IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Neil Jessen, :

Appellant :

 :

v. : No. 250 C.D. 2019

 : Submitted: June 21, 2019

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, :

Department of Transportation, Bureau :

of Driver Licensing :

BEFORE: HONORABLE MARY HANNAH LEAVITT, President Judge

HONORABLE RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, Judge

HONORABLE CHRISTINE FIZZANO CANNON, Judge

OPINION NOT REPORTED

MEMORANDUM OPINION BY

JUDGE COHN JUBELIRER FILED: December 4, 2019 

Neil Jessen (Licensee) appeals from the January 14, 2019 Order of the Court 

of Common Pleas of Monroe County (common pleas) dismissing his appeal from a 

one-year suspension of his operating privilege imposed by the Commonwealth of 

Pennsylvania, Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing (DOT) 

pursuant to Section 1547(b)(1)(i) of the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa. C.S. § 1547(b)(1)(i), 

commonly referred to as the Implied Consent Law.

1

 Licensee avers common pleas 

 

1 Section 1547(b)(1)(i) of the Vehicle Code provides in relevant part:

(1) If any person placed under arrest for violation of section 3802 [(relating to 

driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled substance)] is required to 

submit to chemical testing and refuses to do so, the testing shall not be 

(Footnote continued on next page...)
2

erred in dismissing his appeal because: (1) DOT failed to establish that there were 

reasonable grounds for the state trooper to suspect that Licensee was driving under 

the influence (DUI) and to request Licensee submit to a chemical test of his blood; 

(2) DOT failed to establish that Licensee refused a chemical test; and (3) Licensee 

was advised he had no right to consult with an attorney before deciding whether to 

submit to a chemical test, contrary to his right to counsel under the United States 

(U.S.) Constitution. 

I. Factual Background and Procedure 

On May 25, 2018, Licensee was arrested for DUI and transported to the 

Monroe County DUI Processing Center. He arrived at the DUI Center after 

midnight, at which time State Trooper Andrew Imperati read Licensee the 

warnings outlined in DOT Form DL-26B. The warnings in Form DL-26B, 

commonly referred to as the O’Connell2 warnings or the Implied Consent 

warnings, read, in pertinent part, as follows:

1. You are under arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol or a 

controlled substance in violation of Section 3802 of the Vehicle 

Code [,75 Pa. C.S. § 3802]. 

2. I am requesting that you submit to a chemical test of blood. 

3. If you refuse to submit to the blood test, your operating privilege 

will be suspended for at least 12 months. If you previously refused 

_____________________________

(continued...)

conducted but upon notice by the police officer, [DOT] shall suspend the 

operating privilege of the person as follows:

(i) Except as set forth in subparagraph (ii), for a period of 12 months. 

75 Pa. C.S. § 1547(b)(1)(i). 

2 Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Traffic Safety v. O’Connell, 555 A.2d 873 (Pa. 1989). 
3

a chemical test or were previously convicted of driving under the 

influence, your operating privilege will be suspended for up to 18 

months. If your operating privilege is suspended for refusing 

chemical testing, you will have to pay a restoration fee of up to 

$2,000 in order to have your operating privilege restored. 

4. You have no right to speak with an attorney or anyone else before 

deciding whether to submit to testing. If you request to speak with 

an attorney or anyone else after being provided these warnings or 

you remain silent when asked to submit to a blood test, you will 

have refused the test. 

(Reproduced Record (R.R.) at 121a.) After being read the foregoing warnings, 

Trooper Imperati asserted that Licensee did not consent to a chemical test of his 

blood. Trooper Imperati treated this as a refusal to consent to the test. Thereafter, 

by letter dated August 15, 2018, DOT suspended Licensee’s operating privilege for 

a period of one year, pursuant to the Implied Consent Law, for Licensee’s refusal 

to submit to the chemical test on May 26, 2018.

3

 (Id. at 9a-12a.) 

Licensee appealed the suspension to common pleas, which held a hearing on 

November 29, 2018. At the hearing, Trooper Imperati, the sole witness, testified

as follows. On May 25, 2018, he conducted a traffic stop of Licensee for speeding. 

