Driving with License Suspended

What About the Drivers License Suspension?

You only have 15 days from the date of your arrest for DWI to request a hearing on the suspension of your driver’s license. If a hearing has not been timely requested, the suspension will automatically begin on the fortieth (40th) day after notice was received. The Administrative License Revocation hearing is very important, and it is our first opportunity in many cases to cross-examine the police officer. It is important to note that if the ALR hearing is timely requested, no suspension will take placed until after that hearing. The department of public safety has the burden of proof at the ALR hearing. NO SUSPENSION MAY BE IMPOSED UNTIL THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY PROVES: That there was reasonable suspicion for the law enforcement officer to stop the driver or that the law enforcement officer had probable cause to arrest the driver. Secondly the Department of Public Safety must prove that the driver was in control of the motor vehicle, in a public place (WHILE INTOXICATED), or that probable cause existed that the driver was in control of the vehicle (while intoxicated). Thirdly, that after the driver was placed under arrest that he was given the opportunity to provide a sample of breath or blood and given the DIC Statutory Warning. The final element that the Department of Public Safety must prove is that the driver either refused to provide a breath/blood sample or provided a breath/blood sample that was over the legal “blood alcohol concentration.”