When a Rochester driver is stopped for drinking and driving and refuses to submit to a breath test, his or her driver’s license will be suspended at arraignment, which is usually the first court appearance.

The matter of refusing the breath test is then turned over to the Department of Motor Vehicles, which will hold an administrative hearing to determine if the driver’s license should be revoked based on the refusal.

This hearing is supposed to occur within fifteen days of the arraignment in criminal court.

If the defendant requests an adjournment of the Refusal Hearing and the request is granted, the driver’s license suspension imposed at arraignment remains in effect until the hearing is held and a determination is made by the DMV regarding whether the driver’s license should be revoked for refusing the breath test.

Also, if the driver’s license is ultimately revoked following the hearing, the defendant does not receive any credit for the time period his or her driver’s license was suspended while the hearing was postponed.

Instead, the full period of revocation (one year for a first time offender) will be imposed in addition to the time the defendant could not drive while awaiting the hearing.

If the defendant is available for the hearing but it is adjourned because the police officer is not available, however, the defendant’s full driving privileges will be reinstated until the Refusal Hearing is held.

While this may initially prove beneficial to the defendant, it is important to keep track of when the Refusal Hearing is held.

Most defendants also face loss of driving privileges based on drinking and driving charges in criminal court, and an experienced DWI lawyer will want to make sure any driver’s license penalties imposed as a result of a criminal court conviction run simultaneously with any penalty imposed by the DMV for refusing the breath test.

If the Refusal Hearing is delayed too long, the DMV and criminal court driver’s license penalties may not overlap, and the defendant will have to go longer than necessary without full driving privileges.

The driver’s license penalties for refusing the breath test can be complicated.

If you are facing drunk driving charges need the help of an experienced DWI lawyer, call us at 585-484-7432.