years if prior suspensions due to failing or refusing a blood or breath test for a DWI, intoxication assault, intoxication manslaughter within the last 10 years.
Periods of Suspension for Minors (Under 21 Years of Age)
A minor will have his or her driver's license suspended according to the specific circumstances of the case.
A Detectable Amount of Alcohol was Found from a Breath or Blood Test
- 60 days for a first offense involving alcohol
- 120 days for one prior conviction of an alcohol and driving-related offense, or
- 180 days for two or more prior convictions of an alcohol and driving-related offense.
Presence of Alcohol was Found by Some Other Means
- 60 days for a first offense involving alcohol
- 120 days for one prior conviction of an alcohol and driving-related offense, or
- 180 days for two or more prior convictions of an alcohol and driving-related offense.
Refusal to Provide a Blood or Breath Specimen
- 180 for a first offense, or
- 2 years if prior suspensions due to failing or refusing a blood or breath test for a DWI, intoxication assault, intoxication manslaughter within the last 10 years.
Periods of Disqualification for a Commercial Driver's License (CDL)
A CDL will be disqualified for one year for refusing a breath or blood test or for operating a motor vehicle in a public place and his or her BAC was:
- 0.04 or more (commercial vehicle only)
- 0.08 or more (any vehicle)
- 0.10 or more (any vehicle).
A CDL will be disqualified for three years from transporting hazardous material if he or she refused a breath or blood test or if she or he operated a motor vehicle in a public place and his or her BAC was:
- 0.04 or more (commercial vehicle only)
- 0.08 or more (any vehicle)
- 0.10 or more (any vehicle).
If your license is ultimately suspended, you can still apply for limited driving privileges, like an Occupational License that will allow you to drive to work or to perform essential services in order for you to be able to function.
You can also appeal the decision.
In many cases, however, you can avoid these penalties if you hire a DWI defense attorney who can develop a winning defense strategy.
How do you win an ALR hearing in Harris County TX?
To win an ALR hearing can be a challenge in Harris County since the burden of proof is so low. That said, it can be done, especially with a qualified DWI attorney providing your ALR hearing defense.
One way is to identify and illustrate that the police used improper tactics during the administration of field sobriety tests, improperly searched the person or the person's property or otherwise violated a constitutional right of the alleged DWI offender. If that is unavailable, your attorney will attempt to weaken the State's case against you by showing the reasonable suspicion did not exist, probable cause did not exist, or the breath or blood tests were inaccurate or mishandled -- if that information is available in time.
Sometimes a defendant does not win the ALR hearing even after the defense attorney provided an excellent defense. Nonetheless, the ALR hearing serves a purpose. It can be used to collect evidence for the criminal process. It is also an opportunity for Doug Murphy to cross-examine the police officer(s) who arrested you. This cross-examination is important because they can be pinned to their version of events and straying from their sworn testimony later in the criminal process can be to the State's detriment.
It is important to remember, too, the burden of proof during an ALR hearing is only the preponderance of the evidence and not beyond a reasonable doubt. That means, what happens at the ALR hearing does not predict what will happen at a trial for your DWI charge.
Contact a Harris County ALR Hearing Attorney
When you are arrested for DWI or DUI in Harris County, it's important to call an attorney immediately. If your freedom and future are important to you, then it is even more important to contact a Board Certified DWI criminal defense attorney who has a proven track record of winning DWI cases at trial; not a track record of securing plea deals via negotiations that still leave clients with a criminal record.
Doug Murphy has proven his capabilities over and over again. He is well known by others in this field and is often asked to speak on relevant topics to help other DWI attorneys defend their own clients better, smarter. Get the best you can get in DWI representation; contact Doug Murphy Law Firm, P.C. today at (713) 229-8333.