(Id. at 88a.) When he approached the vehicle, he “detected the odor of alcoholic 

beverage, to which [Licensee] related he himself had drank earlier in the evening.” 

(Id. at 89a.) Based upon this, Trooper Imperati asked Licensee to exit his vehicle, 

at which time he had Licensee perform numerous field sobriety tests, including 

“[t]he horizontal gaze nystagmus [(HGN)] test, the walk-and-turn test, and the oneleg stand test.” (Id. at 90a-91a.) On the HGN test Licensee had six out of six 

 

3 The letter dated August 15, 2018, lists the date of Licensee’s refusal as March 26, 2018. 

This error was corrected in a subsequent notice dated February 1, 2019, which reflects that 

Licensee’s refusal occurred on May 26, 2018. (R.R. at 75a-77a.) 
4

indicators of intoxication, on the walk-and-turn test he had more than two 

indicators, and on the one-leg stand test Licensee had multiple indicators. (Id. at 

91a-92a.) Trooper Imperati could not remember what the specific indicators were 

because he did not have his report with him at the hearing. (Id. at 99a.) Based 

upon the results of the tests, Trooper Imperati “believed [Licensee] to be under the 

influence of alcohol.” (Id. at 92a.) 

Trooper Imperati further testified that at this point he arrested Licensee for 

DUI and transported Licensee to the DUI Center. (Id. at 93a.) The transport took 

approximately 15 minutes, during which time Trooper Imperati informally “went 

over the DL-26 [Form].” (Id. at 93a-94a.) Upon arrival at the DUI Center, 

Trooper Imperati read Licensee the DL-26B Form verbatim at 12:07 a.m. (Id. at 

94a.) After looking over the form, Licensee signed it around 12:15 a.m., indicating 

he had been provided with the warnings contained therein. (Id. at 95a.) According 

to Trooper Imperati, Licensee “chose not to supply a chemical test result.” (Id.) 

On cross-examination, Counsel for Licensee timed Trooper Imperati as he read the 

warnings contained in Form DL-26B. By Counsel’s own timing, it took 57 

seconds for Trooper Imperati to read Form DL-26B, surmising that approximately 

8 minutes passed between when Trooper Imperati read the form and when 

Licensee refused the chemical test. (Id. at 104a-05a.) Trooper Imperati indicated 

that during this eight-minute timespan, Licensee reviewed the DL-26B Form and 

asked a few questions. Trooper Imperati could not recall what specific questions 

Licensee asked. (Id. at 105a.) Trooper Imperati then told Licensee that he needed 

a decision on whether Licensee would consent to a chemical test. Trooper 

Imperati stated that Licensee refused the test “[b]ecause he did not provide the 

blood because he said he was not providing the blood draw [sic].” (Id. at 106a.) 
5

In its Opinion issued after the hearing, common pleas found Trooper 

Imperati to be credible, noting that while it would have been helpful if he had had 

his notes with him in court, he was convincing and believable nonetheless. 

(Common Pleas’ Opinion (Op.) at 7.) Relying on that testimony, common pleas 

found that “there were reasonable grounds for [T]rooper [Imperati] to suspect[] 

Licensee could have been under the influence of alcohol while driving and for 

placing him under arrest for suspension of DUI.” (Id.) Common pleas concluded 

that DOT met its burden regarding the requirements for imposing an operating 

privilege suspension, specifically finding that Trooper Imperati “warned []

Licensee that a refusal [to submit to chemical testing] would result in a suspension 

of his driver’s license . . . [and] asked [] Licensee to submit to a chemical blood 

test,” which Licensee refused. (Id.) Common pleas further concluded that 

pursuant to the reasoning set forth in Birchfield v. North Dakota, 136 S. Ct. 2160 

(2016), and Boseman v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver 

Licensing, 157 A.3d 10 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2017), Licensee had no constitutional right to 

counsel before deciding whether to submit to the chemical test of his blood. 

