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Photo of Joshua Nielsen
Photo of Joshua Nielsen
Photo of Joshua Nielsen

What is a Willful Refusal and Why is North Carolina DMV Taking My License?

by | Feb 29, 2016 | Traffic Violations

If you have been charged with Driving While Impaired in North Carolina or even if a law enforcement officer suspects you of Driving While Impaired (or DWI) you may be required to submit and/or provide either a breath or blood sample for the state to test.

Many people say, “that’s not fair” or “this is wrong” and there is some merit to those statements and those reactions. But the way the system is created in this State, is that there is a separation between your criminal charges and the civil action that the DMV can commence against you by taking your license for up to 12 months for willfully refusing the chemical breath analysis.

What if I tried to blow and it did not register? Or the law enforcement officer said I did not blow hard enough?

These are great questions. If you hire an experienced attorney he or she may ask about any medical conditions that would prevent you from producing a sufficient sample of air, emphysema, respiratory disease, things like that or even being very sick or weak can affect how hard you are able to blow. If this happens tell your attorney right away and he or she can subpoena the videos from the intoxilyzer room to assist you if you decide to request a DMV hearing.

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