Protecting Your License
and Your Future
and Your Future
Chemical Test Refusals / Administrative Hearings
During the course of a traffic stop on a suspected DWI or driving while ability impaired by alcohol and or drugs, the police officer will request that you take a chemical test of your breath, blood or urine. The chemical test of your breath is commonly known as a “Breathalyzer.”
If You Refuse A Chemical Test Of Your Breath, Blood Or Urine
If you refuse to take the chemical test of your breath, in addition to being charged with a DWI you will be charged separately with a “Refusal.” A refusal is not a criminal charge, but a violation that is determined at an administrative license hearing before a judge at the Department of Motor Vehicles. If you are found to have refused a chemical test, there is an automatic one year revocation of your driver’s license. With commercial operators such as truck drivers and taxi cab drivers, refusals are even more of a problem—they can lead to loss of employment and a permanent loss of a commercial driver’s license if there is more than one refusal on your record.
A Refusal Hearing Is Held At The D.M.V. Within 10 Days Of Arrest
The “Refusal Hearing” will be held within 10 days of the arrest for DWI. At this hearing, you have the opportunity to give testimony as to the circumstances of the alleged refusal. Even more importantly, we are provided with a very early opportunity to cross examine the arresting officer as to his or her basis for determining that the chemical test was refused, and we can quickly discover the strengths or weaknesses of the District Attorney’s case on issues such as probable cause of the arrest, Field Sobriety Tests, and the experience of the arresting officer, among others.
We Fight Each Aspect Of The Administrative And Criminal Charges Against You
At the White Plains, New York Law Office Of Mark A Siesel, we will analyze each aspect of the charges against you, both the DWI charges in the local Court as well as the Refusal charges in the Department of Motor Vehicles. We have the experience, background and skill to fight all charges against you, whether it be an Aggravated DWI (driving with a blood alcohol content of .18 of more); DWI, Driving while ability impaired, or DWAID (Driving while ability impaired by drugs or a combination of drugs and alcohol, and the administrative charge on the chemical test refusal. Our office will quickly and expeditiously resolve all matters involved in your case, to obtain the best possible outcome, and do everything possible to minimize the impact on your driver’s license, employment, and insurance rates, whether by plea bargain or trial.
Contact Us
To obtain additional information about Refusal charges, Administrative License Hearings (Refusal Hearings), or any criminal charges such as Aggravated DWI, Driving While Intoxicated, or Driving While Ability Impaired, (DWAI), please contact us.