Many people ask me what happens if they refuse a breath test after being arrested for DWI in New Hampshire. There are a couple major consequences of refusing a chemical test (breath, blood, urine, or physical tests). The first is that you will lose your license. The license loss is for 6 months for a first offense. If you have a previous DWI conviction, or previously refused the breath test, the license loss will be for 2 years. This license loss runs in addition (consecutively) to every other license loss, such as habitual offender, or a DWI conviction, or a plea to a lesser offense. The DMV has zero discretion to change the license loss. You can not explain to them how it will create a hardship for you or that you need your license to drive. In fact, New Hampshire does not even have any hardship license provisions, or work permits, or any other temporary permits to let you drive while under suspension for refusing.

If you do nothing, this license loss is automatic. However, you are entitled to an administrative license suspension (ALS) hearing regarding the refusal. You must request this hearing within 30 days of the date of refusal. You cannot request the hearing after 30 days. Also, the hearing is not just automatically given to you after you are arrested, you do have to request it in writing, and otherwise comply with the rules. Once you hire a DWI lawyer, have him or her request the hearing. Some people put too little information in their hearing request, and some people put too much information into it. Also, it is a mistake to not require the officer's presence at the hearing.

Once you request the hearing, the DMV will schedule you a hearing in roughly a couple of weeks. Because it takes a few weeks to get the hearing, you should not wait until the last possible day to request the hearing. Just by requesting the hearing, you do not get to extend your temporary license, or otherwise not lose your license. The only way to not go under suspension 30 days after the date of arrest for refusing is to win at an ALS hearing.

Have you been charged with a second offense DWI in New Hampshire?

The penalties for a second offense are a lot worse than a first offense. If you are found guilty of 2nd offense there is Mandatory jail time. It does not matter how compelling your life situation is. The judge's only discretion is whether it is the minimum 5 days in jail, or whether it is up to a year. If you had a previous DWI within two years of when you were arrested on the new charge the minimum jail time is 30 days.

The minimum license loss on a second offense is 3 years. If you refused the breath test, that 2 year license loss will run in addition to the 3 years.

Additionally, second offense requires an interlock device on your vehicle for 1-2 years once you get your license back, and the minimum fine is $930.

To get these enhanced penalties, you have to be found guilty of DWI. An arrest is not a conviction. The best way to avoid jail time is to be found not guilty, or be able to get the charge reduced.

I showed up to court at 8 am this morning for trial. The prosecutor asked me if I received a phone call from my client. Puzzled, I asked him why. He informed me the client was arrested the night before. Thankfully, the police department was kind enough to transport the client to the courthouse so that he wouldn't miss the trial.

However, besides the trial, the client now had to deal with an arraignment on new charges. It can be difficult to argue someone is not a danger if there is an arrest while you are already out on bail. Additionally, committing an offense while out on bail can bring a class A misdemeanor of bail jumping. Part of the conditions of personal recognizance bail is to be on good behavior. An arrest for a crime, is generally a violation of those terms and the judge can revoke bail on the underlying offense. If you are out on bail, do not commit new offenses. If you are arrested, call your lawyer as soon as possible so that he can be ready to argue bail at the arraignment which is usually the next day court is in session, if the bail commissioner does not give you a bail in the amount that you can post in order to be released from the police station/jail.

If you have been arrested for DWI you likely posted bail to be released pending trial. Bail is a way to ensure that you show up to court dates. In New Hampshire, for most first offense dwi charges you will be released on your own personal recognizance (PR) bail. Some judges set cash bail for Aggravated DWI or second offense DWI.  After paying the bail commission $40 to set bail you will be released from jail on your promise to appear to court. Other bail conditions typically include remaining on good behavior, not driving until a certain date, and sometimes not to consume alcohol or possess a gun.

If you fail to show up to court when scheduled, you will likely forfeit your bail, have a bench warrant issued, and have to post cash bail. If there is some sort of emergency, do your best to contact the court and notify them you will be late or unable to make it. If you have had prior continuances, it is much more likely the judge will deny the continuance, especially if the case was scheduled for trial.

Once you hire a New Hampshire DWI attorney to represent you, stay in contact with that attorney. While some courts schedule things quickly, other courts do not schedule trials for many months. If you do not know when your trial date is, give your lawyer a call to find out.

Additionally, if you hire a lawyer and happen to default, that lawyer will be in a much better position to argue to the judge why a bench warrant for your arrest should not be issued.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-drunk-driving-raise-threshold-20130514,0,3496194.story

Although DWI arrests are constantly declining: "With drunk driving still a stubborn national problem that accounts for one-third of all traffic deaths, federal safety regulators on Tuesday called on states to take a dramatic step: lower the legal limit for drivers’ blood-alcohol content from 0.08% to at least 0.05%.

The National Transportation Safety Board also called for government incentives to prod states into lowering their drunk-driving standard.

"Most Americans think that we’ve solved the problem of impaired driving, but in fact, it’s still a national epidemic,” said NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman. Research shows that drivers with a blood-alcohol content, or BAC, above 0.05% "are impaired and at a significantly greater risk of being involved in a crash where someone is killed or injured."
In certain cases, a person can get a .05 BAC by having just one drink.    

The recommendation comes about 13 years after President Clinton signed legislation requiring states to set a 0.08% blood-alcohol level or lose millions of dollars in federal highway funds."