What if I Refused to Take the Breath Test?
If you refused to take a breath test in the police car, you may have been charged with an additional offense called PBT Refusal. Whether or not you were charged with this offense, if the Police notified the Secretary of State of such a refusal, it can cause your license to be suspended for one year, whatever else happens in your case.
If the Police did notify the Secretary of State of your refusal, the you will have been sent home with a form entitled “Officer’s Report Of Refusal To Take A Chemical Breath Test.” The form explains that you have 14 days to request a Hearing before the Secretary of State’s Driver’s Assessment and Appeal Division, or your license will be automatically suspended for one year.
Even if your memory isn’t so clear about what was said or given to you (let’s face it, your were undoubtedly nervous, upset, and not at your best), if you were given a Michigan Temporary Driving Permit as a paper license, then you don’t have to worry about the Secretary of State Hearing or losing your license at this stage.
If you did get the “Officer’s Report Of Refusal To Take A Chemical Breath Test,” it is important that you take certain action within 14 days of your arrest to avoid having your license suspended automatically. Whether you call me or not, you should consult with a Drunk Driving attorney right away to see if you can avoid the automatic suspension. You must respond within that 14 days or the one year suspension will begin automatically.
Even if that time period has passed, or there is nothing you can do about the refusal, it is possible to go to court and have your license reinstated anyway. Whether or not that’s even worth doing depends on how may prior Drunk Driving cases you’ve had, if any, and how long ago they occurred. This is certainly something to ask about when you call.
If you refused the breath test at the police station, then in all likelihood a warrant was obtained and your blood was taken for analysis by the State Police Crime Lab. This is another area where there can be some possibility of challenging the case, depending on the circumstances of the blood draw and the results. To be honest, successful challenges in these cases are limited to a small number of such cases, but as I have said time and time again, it doesn’t hurt to ask.