ADLRO CASE: GENERAL INFORMATION
The Administrative Drivers License Revocation Office ("the ADLRO") is a State agency that reviews your DUI arrest reports and other associated records and then decides whether your privilege to drive in Hawaii will be administratively revoked. The criminal case is criminal proceeding conducted in a state or federal court. The ADLRO case is a civil proceeding conducted by a state administrative agency - i.e. the ADLRO.
The ADLRO also decides whether any work related driving privileges will be allowed during any part of the period of administrative revocation. A work related "conditional driving permit" can only be granted to persons who: (1) had no prior alcohol or drug enforcement contacts during the five year period preceding the date of the arrest; (2) submitted to an alcohol concentration test; and (3) meet all other statutory requirements. No conditional driving privileges are allowed for "highly intoxicated drivers". If your alcohol concentration test result was .15 or higher, and the ADLRO initially determines that you were a "highly intoxicated driver", Mr. Mac Master may still be able to help you to eventually obtain an ADLRO Decision that does not label you as "highly intoxicated" and thus enables you to: (1) be considered for a work related conditional driving permit; (2) to avoid the revocation of your vehicle's registration; and (3) to avoid the forced surrender of your vehicle's license plates.
The ADLRO case is separate and almost entirely independent from any criminal case that was generated by your DUI arrest. It may be useful to think of it as the first of two bullets that are being shot at your driving privileges and driving record. Even if you avoid any license suspension and damage to your driving record by beating your criminal case, your driving privileges and driving record will still get hit, unless you can beat your ADLRO case as well.
In the criminal case, the State must meet a high burden of proof (i.e. proof of guilt "beyond a reasonable doubt"). Unfortunately, the lower burden of proof required in a civil proceeding like the ADLRO case (i.e. proof by a "preponderance of the evidence" - what is more likely than not - what is merely probable), the statutory rules for conducting ADLRO hearings, and the initial admission into the evidentiary record for the ADLRO case of the "sworn statements" that were prepared by the law enforcement officials who participated in the arrest, can make it difficult to beat an ADLRO revocation.
Making matters worse is the fact that even if you beat your ADLRO administrative revocation case, there will still be a second bullet coming at your driving privileges in the criminal case, even though you beat your ADLRO case. Taking all of this into account, after reviewing a client's ADLRO case file and arrest reports, Mr. Mac Master often advises that unless the client has unlimited finances, or has another compelling reason to throw their money at a long shot "subpoena fest" defense, that:
1. The client should not waste any of their already overtapped financial resources by hiring Mr. Mac Master or any other attorney to represent them at a mere "permit beg" ADLRO hearing;
2. The client should do their own "permit beg" hearing at the ADLRO - in which the client testifies that he/she is sorry, knows that driving DUI is wrong and won't ever do it again - and then honestly and accurately informs the hearing officer about the facts, hours and circumstances of the client's employment;
3. Mr. Mac Master will still coach the client free of charge on what to say and do at the ADLRO hearing; and
4. Mr. Mac Master will still be glad to defend the client in the criminal case - will charge only for the criminal case - and won't charge for services that are not needed - i.e. cheerleading a permit beg
However, Mr. Mac Master always prefers to review the ADLRO case file and arrest reports before making any such recommendation. Mr. Mac Master is willing to do such a review of the ADLRO case file and arrest reports free of charge.
Mr. Mac Master has also compiled an impressive record in ADLRO cases where the strategy is to request a reduction in the one year period of revocation that the ADLRO imposes on first offenders who refused to submit alcohol concentration testing. Quite often the one year period can be reduced to three months - or at least something less than one year.
The "Notice of Administrative License Revocation"
& 30 Day -Temporary
Driver's Permit
If you had a valid driver's license in your possession at the time of your arrest, the arresting officer probably took it away from you. You should have been given a
document entitled "Notice of Administrative License Revocation" which: (1) serves as a temporary driver's license for a period of 30 days; (2) notifies you that your driving privileges may be administratively revoked, with the period of revocation commencing on a date 30 days after the date of your arrest; and (3)
provides you with information about the administrative revocation process, your rights, and your responsibilities if you wish to assert certain rights.
See HRS § 291E-33 and § 291E-34. If you do nothing to fight it, the revocation will usually commence 30 days after the date of your arrest. If the revocation is not reversed, a record of your arrest, and the administrative revocation for DUI that followed it, will probably remain on your driving record for at least ten years.
