dui - ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE REVOCATION CASE
PLEASE BE ADVISED THAT A NEW LAW BEGINNING JANUARY 1, 2012 WILL DRAMATICALLY ALTER THE ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE REVOCATION PROCESS IN NEBRASKA. MUCH OF WHAT IS DESCRIBED AS BELOW WILL CHANGE WITH THIS NEW LAW. STARTING JANUARY 1, 2012, YOU SHOULD NOT CONSIDER THE INFORMATION BELOW IN MAKING ANY DECISIONS ABOUT YOUR CASE. THIS PAGE WILL BE UPDATED SOON TO REFLECT THE CHANGES IN THE LAW. IN THE MEANTIME, YOU SHOULD CONTACT AN ATTORNEY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE AFTER YOUR ARREST TO DISCUSS YOUR OPTIONS REGARDING THE ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE REVOCATION PROCESS.
If you are charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, you have two separate issues to deal with. The first is the Administrative License Revocation (ALR) process through the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). This process relates only to your privilege to drive-it does not include penalties for jail, fines, court costs, probation, etc as described in the next section below. The ALR process applies only to DUI-Alcohol cases and does not apply to DUI-Drug cases. If you submit to a breath test and test over the legal limit of 0.08 or if you refuse to take the breath test, the police officer will confiscate your license and issue you a thirty day temporary license. Once the temporary license expires, your privilege to drive in Nebraska will be revoked for 90 days, unless you have a prior administrative license revocation or if you refuse to submit to the chemical test. If you have a prior administrative license revocation for a DUI or you refuse to submit to a chemical test, your license will be revoked for one year at the expiration of the 30-day temporary license. It is very important to note that you only have 10 days from the date of arrest to file a petition to challenge whatever license revocation you might be facing. It is preferable that the attorney file this petition for you if you are represented by counsel. It is also important to note that the laws may be different if you are a minor or operating a commercial motor vehicle. Just because you file the petition to challenge your administrative license revocation does not mean you will be successful and avoid a revocation. However, you will certainly lose your license if you or your attorney fail to file the petition within 10 days of the date of arrest. Your desire or need to keep your license to travel to work, school or wherever else is not a defense to your administrative license revocation. There are multiple defenses to an administrative license revocation that will likely only be known by an attorney who practices significantly in this area of the law. A qualified attorney can increase your chances of avoiding an administrative license revocation.
If your license is revoked, you must be aware that being convicted of driving under revocation can lead to harsh penalties, include jail time, a probation violation, and an additional one-year revocation of your license. Therefore, it is beneficial to have an attorney that understands what steps one can take to obtain a restricted license to be able to drive during your revocation. Obtaining a restricted license can reduce your chance of being prosecuted for driving under revocation and the harsh penalties associated with a conviction. There are two types of restricted licenses: 1. work permit & 2. ignition interlock device. There are pros and cons to each. A restricted license is generally available for only part of the revocation and in some cases the entire period. In some situations, a person will be eligible for one type of restricted license but not the other. An attorney can help determine your eligibility for a restricted license, which option-if any-is best for you, and how to apply for a restricted license. Be aware the Nebraska legislature recently changed the law pertaining to restricted licenses so more people now have the ability to obtain a restricted license than before.
A Special Note About Blood Draws: In some cases, police officers will request that a person suspected of DUI submit to a blood draw rather than a breath test. In these cases, the blood must be drawn by a qualified person in a manner that complies with certain rules and regulations. It will take a few days before the blood can be tested and your alleged alcohol concentration determined. As the results are not immediately known at the time of arrest or citation, the administrative license revocation does not begin as it would if you failed a breath test at a police station-your license will not be confiscated by the officer nor will you be given a temporary license. Instead, the officer will await the test results, complete a temporary license when he receives the results if they show you were over the legal limit and then forward your temporary license to the DMV. The DMV will in turn send you via certified mail a copy of your temporary license with your test results along with a letter advising you of the deadline by which you or your attorney must file your petition to challenge your administrative license revocation.
- "Releived"
