Tag: disqualification

Breath Test Suppressed After Deputy Misadvises CDL Holder

GRL Law received a ruling today that suppressed the results of a breath test taken by a CDL holder. We discovered the officer made a mistake during the implied consent advisory.  He advised the driver that a test failure results in a one-year disqualification, but a refusal results in a lifetime ban on his commercial driving privileges.  That’s not the law, of course, but the mistaken advisory provides a pretty compelling reason to consent, doesn’t it? The district court thought the same.  The driver’s consent was not the product of a reasoned and informed decision. That means the driver’s CDL […]

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GRL Wins DOT and Saves CDL

Iowa provides a limited statutory right to speak with a family member or attorney before submitting to breath testing.  Most of the time, the driver must first trigger the right by asking for a phone call. In this case, our client told the officer he had an out-of-state CDL.  He asked whether implied consent would affect his commercial driver’s license.  When the officer said that he couldn’t answer that question, our client replied that he would wait for the lawyer to arrive. The officer immediately requested a breath specimen.  Our client refused. GRL Law recently appealed the one year revocation […]

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GRL Suppresses Breath Test and Saves CDL

The impaired driving defense attorneys at GRL prevented yet another CDL holder from being disqualified by the Iowa DOT. A thorough review of pretrial discovery indicated that the arresting officer made a critical mistake during the implied consent process.  He failed to properly observe the 15-minute waiting period before requesting a breath sample for testing on the DataMaster DMT.  As a result, the district court suppressed the test result from evidence making it inadmissible at trial.  This ruling is binding on the DOT and serves to rescind and remove the revocation (and CDL disqualification) from the driver’s record. GRL defends […]

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CDL Disqualification for Moving Violations

The Iowa DOT will disqualify your CDL if you are convicted of certain moving violations.  These include: Operating a CMV upon a highway without a CDL or commercial learner’s permit Operating a CMV upon a highway without the proper class of CDL, commercial learner’s permit for the specific vehicle group or for the passengers or type of cargo being transported Speeding 15 mph or more over the legal speed limit Reckless driving Any violation of the traffic laws, except a parking or vehicle weight violation, which arises in connection with a fatal traffic accident Following another motor vehicle too closely […]

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Consequences of Marijuana Possession in a Commercial Motor Vehicle

The drug defense attorneys at GRL have blogged before on the pitfalls of being stopped by police with marijuana in your personal vehicle.  Fortunately, Iowa no longer suspends your driving privileges for drug convictions. Does this mean you can keep personal use quantities in the sleeper area of a semi truck? In a word, no.  Not unless, of course, you are looking to have your CDL privileges disqualified for six months. That’s right. You will lose your privilege to drive a commercial motor vehicle if convicted of most simple possession offenses.   Marijuana, amphetamines or any narcotic drug will do the […]

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GRL Saves CDL with DOT WIN

The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law prove once again that preparation is everything when it comes to implied consent testing and DOT administrative hearings.  This is especially true when it involves professional CDL drivers and forensic drug testing. In this case, a DOT officer assigned to an I-35 weigh station in North Iowa believed he had reasonable grounds to invoke implied consent and request a urine sample under Iowa Code section 321J.6 based on the discovery of a small amount of marijuana and an admission to smoking the previous evening.  When the sample came back positive for non-impairing metabolites […]

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CDL Traffic Ticket Defense – Yes, We Do That, Too!

The trial attorneys at GRL Law have a well-earned reputation for zealously and aggressively representing those accused of serious criminal offenses in Iowa. While we are perhaps best known for our statewide defense of drinking drivers including felony vehicular homicide, the firm is also recognized for its work in other complex areas of the law such as sex offenses and drug charges. One area that typically doesn’t make the news, but is nevertheless a highly specialized niche for the firm, is the defense of CDL traffic tickets. We defend all CDL-related citations.  Statewide.  Everything from excessive speed and lane changes […]

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