 We
live in a mobile society. The driver's license is probably one of the most
important things an adult can possess. Without it, you cannot legally
drive. I setup the revocation and subpoena necessary witnesses for all of
my clients.
Administrative License Revocation Office (ADLRO)
The
Administrative Drivers License Revocation Office (ADLRO) came into being in 1992.
It was supposed to be a quick and easy way to determine if there were
sufficient facts to revoke your license for DUI.
In reality, it is a process which has lowered the State’s burden to
find against you, is complicated by highly technical rules and time deadlines,
and you have to subpoena your own witnesses, including the officers who
arrested you, to have any meaningful hearing.
You also are not entitled to a public defender for this hearing.
Notice of Revocation & Hearing Request
I have represented well over one thousand clients at
the ADLRO. The
revocation hearing will usually occur prior to your arraignment on the separate
criminal charges. About one week
after your arrest you will get a letter saying that the findings have been
sustained and the length of the revocation.
You will have 6 days from the date on that letter to respond for a
hearing in order to get into the ADLRO prior to
your license going into revocation 30 days after your arrest.
That means if it took
four days to get to you, you only have two days to respond.
The ADLRO has even had this modified by the legislature so that your response
must be in their office within 6 days, not just postmarked by that time.
If you respond in time, you will get a hearing within 25 days of your
arrest (you can still get a hearing if you miss the 6 day deadline, but it will
be at least 30 days after your arrest). That
is because the temporary license given to you (or which should have been given
to you) by the police is only good for 30 days.
By
sending in the card provided by the revocation office, you will receive another
letter that tells the date of your hearing.
The
Hearing
What
you aren't told is that unless you subpoena the officers, you won’t have
much of a hearing.
At
the police station the police probably gave you another form and told you to
send it into the revocation office within 3 days. It is my opinion that that form is useless and only provides
them with more information to use against you.
I have never came across a case where the form has changed the outcome of a
revocation. Therefore, don’t send it in.
If this is your first
DUI, or the first within 5 years, you will most likely be able to obtain a
temporary work permit, even if you lose the hearing (except for High Intox.
cases). This
means that instead of losing your license for 90 days you only lose it for 30
days absolutely,
and can drive to and from, and maybe even during work, for the last 60 days of
the revocation.
To find against you, the
hearing officer needs to find you are guilty by a preponderance of evidence
(just over 50%). If you lose your
license at the administrative process, the license is destroyed, and you have to
be re-licensed at the end of the revocation period.
That means you will have to go through the written and driving test to
get your license back.
Although the technical
rules can be disadvantageous to you, if you know them well enough they can also
be used to your advantage. For
instance, if you respond on time, and don’t get a hearing within 25 days, you
win.
If you hire my office, I will take care of
setting up your hearing for you. I
will send in all of the notices on your behalf and make sure the proper
subpoenas are served. All you have
to do is show up to the first hearing. I will explain your role at the hearing before that time.
In most cases, your license is extended beyond the original 30
days because the witnesses aren’t ready at the first hearing.
Even if you win this hearing, you still have to deal with the DUI at criminal
court.
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