Have you had your driver’s license taken away after being arrested for a DWI? If you had a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or more, or refused the evidentiary test, then you likely received a Notice and Order of License Revocation stating that your license to drive is being taken away. Unfortunately, this often happens before you have had a chance to appear in court for your criminal case. So, what can you do about your license being taken away from a DWI? One option is to challenge the license revocation through Minnesota’s Implied Consent Process.
To do that, you or your lawyer, needs to file an Implied Consent Petition (Petition for Judicial Review). Currently, the law requires you to file your petition within sixty days of being served with the order stating your driving privileges are being taken away. The petition needs to state what issues you are challenging in your case. Currently, the petition provides for twelve possible issues, such as probable cause for the arrest and reliability of the testing methods.
Once the petition is filed, the court will schedule your Implied Consent Hearing within sixty days unless expressly waived. At the hearing, the Attorney General’s Office represents the Commissioner of Public Safety. The officer who made the arrest needs to appear at the hearing. Also, if a separate officer administered the breath, blood, or urine test, they also need to appear. Testimony from the officer is often taken first from the Attorney General and your lawyer can cross examine them. Your lawyer can also call witnesses on your behalf and you can testify, if you want to. This all happens in front of a district court judge in the county where your offense occurred. There are no juries for Implied Consent Hearings as the judge is the sole decision maker. At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge may issue a decision or take it under advisement and issue a ruling later if the parties want to submit written arguments.
If you win your Implied Consent Hearing, then there is no driver’s license revocation on your driving record unless you are convicted of a DWI in your criminal case. You also get your MN driver’s license back and any reinstatement fee you paid from this incident can be refunded. Contact Us Today for a Free Legal Consultation!