At the time of your arrest, you may be given a form by the arresting officer entitled "Request To Reconsider Administrative Revocation Of Driver's License." It invites you to make a written statement concerning the reasons why you believe that your driving privileges should not be revoked. Mr. Mac Master usually advises his clients to toss the
form in the from into the nearest trash can. He then tells them that the form should be entitled "Request To Give The ADLRO More Rope To Hang You With" because that is what
some poor unfortunate souls do when they fill it out and hand it in the ADLRO.
The unadvised usually do at least one of two things when filling it out: (1) write about how desperately they need their driving privileges and how much hardship they will suffer if a revocation is imposed; and/or (2) write about the facts and circumstances of the arrest. The first approach is futile, but usually harmless. The amount of hardship an arrestee will suffer is simply not a factor that the ADLRO is statutorily permitted to consider when determining whether a revocation will be imposed. The second approach is also usually futile, and possibly even harmful. By writing about anything that happened at the time of the arrest, you may make an admission that will plug up an otherwise fatal hole in the evidentiary record for your case (e.g. you may admit that you were the driver of the vehicle, that you committed a traffic violation that gave the police "reasonable suspicion" to stop your vehicle", that you consumed alcohol, etc.). If you haven't already been exercising the right to remain silent, the "Request To Give The ADLRO More Rope To Hang You With" form may be a good place to start doing so.
Within eight days after the date the Notice of Administrative License Revocation was issued (which is usually "issued" on the same day as the date of the arrest), the ADLRO was required to have mailed you a document entitled "Notice Of Administrative Review Decision." The Administrative Review Decision must be mailed to you within this eight-day period, unless the last day of the eight-day period is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday. If the last day of the eight-day period is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, then the deadline is the next business day. This method of computing time periods by excluding the last day if it is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday is prescribed by statute. See HRS §
291E-46. It is important to compute time periods correctly, because if the ADLRO misses a mandatory deadline, like the deadline for mailing the Administrative Review Decision, there may be grounds to get the revocation reversed.
The Administrative Review Decision will inform you of the result of the ADLRO's preliminary administrative review of the paperwork that the police prepared for your arrest. When you were arrested, the police should have prepared paperwork documenting the events that prompted the arrest. If you took a breath test, or a blood test, there should also be paperwork concerning the conducting of the test and the procedures that were followed to verify its accuracy. Some of this paperwork will be in the form of a "sworn statement." Sworn statements made by the arresting officer, the person who conducted the alcohol concentration test, and the person who the person responsible for maintenance of the testing equipment must meet certain statutory requirements. See HRS §
291E-36.
HRS § 291E-37 governs the preliminary administrative review. It states:
Administrative review; procedures; decision. (a) The director automatically shall review the issuance of a notice of administrative revocation and shall issue a written decision administratively revoking the license and privilege to operate a vehicle, and motor vehicle registration if applicable, or rescinding the notice of administrative revocation. The written review decision shall be mailed to the respondent, or to the parent or guardian of the respondent if the respondent is under the age of eighteen, no later than:
(1) Eight days after the date the notice was issued in a case involving an alcohol related offense; or
(2) Twenty-two days after the date the notice was issued in a case involving a drug related offense.
In most cases, the preliminary administrative review is little more than a rubber stamp on the arrest. The ADLRO usually will not
issue a written decision "rescinding the notice of administrative revocation" and
return the arrestee's license unless there is a blatantly obvious defect in the paperwork, or procedures that have been followed up to that point. Consequently, if the you do not want to live with the consequences of an administrative revocation, both short-term and long-term, you will have to request a hearing to fight the case.
The letter that ADLRO mailed you containing the Administrative Review should have contained a
form for requesting a hearing. You can request a hearing by checking the appropriate box on the
form and mailing it to the ADLRO. If you retain Mr. Mac Master as your attorney, he can make the hearing request for you. It is always important to act in a timely manner. If you wait too long to request a hearing, you can lose:
1. Your right to have a hearing within 25 days after the date the Notice of Administrative License Revocation was issued (and before the revocation goes into effect); and
2. Your right to have any hearing.
You have the right to review and copy all documents considered at the [preliminary administrative] review, including the arrest report and the sworn statements of the law enforcement officials, prior to the hearing."
See HRS § 291E-37(g)(5). Copies of the paperwork that the police prepared for your arrest, a computer printout of your driving record and the ADLRO's own documents regarding your case, can
usually be obtained free of charge from the ADLRO.
