Madison Refusal Hearing Lawyer for OWI Cases

Ten days. The Notice of Intent to Revoke gives you 10 days to get a written request for a refusal hearing to the court named on the notice (Wis. Stat. s. 343.305(9)(a)4., (10)(a)). If nothing reaches the court in time, there is no hearing and the revocation begins 30 days after the refusal. Do not count on weekends adding time. If your deadline is close, call Avena Law Office at 608.271.2271 today for a free consultation.

If a written request does not reach the court within 10 days of the Notice of Intent to Revoke, you generally lose the chance to contest the refusal, and the revocation moves forward by default (Wis. Stat. s. 343.305(9)(a)4., (10)(a)). That is a separate track from the OWI charge itself, which continues on its own. Missing the refusal deadline does not end your OWI defense, but it does close one door, so act while the ten days are still running.

Yes. The refusal is handled as its own proceeding, with its own deadline and its own consequences for your driver's license, while the OWI charge moves through the criminal or forfeiture side of the court. The two are often heard by the same judge and usually involve the same facts, but winning or losing one does not automatically decide the other. Both need attention from the beginning.

Possibly. Wis. Stat. s. 343.307(1) lists revocations for refusing a chemical test among the priors a court counts when it decides how to charge a new drunk driving case, and for a second offense only priors within the last 10 years count. But the Wisconsin Supreme Court has held that a prior revocation for refusing a warrantless blood draw cannot be used to raise the criminal penalty for a later OWI (State v. Forrett, 2022 WI 37), so whether a particular refusal counts depends on the facts. It is worth having someone review your driving record and confirm that each entry is being counted correctly before you resolve anything.

Wisconsin's implied consent law does not give you a right to speak with a lawyer before deciding whether to take the chemical test, and officers frequently record a request to call one as a refusal. That does not mean the matter is settled. What was actually said, which warnings were read, whether the request for a test was clear, and whether the stop and arrest were lawful are all fact questions a refusal hearing can address.

The hearing is narrow but real. It looks at three questions: whether the officer had probable cause to believe you were driving while impaired and lawfully arrested you, whether the implied consent warnings were properly given, and whether you actually refused, or could not complete the test because of a physical disability or disease unrelated to alcohol or drugs. If the court decides any one of those questions in your favor, no action is taken on your license because of the refusal. If every question goes against you, the court orders the revocation (one year for a first refusal) and an alcohol assessment (Wis. Stat. s. 343.305(9)(a)5., (9)(d), (10)). Bring the officer's paperwork to a lawyer so those issues can be evaluated in time.

They answer two different papers. A Notice of Intent to Suspend, with an Administrative Review Request form, means a test result at or over the limit: the request goes to the Wisconsin DMV, and the suspension is six months (Wis. Stat. s. 343.305(7), (8)). A Notice of Intent to Revoke means the officer recorded a refusal: the request goes to the court named on the notice, and a first refusal is a one-year revocation (s. 343.305(9), (10)). Each has its own 10-day clock, separate from the OWI citation, and winning one does not decide the other. If you are not sure which paper you hold, bring all of them to a lawyer the same day.