The refusal of a Chemical Test (generally a breathalyzer) comes with automatic administrative penalties. These are penalties imposed immediately after your refusal, meaning it is outside of court. This process turns the justice system on it's head a bit, because unlike most crimes where you must be convicted before you are punished, when you refuse a chemical test you are punished and then must make an appeal if you want to remove the punishment. 

Process of Appealing a CTR Suspension

Strategy in appealing a CTR Suspension
An appeal of CTR suspension is a multi-part process. It involves the review and analysis of the facts that led to the officer requesting the breathalyzer in the first place, specifically the manner in which the defendant was operating his motor vehicle, the driver's disposition and speech upon his encounter with the officer, the instructions given for the roadside exercises and the results of those exercises.  All these points go to the officer’s basis for administering the breath test in the first place, which is arguably the most vital piece to any CTR defense. If the officer did have good cause to request a breath sample, the defense must turn its attention to the procedures used in requesting that sample, specifically dealing with the officer’s paperwork, small mistakes by the officer can lead to substantial benefits for the defendant.
Why to hire an attorney from the outset?
Many drivers charged with CTR are of the opinion that the best course of action is to appeal before the registry on their own and hire an attorney if they need to bring the matter before the District Court. This can be a costly mistake as the appeal before the District Court examines only that evidence which was raised at the Registry appeal. As such, a pro se litigant who neglects to raise certain defenses at the Registry will find that his attorney will be barred from raising those same defenses in District Court.

Time to Appeal CTR Suspension

The timeline to appeal a CTR suspensions is short and the rules are unforgiving. There are two noteworthy time limits:
  1. An appeal before the Registry which must be done within 15 calendar days of arrest.
  2. If the initial appeal is unsuccessful then the driver (and counsel of their choosing) may appeal the Registry's decision to the District Court within 30 days of the Registry's denial of appeal. 

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