Williamson & Williamson Driver's License Suspension

If you've been arrested for suspicion of DWI and either refuse a chemical test or had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more at the time of vehicle operation, your driver's license is subject to suspension and will likely be seized by the arresting officer. The police officer should issue you a temporary driving certificate authorizing you to drive legally for forty days.

The penalties for refusal of a lawful request for a breath sample are:

First arrest: Suspension of your driving privileges for 180 days
Subsequent arrest within 10 years of first arrest: Suspension of your driving privileges for two years

The penalties for submitting to and failing alcohol concentration
testing are:

First arrest: Suspension for you driving privileges for 90 days
Subsequent arrest within 10 years of first arrest: Suspension of your driving privileges for one year

Preventing Suspension

Contesting the Suspension -- 15-day Requirement

Although your license has been seized, you have the right to an Administrative License Revocation Hearing (these are commonly called ALR hearings). A written request for hearing with the Department of Public Safety must be made within 15 days of the date you received notice of your suspension (typically the date of arrest).

If you fail to request a hearing, you waive that right, and your license will be suspended on the 40th day after receiving notice. It is very, very important that your lawyer request the ALR Hearing within the 15-day period.

The request for hearing stops the suspension of your driver's license while you await the hearing. It is during this time that your attorney begins to gather critical information to defend you at the hearing.

an Occupational Driver's License, the law requires that good cause be shown. Examples of "good cause" under Texas law include:

Going to/from work
Taking children to/from school
Going to/from a religious service
Traveling to/from a grocery store
Traveling to/from a medical facility for treatment

This type of license permits you to operate a motor vehicle for up to 12 hours per day. This privilege is, however, subject to restrictions.

Once we have received all of the required information related to your suspension and driving needs, all necessary documents are drafted and filed with the court within two business days. After a hearing before the court, an Occupational Driver's License will be issued.

Contact us to seek reinstatement of your driving privileges.

ALR Hearing issues

There are very good reasons to request an ALR hearing. First and foremost is to save your driving privileges. Second, the State must prove that the police officer who stopped and arrested you did so with either reasonable suspicion or probable cause, and that any breath results were taken lawfully and produced an accurate result.

We have found that police officers are not as prepared at this hearing as they will be in Court. If the State fails to prove that probable cause or reasonable suspicion existed for stopping or detaining you, the State may be prevented from re-litigating the same issues in your subsequent criminal prosecution for DWI. This could result in a dismissal of the criminal charges against you.

Contact us to contest your driver's license suspension.

Reinstatement of Driving Privileges (Occupational Driver's License)

If you did not request a hearing within 15 days of your arrest, your driving privileges will be suspended on the 40th day after your arrest.

Fortunately, in many instances, if your driver's license is suspended, an Occupational Driver's License may be issued, reinstating your driving privileges. For you to receive