With the written permission of a client, or potential client, Mr. Mac Master can
obtain copies of these records for the client. Alternatively, Mr. Mac
Master often suggests that potential clients can do the following:
1. Go to the ADLRO's office at 2875 South King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii.
2. Request copies of the "Entire File" - if ADLRO has a piece of paper in the potential client's file - then Mr. Mac Master wants to see a copy of it;
3. The potential client makes another copy of each document that the ADLRO has given to the potential client - so the potential client can keep the set that the ADLRO provided - and there will also be a second set of copies that can be given to Mr. Mac Master;
4. The potential client writes his/her phone number on the set of copies for Mr. Mac Master; and
5. Slips the copies for Mr. Mac Master under the front door of Mr. Mac Master's office - there is approximately 3/4 of an inch of space open underneath the door for this purpose - and the Executive Center building is open to the public 24 hours a day - seven days a week.
After receiving a set of records, Mr. Mac
Master can evaluate the records and determine whether there have been any technical defects in the preparation of the paperwork which could serve as grounds for a reversal of the revocation. Such technical defects usually have nothing whatsoever to do with whether the arrestee is truly innocent. Instead, the focus is on whether the police, and the ADLRO, followed proper
procedures and have complied with applicable statutory requirements .
If you want to fight the ADLRO's decision to revoke your
driving privileges, or even if you only want to request a conditional permit for
work related driving purposes, you must make a timely request for an ADLRO
hearing.
An ADLRO hearing is conducted, and decided, by a hearing officer who has been appointed by the Director of the ADLRO. The conducting of the hearing is governed by §291E-38 which states:
§291E-38 Administrative hearing; procedure; decision. (a) If the director administratively revokes the respondent's license and privilege to operate a vehicle, and motor vehicle registration if applicable, after the administrative review, the respondent may request an administrative hearing to review the decision within six days of the date the administrative review decision is mailed. If the request for hearing is received by the director within six days of the date the decision is mailed, the hearing shall be scheduled to commence no later than:
(1) Twenty-five days from the date the notice of administrative revocation was issued in a case involving an alcohol related offense; or
(2) Thirty-nine days from the date the notice of administrative revocation was issued in a case involving a drug related offense.
The director may continue the hearing only as provided in subsection (k).
(b) The hearing shall be held at a place designated by the director, as close to the location where the notice of administrative revocation was issued as practical.
(c) The respondent may be represented by counsel and, if the respondent is under the age of eighteen, must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
(d) The director shall conduct the hearing and have authority to:
(1) Administer oaths and affirmations;
(2) Examine witnesses and take testimony;
(3) Receive and determine the relevance of evidence;
(4) Issue subpoenas;
(5) Regulate the course and conduct of the hearing;
(6) Impose up to the maximum license revocation period as specified under section 291E‑41(b); and
(7) Make a final ruling.
(e) The director shall affirm the administrative revocation only if the director determines that:
(1) There existed reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle, the vehicle was stopped at an intoxicant control roadblock established and operated in compliance with sections 291E‑19 and 291E‑20, or the person was tested pursuant to section 291E‑21;
(2) There existed probable cause to believe that the respondent operated the vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant; and
(3) The evidence proves by a preponderance that:
(A) The respondent operated the vehicle while under the influence of an intoxicant; or
(B) The respondent operated the vehicle and refused to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test after being informed:
(i) That the person may refuse to submit to testing in compliance with section 291E-11; and
(ii) Of the sanctions of this part and then asked if the person still refuses to submit to a breath, blood, or urine test in compliance with the requirements of section 291E-15.
(f) In addition to subsection (e), the director shall affirm the administrative revocation of the registration of any motor vehicle owned by or registered to the respondent only if the director determines that the respondent is a repeat intoxicated driver. If the director affirms the administrative revocation pursuant to this subsection, the director shall order the respondent to surrender the number plates and motor vehicle registration of any motor vehicle owned by or registered to the respondent. The director may destroy any number plates taken into custody.
(g) The respondent's prior alcohol and drug enforcement contacts shall be entered into evidence.
(h) The sworn statements provided in section 291E-36 shall be admitted into evidence. The director shall consider the sworn statements in the absence of the law enforcement officer or other person. Upon written notice to the director, no later than five days prior to the hearing, that the respondent wishes to examine a law enforcement officer or other person who made a sworn statement, the director shall issue a subpoena for the officer or other person to appear at the hearing. Personal service upon the law enforcement officer or other person who made a sworn statement shall be made no later than forty-eight hours prior to the hearing time. If the officer or other person cannot appear, the officer or other person at the discretion of the director, may testify by telephone.
(i) The hearing shall be recorded in a manner to be determined by the director.
