So, a police officer pulled you over for driving while intoxicated. or DWI. You refused to take a chemical test and so the court revoked your license. You might feel stressed out, confused and wonder what will happen next. Understanding Minnesota laws about refusing to take a chemical test is important to knowing why this happened.
Once you know what the law says about implied consent, license revocation and what steps to take, you can have a better sense of your DWI situation.
Implied consent
The police officer who requested you to take the test should have informed you about Minnesota law and that refusal is a crime. If this happened but you still need a refresher, the law states that you give implied consent if an officer lawfully arrests you under probable cause that you were drunk driving. If you have no prior DWI convictions on your record, you will face license suspension for one year.
Requesting a hearing
If you want to fight your license suspension, you have the right to request an implied consent hearing. This is a separate process from a criminal DWI court case. Not everyone who gets a license revocation benefits from an implied consent hearing.
If the police officer did everything correctly, including having a valid reason for stopping you and arresting you, and he or she adhered to all necessary procedures, it is probably not worth pursuing a hearing due to the very slim chance of overturning the revocation. However, if the police officer did not follow procedures and you have a strong defense, a successful hearing can result in a reinstatement of your driving privileges and removal of the incident from your driving record.
Getting your license revoked can be a difficult thing to process. If you need help understanding your situation and potential defenses, contact a DWI defense attorney. With the help of an attorney, you can possibly avoid or reduce the penalties.
