Administrative License Revocation Program (ALR) in Texas
Posted on Oct 15, 2019 8:20am PDT
Are you facing
driving while intoxicated (DWI) charges in Texas? If so, soon you’ll hear about the Administrative
License Revocation (ALR) program, if you haven’t already. Under
Texas’ ALR program, the Texas Department of Safety (DPS) is required
to disqualify or suspend a person’s driver license if they are arrested
for DWI or boating while intoxicated (BWI) when they:
- Refuse to submit to a blood or breath test,
- Fail a blood or breath test,
- Take a blood or breath test but their blood alcohol concentration (BAC)
is 0.08% or more, or
- Provide a blood or breath test and their BAC was 0.04% or more while they
were driving a commercial motor vehicle.
It’s important to note that the ALR suspension is separate from the
criminal proceeding for DWI or BWI, which takes place with the criminal court.
Requesting an ALR Hearing
If you are facing DWI or BWI charges in Texas, you may qualify to request
an ALR hearing where you can contest the disqualification or suspension
of your driver's license. However, you have only
15 days from the date you are served notice to request a hearing.
How do
ALR hearings work? For starters, they’re held by the State Office of Administrative
Hearings (SOAH). An administrative law judge (ALJ) would consider the
evidence from both sides and then will make a decision about the suspension
of your driver's license. If the ALJ decides that the Department has
failed to prove its case against you, then you will not face a driver's
license suspension.
On the other hand, if the ALJ determines that the Department has proven
its case against you, then your driver's license will be suspended.
If you do not like the ALJ’s decision, you can file an appeal.
Next:
Do I Have to List a DWI on Job Applications?
If you are facing DWI charges in Denton, Texas, we urge you to
contact our firm to meet with Derek A. Adame, Attorney at Law, who can represent you at
the ALR hearing and fight your DWI charges. Call (940) 591-0005 to get started!