Administrative License Suspension (ALS) Hearings

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Imagine not being able to legally drive yourself to the grocery store to buy food.  Or to the doctor.  Or the movies.  Or maybe even to work.  Not because you've been convicted of anything.  In fact, you may not have even been to court on your DUI charge.  Imagine all the ways that your life works because of your ability to drive yourself (and your family) to where you need to be, and then imagine how your (and your family's) life would be affected by losing that freedom before you've been convicted of anything.  

In addition to the criminal charges, the State will try to suspend your driver's license (or privilege to drive in this state if you have an out-of-state driver's license) after you've been arrested for DUI or drunk driving.  This is called an Administrative License Suspension (ALS) and is separate and independent of the criminal charges you face as a result of your arrest.  Regardless of  when your first court date for the criminal charges is scheduled, you only have 30 days to request a hearing to stop the ALS, so you must act immediately!  

Once properly requested, a hearing will be scheduled, at which the State will seek to uphold the ALS.  Witnesses will be called, evidence will be presented, and a judge will decide whether to uphold the ALS.  There will be Rules of Evidence that must be followed by both sides and arguments made by both sides about the evidence before the judge issues a ruling about whether or not to uphold the ALS.  If your license is administratively suspended, it usually cannot be undone until the criminal case is resolved, which could be several months (or years) down the road.  Worse, you may or may not be able to drive at all during the suspension, which could last for years, depending on your personal history and whether or not you submitted to state-administered testing.  

With the skills and experience accumulated over years as both a DUI prosecutor and DUI defense attorney, Attorney Owens will strategically use the ALS process to undermine the State's criminal case while aggressively protecting your rights and preserving your ability to drive.