Refusal/Implied Consent Suspension Appeals

Every Michigan driver’s license holder “impliedly consents” to have his/her breath, blood or urine tested upon reasonable request of a peace officer during an OWI investigation.  If you refuse a police officer’s request for a chemical test, your license may be automatically suspended for one year.  This is called an “Implied Consent Refusal,” and your prompt response to this allegation is crucial.  We strongly suggest you call us (or another law firm) immediately after a refusal allegation so that you do not miss important deadlines.  

It is important to note that police officers must have reasonable grounds to request the chemical test, and that they must also follow regulations on how/what they advise the driver about a potential refusal.  It is also important to note that there are some reasonable and acceptable grounds for refusing these tests.  In short, not all refusals are guaranteed to be violations of the Implied Consent law, and the actions of the police officer can be challenged at the Secretary of State and in court, if necessary.  

The Geherin Law Group (GLG Michigan) can help you fight this suspension at the Secretary of State, and we have handled countless Implied Consent Hearings throughout the State of Michigan.  As a criminal defense firm, we also specialize in drunk driving cases, so we have the skills, reputation and experience to challenge police officers at Implied Consent hearings and to litigate and/or negotiate favorable results in refusal cases.  Unlike other firms who “dabble” in criminal and drunk driving cases, our firm is a specialized, targeted, trial-based criminal justice firm with a long and proven track record of success in winning refusal/Implied Consent arguments.  Our firm’s founder, Dan Geherin, is a former prosecutor and board-certified criminal trial attorney, and the published author of The Michigan Drunk Driving and Driver’s License Handbook, which has a chapter dedicated to Implied Consent/Refusal defense.  

If your license has been suspended for an Implied Consent refusal, we may be able to seek restricted driving privileges (i.e., to/from work) from a Circuit Court judge in the county where the arrest occurred.  This is called a “Hardship Appeal,” and our firm has filed and won hundreds of them in the past 20+years.  We can also challenge the legitimacy of the refusal at the Circuit Court level (this is called a “Legal Appeal”), many of which we have filed and won in courts throughout Southeastern Michigan.  

If a police officer alleges that you refused a chemical test, please call us immediately to discuss how we can fight this refusal and best protect your privilege to drive.  

The Geherin Law Group:  We are the key to putting you back in the driver’s seat.