Criminal Law Blog
January 30, 2005
Austin DWI Attorney Explains What Happens After You Get Out Of Jail On A DWI Charge.
Clients often ask: “What will happen now that I have been arrested for DWI, had my driver license confiscated, and now that I’m out of jail?” The answer is: three things are already happening more or less at the same time. This can be confusing for someone who has not been through this before.
Let’s talk about the three parts in detail.
The first part is sometimes called “administrative license revocation (ALR).” That’s when the Department of Public Safety (DPS) tries to get your license suspended. The second part is a simple civil petition that I file for you asking for an occupational driver license if the judge suspends your license. The third part is the criminal case.
Now, about the first part, the most important thing is: if you don’t ask for an administrative hearing within 15 days after your arrest, your license will be suspended. Here is why: if you don’t request an ALR hearing within 15 days of your arrest, you legally waive your rights to have that hearing. If you don’t have that hearing, you have no chance of avoiding the ALR suspension. The law basically says: “if you snooze, you lose your license.”
If you aren’t sure whether you want an ALR hearing, and haven’t hired a lawyer yet, then request an ALR hearing anyway. There is no extra penalty for requesting an ALR hearing and then not showing up.
Let’s talk for a moment about how the first part got started. The police officer took your license and filled out a form saying you were arrested for DWI. That form goes to DPS. Once DPS gets that form, they file a petition with the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) asking the ALR judge to suspend your license. Across Texas, DPS wins these cases about 77% of the time. And when DPS wins, your license is suspended.
With that in mind, let’s go on to the second part. The second part is a simple civil lawsuit that I file for you. You aren’t suing anyone in this lawsuit. The lawsuit is just a petition for an occupational driver license (ODL). I need your help to get you an ODL. Specifically, I need you to get the following:
(1) a copy of your driving record (the easiest way to get this is to go to 5805 North Lamar Blvd.);
(2) a copy of your proof of automobile insurance card; and
(3) a copy of a letter on your employer’s letterhead saying that your employer needs you to drive during your work hours, and what your work hours are.
Of course, if you don’t really need to drive to do your job, then you may not need to get item number three. After I have written the petition for your occupational driver’s license, I will need you to come by my office, read the petition, and sign a verification, in which you swear that everything in the petition is true and correct. An ODL is expensive because the Travis County Clerk charges roughly $175 to file the petition and give you a certified copy (which you’ll need to drive).
Many judges in Travis County will require that the holder of an occupational driver license have an ignition interlock device (IID) in their car. The IID can be disconcerting, to say the least. It may be annoying to have friends get in your car who give you a hard time about being arrested for driving while intoxicated. It can be embarrassing in front of your kids to have to blow into the IID. It is distracting while you are driving when the IID beeps, signalling that you must blow, so you must move your attention from the road (while the car is moving) to the IID so that it does not register a violation. For example, with the vendor Smart Start, a user is allowed 6 violations/month. If you have more than 6 violations/month, you will not be able to start your car again without first contacting Smart Start. You are supposed to take an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) in for monthly servicing. During the servicing, the IID is “recalibrated,” which means that the vendor checks to see whether the machine says that you failed to blow when the signal came on to blow, or that you blew and the IID registered the breath sample as containing alcohol. (Either way, it counts as a “violation” for the IID vendor’s purposes). That data is forwarded by the IID vendor to your probation officer or pretrial services supervision officer.
And it is expensive. You pay to have the IID installed. You pay to have it serviced every month. As with many things, it really pays to shop around.
The third part is the criminal case. Here is what I do so you can make an informed decision. I get you a copy of the videotape of the police officer giving you the field sobriety tests. I also get you a copy of the probable cause affidavit, which is a summary of the evidence the State thinks it has against you. I also get you a copy of the breath test result, if you decided to blow into the breathalyzer. (Read my last web log for reasons why you should never blow.) I also go over the police report with you. Together, with all that information, we will talk about what the best way is to resolve your case. Making things more complicated still, there can sometimes be a driver license revocation upon conviction (i.e., not administrative), depending on whether you receive probation or jail time. If you have a first time DWI, and you receive probation, then generally you will get to keep your driver license so long as you have valid insurance. If you receive jail time, your license will be suspended.
If you want to subscribe to my web log, push the orange “RSS” button below. Thanks.