A DPS Departmental License Suspension is an administrative suspension, meaning the suspension is not a criminal punishment. This "changing of words" is nothing new, and certainly not unique to Texas or DPS; Courts have held throughout the country that it's legal to punish you twice for the same offense, as long as they 'call' one of the punishments "administrative."
For instance, lets assume you are driving on a suspended license. You get pulled over, given a ticket, and then pay that ticket. The Judge tells you that your license is now suspended (because of the ticket) for 6 months. You understand and figure you'll deal with it.
But then, you get a letter in the mail saying DPS, on their own, is ALSO suspending your Texas Driver's License for another year -- ON TOP OF the Court suspension, and based on the same ticket. You call DPS and say the Judge only suspended your Texas Driver's License for 6 months, but DPS will reply "it's a Departmental Suspension."
DPS will suspend a person's license if they believe they can prove you were driving at a time when your license was suspended. Since all tickets are routed through DPS, even if you're given a WARNING for your suspended driver's license, and just given a seat belt ticket by the officer during a traffic stop, DPS WILL SUSPEND YOUR LICENSE.
So how do you fight the Departmental Suspension? You have the right to a hearing, which can be requested WITHIN 10 OR 15 DAYS upon receiving the suspension notice in the mail. If you miss that date, DPS will say you have waived the hearing and the suspension will stand. Unfortunately, DPS will not forward mail, so even if you moved and forwarded mail properly through the post office, the suspension letter will not be forwarded.
So if you're having to deal with a Departmental Driver's License suspension in Texas, and have missed the 15 day appeal or ALR hearing, call us right away to talk about other options for your Texas Driver's License.
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