New Mexico DWI
A charge of DWI will be enhanced to an aggravated DWI under the following circumstances:
- You refused to submit to a breath or blood test after being requested to do so by a law enforcement officer.
- You submitted to a breath or blood test and the results were higher than a .16.
- You were involved in a DWI accident involving serious physical injuries.
The effect of an aggravated DWI charge is that it enhances the potential penalty that the court may impose after a conviction or plea. Typically it involves a period of mandatory incarceration. For example, while a straight DWI first offense carries no mandatory jail time, a first offense aggravated charge carries a mandatory 48 hours incarceration.
An aggravated DWI based upon a refusal will also increase your period of license revocation in an MVD proceeding from 6 months to one year. At this time, an aggravated charged based upon breath score or injuries does not increase your period of revocation in the MVD proceedings.
