When you are arrested for DWI in Galveston County you are facing two cases, not one. The Galveston County District Attorney's Office prosecutes the DWI. The Texas Department of Public Safety prosecutes your driver's license. That second case is called an Administrative License Revocation, or ALR.
The 15-day deadline
If you refused a breath or blood test, or if the test showed a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more, your license is subject to automatic suspension. You have only 15 days from the date of the arrest to request a hearing. If no one requests it, the suspension happens automatically, whatever the facts of your case.
What the ALR hearing decides
The ALR hearing is a civil hearing about your license, not a trial on the DWI. It focuses on:
- whether the officer had reasonable suspicion to stop you or probable cause to arrest you,
- whether you were properly asked for a breath or blood sample and warned of the consequences, and
- whether you refused, or whether the test result was 0.08 or more.
Why the hearing matters for the DWI case too
Requesting the hearing lets your attorney question the arresting officer under oath, often long before the criminal case is set for trial. That testimony can expose problems with the stop, the field sobriety tests or the testing, and it is recorded. Officers do not always appear, especially since hearings moved to video.
If your license is suspended
A suspension is not always the end of driving. You may qualify for an occupational driver's license, which allows driving for work and essential needs during the suspension period. A conviction for DWI can also carry its own suspension, an alcohol education program, an SR-22 insurance certificate and an ignition interlock requirement.
Related: Galveston DWI · Breath tests · Blood tests · Boating while intoxicated
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