(j) The director's decision shall be rendered in writing and mailed to the respondent, or to the parent or guardian of the respondent if the respondent is under the age of eighteen, no later than five days after the hearing is concluded. If the decision is to reverse the administrative revocation, the director shall return the respondent's license, and if applicable, motor vehicle registration and any number plates taken into custody, along with a certified statement that administrative revocation proceedings have been terminated. If the decision sustains the administrative revocation, the director shall mail to the respondent a written decision indicating the duration of the administrative revocation and any other conditions or restrictions as may be imposed pursuant to section 291E‑41.
(k) For good cause shown, the director may grant a continuance either of the commencement of the hearing or of a hearing that has already commenced. If a continuance is granted at the request of the director, the director shall extend the validity of the temporary permit, and temporary motor vehicle registration and temporary number plates if applicable, unless otherwise prohibited, for a period not to exceed the period of the continuance. If a continuance is granted at the request of the respondent, the director shall not extend the validity of the temporary permit, or temporary motor vehicle registration and temporary number plates, if applicable. For purposes of this section, a continuance means a delay in the commencement of the hearing or an interruption of a hearing that has commenced, other than for recesses during the day or at the end of the day or week. The absence from the hearing of a law enforcement officer or other person, upon whom personal service of a subpoena has been made as set forth in subsection (h), constitutes good cause for a continuance.
(l) The director may grant a special motor vehicle registration, pursuant to section 291E‑48, to a qualified household member or a co-owner of any motor vehicle upon determination that the person is completely dependent on the motor vehicle for the necessities of life. The special motor vehicle registration shall not be valid for use by the respondent.
(m) If the respondent fails to appear at the hearing, or if a respondent under the age of eighteen fails to appear with a parent or guardian, administrative revocation shall take effect for the period and under the conditions established by the director in the administrative review decision issued by the director under section 291E‑37.
If you are truly innocent, it may be possible to successfully defend your ADLRO case or its merits.
Even if you were driving under the influence when you were arrested, your case may still be able to be defended successfully.
Even if you do not intend to fight the revocation, you may want some assistance with your request for a work related conditional driving permit.
Certain legal issues may arise during
the course of an ADLRO case that can be successfully exploited by a capable attorney, like Mr. Mac Master. Such issues may not be seen, or understood, by a lay person, or even by an attorney without knowledge and sufficient experience in DUI cases. If you, attempt to
fight and ADLRO revocation by representing yourself at an ADLRO hearing, or fail to retain a capable attorney, you may be heading like a proverbial "lamb to the slaughter".
The overwhelming majority of persons arrested for DUI, and the overwhelming majority of Mr. Mac Master's clients for that matter, are not amongst the ranks of the
"unjustly accused." Most cases have alcohol concentration tests well over the legal limit, problematic performance of the field sobriety tests and other less than helpful evidence about the arrestee's physical appearance, actions and driving. However, Mr. Mac Master's general strategy is
almost always the same:
1. Find a way to get the client off the hook; or
2. At the very least, do what can be done to minimize the damage.
If after the hearing, the ADLRO issues a Decision affirming the revocation, the
Decison will also state what period of time the revocation will remain in effect. For more information about applicable period of revocation, click on the link below:
Periods Of Revocation
As previously discussed above, one of the ways that the damage from an administrative revocation can be minimized is to obtain a conditional permit that enables you to drive either (1) to and from work; or (2) to and from work and for work related purposes. A conditional driving permit can also permit you to drive to and from a substance abuse treatment facility or counselor for treatment ordered by the ADLRO. For more information about conditional driving permits, click on the link below:
Conditional Driving Permits
If after the hearing, the ADLRO issues a Decision affirming the revocation, in addition to having your driving privileges revoked, the ADLRO will also order you to report to the office of the County Division Of Driver's Education, for the county in which you live, to make an appointment to have an alcohol assessment done. The County Division Of Driver's Education, will help you to make an appointment to be interviewed and assessed by an alcohol abuse counselor. Getting the assessment done, and completing any recommended counseling, outpatient treatment, or even inpatient treatment for alcohol abuse, if any, will be a prerequisite to being deemed eligible for relicensing at the end of the revocation period. For more information about getting relicensed at the end of the revocation period, click on the link below:
Relicensing After An Administrative Revocation
In your criminal case, you are innocent until proven guilty. If the ADLRO issues an Administrative Review Decision that revokes your driving privileges, you will be treated as if you are guilty unless you fight to establish your innocence. The only way to completely protect your driving privileges is to win both your criminal case and your ADLRO case. If you fail to get the administrative revocation of your driving privileges reversed, you will lose your driving privileges and have a DUI revocation on your driving record, even if you later win your criminal case.
Contact Mr. Mac Master today to discuss these important issues!
(808) 531-8080
click below to send e-mail to Mr. Mac Master
alohaleg@pixi.com
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