Accordingly, by Order dated January 14, 2019, common pleas dismissed 

Licensee’s appeal of DOT’s suspension.4 

II. Discussion 

As set forth above, on appeal,

5 Licensee presents the following three issues: 

(1) DOT failed to establish that there were reasonable grounds for Trooper 

 

4 By order dated March 8, 2019, common pleas granted an unopposed motion for 

supersedeas pending this Court’s adjudication of the present appeal. (R.R. at 80a.) 

5

“Our standard of review is whether [common pleas’] findings are supported by 

competent evidence and whether [common pleas] committed an error of law or an abuse of 

(Footnote continued on next page...)
6

Imperati to suspect that Licensee was DUI and to request Licensee submit to a 

chemical test of his blood; (2) DOT failed to establish that Licensee refused a 

chemical test; and (3) Licensee was advised he had no right to consult with an 

attorney before deciding whether to submit to a chemical test, contrary to his right 

to counsel under the U.S. Constitution. 

Preliminarily, before we turn to the parties’ arguments, we note that in order 

to sustain the operating privilege suspension against Licensee, DOT bears the 

burden of demonstrating that Licensee:

(1) was arrested for DUI by a police officer with reasonable grounds 

to believe . . . [L]icensee was operating a vehicle while under the 

influence of alcohol or a controlled substance; (2) was requested to 

submit to chemical testing; (3) refused to submit to chemical testing; 

and, (4) was warned by the officer that [his] license will be suspended 

if [he] refused to submit to chemical testing. 

Park v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 178 A.3d 274, 280 (Pa. 

Cmwlth. 2018). Once DOT demonstrates the foregoing, the burden then shifts to 

Licensee to prove he “was physically incapable of performing the test or that [his] 

refusal was not knowing and conscious.” Id. 

Further, we also note that in reviewing common pleas’ Opinion and Order in 

this matter we are guided by the well-established principle that “it is not the 

province of this Court to make new or different findings of fact.” Reinhart v. 

Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 954 A.2d 761, 765 (Pa. Cmwlth. 

2008). Our role here is limited to reviewing common pleas’ findings of fact “to 

_____________________________

(continued...)

discretion.” Drudy v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 795 A.2d 508, 510 n.5 (Pa. 

Cmwlth. 2002). For questions of law, our scope of review is plenary. Whitaker v. Wetzel, 170 

A.3d 568, 572 n.3 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2017). 
7

determine if they are supported by substantial, competent evidence.” Id. If 

common pleas’ factual findings are supported by substantial evidence, “we are 

precluded from overturning those findings.” Id. “Substantial evidence is such 

relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a 

conclusion.” Helwig v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 99 A.3d 

153, 159 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2014). We must view the evidence in this matter in a light 

most favorable to DOT, “the party that prevailed before” common pleas. Bradish 

v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 41 A.3d 944, 945 n.3 (Pa. 

Cmwlth. 2012). Additionally, “[d]eterminations as to the credibility of witnesses 

and the weight assigned to the evidence are solely within the province of the trial 

court as fact-finder.” Reinhart, 954 A.2d at 765. 

A. Whether DOT established that Trooper Imperati had reasonable grounds 

to suspect Licensee was DUI and to request Licensee consent to a 

chemical test. 

Licensee avers common pleas erred by concluding DOT met its burden of 

demonstrating that Trooper Imperati had reasonable grounds to suspect Licensee 

was DUI and to request Licensee to submit to a chemical test of his blood. 

Specifically, Licensee argues that Trooper Imperati’s testimony that Licensee “was 

exceeding the speed limit and exhibited the odor of alcohol or an alcoholic 

beverage falls well short of establishing reasonable grounds to believe that he 

could be operating his vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a controlled 

substance.” (Licensee’s Brief (Br.) at 10.) Licensee further argues that Trooper 

Imperati’s testimony regarding the field sobriety tests is not enough to establish he 

had reasonable grounds to suspect that Licensee was DUI because Trooper 

Imperati’s testimony “was conclusory as he was unable to describe even a single 

detail of the field sobriety result.” (Id. at 9.) Lastly, Licensee argues that he was 
8

not involved in an accident like the licensee in Department of Transportation 

Bureau of Traffic Safety v. O’Neill, 514 A.2d 1008 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1986), did not 

have glassy eyes like the licensees in Stancavage v. Department of Transportation, 

Bureau of Driver Licensing, 986 A.2d 895 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2009), or Sisinni v. 

