State v. Bentdahl

After refusing to consent to chemical testing to determine his blood alcohol content, Defendant pleaded not guilty to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OWI) and operating with a prohibited alcohol concentration (PAC). Defendant failed to request a refusal hearing within the statutory ten-day time limit. A jury acquitted Defendant of the OWI and PAC charges, and the circuit court dismissed the refusal charge due to improper notice. The court of appeals reversed the circuit court’s finding of improper notice and remanded for the circuit court to exercise its discretion as to whether to dismiss the refusal charge. The State appealed, arguing that the court of appeals improperly extended the holding of State v. Brooks when it instructed the circuit court to determine whether it would exercise its discretion to dismiss the refusal charge. The Supreme Court reversed, holding that the court of appeals improperly extended the holding of Brooks when it held that a circuit court could dismiss a refusal charge under the circumstances presented by this case, as a circuit court has no discretionary authority to dismiss a refusal charge when a defendant fails to request a refusal hearing within the statutory ten-day time period. Remanded. View "State v. Bentdahl" on Justia Law