Chapter 10: Implied Consent Law - Will You Lose Your License For Refusing A Blood Or Breath Test?

It’s a common misconception that if you refuse to take a blood or breath test that your license will automatically be revoked for one year.

It is true that if you are found guilty of violating the Implied Consent Law, which requires you to give a chemical sample under some circumstances, that you will lose your license. However, just like DUIs, there are defenses to a charge of violation of implied consent.

What is the Implied Consent Law?

The implied consent law states that any individual driving in the state of Tennessee is presumed to have given consent to a chemical test of their breath or blood under certain circumstances. The presumption only applies to a law-enforcement officer who has reasonable grounds to believe that a driver is violating the DUI law. That means that if you are pulled over for speeding, without any other indicators of impairment, an officer cannot legally ask for a sample of your blood. On the other hand, if you are pulled over on suspicion of DUI, and the officer has enough information to arrest you for DUI, he can then legally ask you for a chemical sample. If the driver agrees to give a chemical sample, then there is no violation of the implied consent law. However, if the individual refuses, then they will be charged with violating the implied consent law.

Many people believe, and I have even heard officers tell defendants, that violating the implied consent law will automatically result in the loss of your driver’s license.

Can a police officer force me to give them a blood sample?

Ordinarily, if the driver refuses to give consent today breath or blood sample then no test will be given. Instead, the driver will be charged with a violation of the implied consent law.

However, there are exceptions to this general rule. For example, there are currently statutes that require a mandatory blood draw, even when a driver refuses to give consent, when there is an accident with death or injury, when the driver has previously been convicted of DUI, or when there is a child in the car under age 16. In the case of a mandatory blood draw, the law allows a police officer to physically force the suspected DUI driver to submit to a chemical test, including allowing an officer to strap a defendant down during the blood draw. Unless one of the rare exceptions exists, the officer cannot coerce you to give consent or mislead you about what the Implied Consent Law requires.

Will a jury decide if I lose my license?

No. A jury will not decide if you lose your license.

Instead, the general sessions judge, rather than a jury, will make a determination of whether the officer had probable cause to find you guilty of the implied consent law.

During your preliminary hearing for your DUI charge in general sessions court, the State will not only have to prove probable cause for your DUI but also for your Implied Consent charge. It is important that your lawyer pays close attention to the proof presented by the district attorney during your preliminary hearing to persuasively argue to the judge that the State lacks probable cause to find you guilty of Implied Consent.

Significantly, unlike your DUI charge, the Implied Consent charge is a civil citation that will be conclusively determined on the date of your preliminary hearing, unless you appeal the court’s decision.

Can I appeal the court’s decision finding a violation of the implied consent law?

If the general sessions judge finds probable cause for implied consent during your preliminary hearing, it is important that you are aware that you may file a notice of appeal that very same day to maintain your license and appeal the court’s decision to the circuit court.

Until your case is decided, including the appeal, assuming your license was valid prior to your arrest, usually no action will be taken against your privilege to drive.