After a DUI arrest, your operator’s license and privileges to drive in Nebraska can be revoked under the Administrative License Revocation (ALR) law. Nebraska’s ALR law authorizes the arresting officer to immediately confiscate your driver’s license as a result of a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) arrest if your BAC is over .08 or if you refuse to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test.
If eligible, you may receive a temporary license for 15 days. When the temporary license expires, you may be eligible for an Ignition Interlock Permit (IIP).
The revocation periods depend on whether you took the chemical test and whether you have a prior DUI revocation. The length of the revocation is as follows:
- 180 days – for a first DUI offense (for a BAC at .08 or above);
- One (1) year – for any second or subsequent DUI within a 15 year time period (for a BAC at .08 or above); or
- One (1) year – for refusal to take the test.
An attorney can help you file a petition to request a hearing to contest the revocation. The petition for the Administrative Hearing must be mailed within 10 days of the notice of suspension being served on the driver. At the administrative hearing, the hearing officer will determine whether the driver’s license should be revoked based on the sworn report sent to the DMV by the arresting officer.
If you file a petition for the Administrative Hearing, you will not be eligible for the Ignition Interlock Permit (IIP) or a Sobriety Program Permit (SPP), unless ordered by the court for the DUI-related offense.
Attorney for the ALR Hearing
The attorneys at [firm] can help you file a “Petition for Administrative Hearing” with the DMV. At the ALR hearing, your attorney can argue why the evidence is insufficient to uphold the revocation.
Whether this is your first DUI or a second or subsequent offense, we can help. Act quickly to find an experienced attorney who can represent you during each state of the case.
Call (877) 42LIBERTY.
What Triggers the Administrative Suspension?
After a DUI arrest, the arresting officer will complete a “Sworn Report Notice of Revocation and Temporary License.” A copy of the notice is sent to the DMV.
The form contains the following preprinted text: “The undersigned officer(s) hereby swear(s) that the above-named driver was arrested pursuant to Neb.Rev.Stat. § 60-6,197.”
The form represents that a verbal notice of revocation was read to the driver. Under a heading titled “Notice of Administrative License Revocation (ALR),” it explains that Neb. Rev. Stat. § 60-498.01 (Reissue 2021) requires the Nebraska DMV to automatically revoke your operator’s license and/or operating privilege in this state if:
- You were in operation or physical control of a motor vehicle; and
- You either refused a chemical test for alcohol or drugs; or
- You submitted to a chemical test for alcohol and the test revealed an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more gram/100 ml blood or gram/210 L breath.
The Burden of Proof at the ALR Hearing
The burden of proof is on the driver to show why his or her license should not be revoked. The hearing officer considers the following issues:
- whether the officer had reason to believe the driver was operating or in actual physical control of the vehicle while intoxicated; and
- whether the appellant refused the chemical test or the test result was over .08 grams; or
- whether the driver submitted to the chemical test for alcohol and the test revealed an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more gram/100 ml blood or gram/210 L breath.
The hearing officer typically admits documents into the record, including the sworn report typically signed by the arresting officer before a notary public.
The sworn record typically explains the basis for the stop, clues of impairment that might include mumbled or slurred speech, bloodshot, watery eyes, an odor of an alcoholic beverage, an admission of consuming alcohol or drugs, being unsteady, or having fumbling finders.
The sworn report might also note whether the driver refused a preliminary breath test and/or a breath test on the DataMaster test.
The State has the burden to make a prima facie case for revocation, accomplished during the administrative hearing, once the arresting officer’s sworn report is provided to the DMV.
If the sworn report contains the required recitations, then no other evidence needs to be introduced to sustain the case for revocation. The burden then shifts to the driver to introduce evidence to disprove the recitations.
If the hearing officer finds sufficient evidence, the hearing officer enters an order recommending the revocation. Those findings are listed in its “Proposed Findings of Fact, Proposed Conclusions of Law, and Recommended Order of Revocation.”
The DMV director decides whether to adopt the recommended order of the hearing officer and revoke driver’s license for the statutory period.
If insufficient evidence supports that finding or a due process violation occurred, you can file an “Appeal Under the Administrative Procedures Act” in the district court and submit a written argument.
