Minnesota DWI Driver’s License Revocation Reduced from Two Years to Three Months in Dakota County

If the police arrest you for DWI, then the officer will likely ask you to take a chemical test to measure your blood alcohol concentration (BAC). In Minnesota, the government will revoke your driving privileges if: 1) you refuse to take the chemical test, or 2) the chemical test reveals a BAC of 0.08 or more.

The length of a driver’s license revocation depends on a variety of facts, including prior DWIs, prior driver’s license revocations, whether the driver refused the chemical test, etc. For example, a person who submits a chemical test without any prior DWIs or driver’s license revocations will likely face a 90-day revocation. For another example, a person who refuses the chemical test without any prior DWIs or driver’s license revocations will likely face a one-year revocation.

A loss of license, regardless of the term, can have a devastating impact on a person’s life. How do you get to work without a driver’s license? How can you get the kids to school? What happens when a family emergency arises, and you can’t drive?

In a recent case out of Dakota County, the government revoked our client’s driver’s license for two years. This revocation was based, in part, on our client’s refusal to take a breath test. We challenged our client’s driver’s license revocation by filing a petition for judicial review. The petition argued, in part, that refusing a warrantless chemical test violates the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 10 of the Minnesota Constitution. Accordingly, we asked the district court to rescind our client’s driver’s license revocation (i.e., reinstate our client’s driver’s license).

Before the court hearing, we held a brief conference with an assistant attorney general (who represents the government in driver’s license revocation cases). In our conference, we convinced the government to reduce our client’s driver’s license revocation from two years to three months.