Revocations in Refusal Cases

When the driver is arrested for DWI and refuses to submit to a BAC test the driver's privileges will be revoked for one year. Missouri's Implied Consent Law penalizes a refusal in that the suspension period is longer for refusing the BAC test versus taking the test and failing. The process to challenge the license revocation in a refusal case is different than challenging the administrative action. To challenge a refusal revocation the driver would need to file a petition for review against the Director of Revenue. The prosecutor's office for the county where the arrest took place will appear on behalf of the Director of Revenue. A petition for review must be filed within thirty days from the issuance of the notice of revocation (which is almost always the date of the arrest). If the petition is not timely filed, the petition should be dismissed because the court lacks jurisdiction to proceed.In many cases, upon the filing of a petition for review the court will issue a stay order pursuant to § 577.041. The stay order is the authority that allows the petitioner to continue driving during the pendency of the petition for review (if the petitioner's driving privileges are not otherwise suspended and/or revoked).