Using the License Suspension Hearing to Win Your DWI Case
An often overlooked part of DWI defense is the administrative license revocation (ALR) hearing. While many times the outcome is a foregone conclusion as the burden for the Department of Public Safety (DPS) is so low, the hearing affords the experienced DWI practitioner the means to build a solid defense to the criminal charge. In Texas, an individual arrested for driving while intoxicated has 15 days to request an ALR hearing to contest their license suspension, or face a suspension of between three and six months for a first offense or up to two years for a subsequent offense. Too many attorneys show up at the ALR hearing without having done anything to prepare other than look over the documents filed by the arresting officer. Those attorneys are missing a golden opportunity to help their clients. The ALR process allows an experienced DWI attorney to cross-examine the witnesses the state will call at the DWI trial without those witnesses undergoing a proper woodshedding from the pros...