Refusal typically produces a substantial administrative license revocation through the Department of Safety, often one year or more depending on priors. Breath refusal may be addressed consistent with Birchfield; blood compulsion for criminal refusal penalties generally requires a warrant. That is what separates Tennessee refusing a breathalyzer from a generic national summary. Read Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-406 before the background sections below. Tennessee's implied-consent law requires chemical testing upon lawful DUI arrest; refusal has administrative license consequences.
License suspension and administrative hearings
Refusal typically produces a substantial administrative license revocation through the Department of Safety, often one year or more depending on priors.
The DMV / administrative track often runs separately from the criminal DUI case. Missing the short window to request an administrative hearing can lock in a suspension even if the criminal charge is later reduced or dismissed. Always calendar the administrative deadline the same day as the arrest.
Criminal consequences of refusal
Breath refusal may be addressed consistent with Birchfield; blood compulsion for criminal refusal penalties generally requires a warrant.
Under Birchfield v. North Dakota, the Fourth Amendment allows criminal penalties for refusing a warrantless breath test incident to a lawful DUI arrest, but generally requires a warrant (or a recognized exception) before the State may impose criminal penalties for refusing a blood draw. Missouri v. McNeely rejected a per-se exigency based solely on natural dissipation of alcohol in the blood. Tennessee statutes and case law implement those federal baselines with local detail.
Can refusal be used as evidence?
Breath/blood results and refusal evidence are commonly admitted in DUI prosecutions.
Prosecutors often argue consciousness of guilt; defense counsel emphasize confusion, inadequate advisories, or medical inability to provide a sample. The precise jury instruction language is state-specific — search Tennessee opinions for “refusal” and “implied consent.”
A concrete Tennessee scenario
Here is one way the Tennessee pieces fit together. Change any fact and the statute may point somewhere else.
A driver is arrested for DUI in Tennessee and refuses the evidentiary chemical test after the implied-consent advisory.
- Identify the administrative consequence under Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-406: Refusal typically produces a substantial administrative license revocation through the Department of Safety, often one year or more depending on priors.
- Separate that track from the criminal case: Breath refusal may be addressed consistent with Birchfield; blood compulsion for criminal refusal penalties generally requires a warrant.
- Ask whether the refusal can be argued to the jury: Breath/blood results and refusal evidence are commonly admitted in DUI prosecutions.
- If the request is for blood rather than breath, apply the warrant rule: Breath is standard; blood is used for drugs, hospital cases, or when breath cannot be obtained, usually under warrant when compelled.
In Tennessee the refusal question is answered first by Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-406, then by the administrative deadline and the criminal case.
Breath tests versus blood tests
Breath is standard; blood is used for drugs, hospital cases, or when breath cannot be obtained, usually under warrant when compelled.
Practical tip: a driver who refuses breath may still face a warrant-backed blood draw. Refusal does not create a permanent shield against chemical evidence; it mainly adds administrative (and sometimes criminal) consequences on top of the underlying DUI case.
Practical tips
- Ask whether the stop and arrest were lawful — implied consent usually requires a lawful DUI arrest first.
- Diary the administrative hearing deadline immediately.
- Do not confuse portable roadside breath screens with the evidentiary breathalyzer at the station; statutes often treat them differently.
- Research Tennessee opinions on implied consent, refusal, and license revocation in LawDiver before a contested DMV hearing.
Case law: implied consent and refusal in Tennessee
STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Sam Austin TURNER, Appellant
STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Sam Austin TURNER, Appellant, 1995 Tenn. LEXIS 789 (1995)
…pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated Section 56-10-406, the implied consent law. Turner contends that under the statute the accused has the right to choose the type of chemical test and that his offer to take a blood test satisfies the implied consent law despite his refusal to take a breath test. Thus, we are called upon to determine whether an accused complies with the implie…
Tennessee opinions such as STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Sam Austin TURNER, Appellant are cited where implied consent / breathalyzer refusal is disputed. The court stated: "Tennessee Code Annotated Section 56-10-406, the implied consent law." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
STATE of Tennessee v. Patrick D. COLLINS
STATE of Tennessee v. Patrick D. COLLINS, 2005 Tenn. LEXIS 607 (2005)
…tate law, if you do, you will be charged with violating the implied consent law and, if the court finds you in violation of this law, then the court will suspend your license for one year. Do you understand? Will you take the breath test? Collins did not take the breath test. He was subsequently indicted for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (“DUI”) *724 in violation…
Practitioners open STATE of Tennessee v. Patrick D. COLLINS when Tennessee implied consent / breathalyzer refusal turns on the distinction in this sentence: "tate law, if you do, you will be charged with violating the implied consent law and, if the court finds you in violation of this law, then the court will suspend your license for one year. Do you understand? Will you take the breath test? Collins did not take the breath test. He" Do not lift it out of the facts the court was deciding.
STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Scottie COTTRELL, Appellant
STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Scottie COTTRELL, Appellant, 1992 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 940 (1992)
…g under the influence (second offense) and violation of the implied consent statute. In a bifurcated trial, the jury decided the issue of whether the defendant was guilty of DUI and violation of the implied consent law. By agreement, the trial judge determined whether the DUI offense was a first or second. After determining *675 that it was the latter, the trial court sentenced…
STATE of Tennessee, Appellee, v. Scottie COTTRELL, Appellant is worth reading on Tennessee implied consent / breathalyzer refusal because the court put the point in its own words: "In a bifurcated trial, the jury decided the issue of whether the defendant was guilty of DUI and violation of the implied consent law. By agreement, the trial judge determined whether the DUI offense was a first or second." Use that passage as the starting point, then read the facts that precede it.
State of Tennessee v. Chad E. Henry
State of Tennessee v. Chad E. Henry, 539 S.W.3d 223 (2017)
…a prior conviction for driving under the influence) of the implied consent statute. Henry was arrested and a mandatory blood draw was conducted without a warrant after his car struck the rear of another car. Henry was subsequently indicted by the Chester County Circuit Court for one count of driving under the influence (DUI), one count of third offense DUI, one count of violat…
Tennessee opinions such as State of Tennessee v. Chad E. Henry are cited where implied consent / breathalyzer refusal is disputed. The court stated: "Henry was arrested and a mandatory blood draw was conducted without a warrant after his car struck the rear of another car." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
State of Tennessee v. Patrick Collins
State of Tennessee v. Patrick Collins (2004)
…count two of this indictment charging the violation of the implied consent law and barred the State from arguing in the defendant’s trial for DUI that he knew he would suffer a loss of driver’s license if he refused the breath test. The State appeals. We conclude that the defendant was sufficiently advised of the possible suspension of his driver’s license upon his refusal to…
Tennessee opinions such as State of Tennessee v. Patrick Collins are cited where implied consent / breathalyzer refusal is disputed. The court stated: "State from arguing in the defendant’s trial for DUI that he knew he would suffer a loss of driver’s license if he refused the breath test. The State appeals." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
State of Tennessee v. A.D. Smith, III
State of Tennessee v. A.D. Smith, III (2015)
…he was subject to a mandatory blood draw under Tennessee‟s implied consent law. Defendant filed a motion to suppress, arguing that his consent was not freely and voluntarily given. The trial court granted the motion to suppress, and the State filed for an interlocutory appeal. Upon our review of the record, arguments, and authorities, we conclude that the trial court erred in…
Tennessee opinions such as State of Tennessee v. A.D. Smith, III are cited where implied consent / breathalyzer refusal is disputed. The court stated: "Tennessee‟s implied consent law. Defendant filed a motion to suppress, arguing that his consent was not freely and voluntarily given. The trial court granted the motion to suppress, and the State filed for an interlocutory appeal." That is the language to brief; the rest of the decision supplies the procedural posture.
State of Tennessee v. Michael Glen Walsh
State of Tennessee v. Michael Glen Walsh (2013)
…(DUI), second offense, a Class A misdemeanor, violating the implied consent law while his driver’s license was revoked for a previous DUI conviction, a Class A misdemeanor, and driving with a revoked license, a Class B misdemeanor. See T.C.A. §§ 55-10-401, 55-10-406, and 55-50-504 (2012). He received an eleven-month, twenty-nine-day sentence with 150 days to serve for each of t…
On implied consent / breathalyzer refusal, State of Tennessee v. Michael Glen Walsh speaks to the Tennessee dispute in this passage: "DUI), second offense, a Class A misdemeanor, violating the implied consent law while his driver’s license was revoked for a previous DUI conviction, a Class A misdemeanor, and driving with a revoked license, a Class B misdemeanor. See T.C.A." The surrounding opinion shows how the court applied that language to the record.
Key takeaways
- Primary authority: Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-10-406.
- Administrative hit: Refusal typically produces a substantial administrative license revocation through the Department of Safety, often one year or more depending on priors.
- Criminal exposure: Breath refusal may be addressed consistent with Birchfield; blood compulsion for criminal refusal penalties generally requires a warrant.
- Evidence: Breath/blood results and refusal evidence are commonly admitted in DUI prosecutions.
- Blood vs. breath: federal Supreme Court doctrine in Birchfield and McNeely still frames warrant rules.
Implied consent in Tennessee
Tennessee's implied-consent law requires chemical testing upon lawful DUI arrest; refusal has administrative license consequences.
Implied consent is not the same as a Miranda warning. Officers typically must advise of the consequences of refusal before requesting a chemical test. Failure to give a required advisory can affect whether the administrative suspension sticks — a frequent issue in Tennessee appellate opinions.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I refuse a breathalyzer in Tennessee?
Refusal typically produces a substantial administrative license revocation through the Department of Safety, often one year or more depending on priors. Breath refusal may be addressed consistent with Birchfield; blood compulsion for criminal refusal penalties generally requires a warrant.
Is refusal a separate crime in Tennessee?
Breath refusal may be addressed consistent with Birchfield; blood compulsion for criminal refusal penalties generally requires a warrant.
Will the prosecutor tell the jury I refused?
Breath/blood results and refusal evidence are commonly admitted in DUI prosecutions.
Do I need a warrant for a blood draw?
Breath is standard; blood is used for drugs, hospital cases, or when breath cannot be obtained, usually under warrant when compelled. See also Birchfield and McNeely linked above.