Commercial Driver License (CDL)
Any driver who operates a commercial vehicle when charged with DUI will face additional penalties. If you are transporting hazardous materials at the time, your penalties are even further enhanced. Further, the legal limit / per se law, for drivers of a commercial vehicle is .04.
Even if you possess a CDL, and are NOT OPERATING A COMMERICAL VEHICLE at the time, you are subject to losing your commercial driving license for 1 year for a first offense.
If you have a previous refusal, or a previous DWI conviction, no matter how long ago, you are facing a mandatory LIFETIME loss of a CDL, with the possibility for reinstatement after 10 years, if you are found guilty of the DWI or found guilty of refusing a breath/blood test.
An arrest is not a conviction, nor is an accusation that you refused a test. Hiring a DWI lawyer can help you keep your CDL and your regular driver's license.
See NH RSA 265-A:23 for more details, as well as the Federal DOT guidelines.
If you drive for a livnig, I understand how important your license is to you. I understand you will probably lose your job without a license. In order to not lose your CDL license, you must not lose your regular driver's license for DWI. To do that, you must request an administrative license suspension hearing within 30 days from the date of arrest, and then you must win at that DMV hearing. Then, you must have the DWI dismissed/reduced, or be found not guilty at trial.
The prosecutor is probably not going to care that you drive for work in you get arrested for DWI (In fact he may be even more unwilling to work you). To get the best result you are going to need to make use of the best defenses. If the prosecutor thinks there is a chance he will lose the case, he is probably more likely to reduce the charge. If we win at the ALS hearing, the criminal case is also better. Finally, if the prosecutor will not work with you and you have to go to trial to remain not guilty, you are going to want a lawyer with trial experience who wins a lot of DWI cases. Give our lawyers a call for a free consultation to discuss your defenses and how we can present the best defense to help you keep your CDL and your job.