ALR, or Administrative License Revocation, went into effect on January 1, 1995 in the state of Texas. This program is the administrative process that suspends the driver licenses of individuals who are arrested for the offense of driving while intoxicated in Tarrant County and surrounding counties. An individual's license may be suspended if they either refused to submit to a chemical test or provided a specimen with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or greater. The ALR is conducted at a location designated by State Office Administrative Hearings (SOAH) in either the county of arrest or within 75 miles of the county seat of the county of arrest. There may be a way to hold a hearing by conference call but we will need to make special arrangements with the ALR judge. The hearing is conducted by an Administrative Law Judge employed by SOAH. The DPS must prove its case by a preponderance of the evidence to suspend your license. If the judge makes an affirmative finding on all the relevant issues, the license is suspended from 30 days to up to two years, depending on whether this is your first, second, or third offense.

Many police officers, after arresting a citizen, will tell the arrested driver that if he does not agree to take a breath or blood test that his license will automatically be suspended. This is not accurate information and may be a scare tactic to get you to submit to their tests. When making an arrest for DWI, police officers are required to take possession of any Texas Drivers License issued by this state and held by the person arrested and issue the person a temporary driving permit that expires 40 days after the date of issuance. Further, a request for a hearing to challenge the proposed suspension will delay any ALR sanctions until a hearing takes place.

The burden of proof at an ALR hearing is on the Department of Public Safety. Once a driver or his DWI attorney has made a timely request for an ALR hearing, no suspension may be imposed against the driver until the Department of Public Safety proves the many elements by a preponderance of the evidence at the hearing. Please contact our offices at 817-222-0624 to find out how we can assist you at your ALR hearing.