Department of Transportation, Bureau of Driver Licensing, 31 A.3d 1254 (Pa. 

Cmwlth. 2011), nor was there evidence that he was following too closely while 

driving, staggering, or slurring his speech. As such, Licensee contends Trooper 

Imperati did not have reasonable grounds to suspect he was DUI and to request the 

chemical test; therefore, his operating privilege suspension should be overturned

because DOT did not meet its burden to sustain the suspension. 

DOT responds by arguing that Trooper Imperati’s testimony before common 

pleas established that he had reasonable grounds to suspect Licensee was DUI. 

DOT asserts that Trooper Imperati’s detection of the odor of alcohol, coupled with 

Licensee’s admission that he had been drinking and the fact that Licensee showed 

several indicators of intoxication when performing the field sobriety tests, is 

sufficient evidence to establish Trooper Imperati had reasonable grounds to suspect 

Licensee was DUI. 

“The question of whether an officer had reasonable grounds to arrest a 

licensee is a question of law fully reviewable by this [C]ourt on a case-by-case 

basis.” Yencha v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 187 A.3d 1038, 

1044 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2018). In considering whether DOT met its burden of 

demonstrating that Trooper Imperati had reasonable grounds to suspect Licensee 

was DUI, “we consider the totality of the circumstances and determine, as a matter 

of law, whether a person in the position of the arresting officer could have 
9

reasonably reached this conclusion.” Helt v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver 

Licensing, 856 A.2d 263, 266 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2004). In DUI cases,

“[r]easonable grounds” exist when a person, in the position of the 

police officer, viewing the facts and circumstances as they appeared at 

the time of the arrest, could have concluded that the licensee was 

operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or controlled 

substances. [Banner v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing,

737 A.2d 1203, 1207 (Pa. 1999).] This test, as a whole, is not very 

demanding. In fact, the arresting officer need not even be correct in 

his belief that the licensee was intoxicated. Dep[’t] of Transp[.], 

Bureau of Traffic Safety v. Dreisbach, [] 363 A.2d 870, 872 ([Pa. 

Cmwlth.] 1976). 

The question of whether reasonable grounds exist is reviewed on a 

case[-]by[-]case basis. Banner, [] 737 A.2d at 1207. All of the facts 

and circumstances, as they appeared at the time of the arrest, must be 

considered. Schindler v. Dep[’t] of Transp[.], Bureau of Driver 

Licensing, 976 A.2d 601, 605 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2009). There is not a set 

list of behaviors that must be exhibited in order for an officer to have 

reasonable grounds. Stancavage . . . , 986 A.2d [at] 899 []. Our case 

law has identified factors that constitute reasonable grounds. They 

include: a licensee who staggers or sways; has slurred speech; 

exhibits uncooperative behavior; or emits an odor of alcohol. Id. 

Where the arresting officer cites a driver’s glassy eyes, there must be 

at least one other obvious physical sign of intoxication in order for the 

officer to have reasonable grounds for arrest. Id. 

On the other hand, the absence of one or more of the above-listed 

Stancavage factors does not mean the officer lacks reasonable 

grounds to believe a motorist has driven while intoxicated. 

Farnack v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 29 A.3d 44, 48 (Pa. 

Cmwlth. 2011) (footnote omitted). The “reasonable grounds” standard “used to 
10

support a license suspension is a lesser standard than the probable cause standard[6]

required for criminal prosecution.” Id. at 48 n.4. 

In Stancavage, we reviewed a trial court’s finding that a police officer did 

not have reasonable grounds to suspect a licensee was DUI. The officer in 

Stancavage pulled over a licensee “allegedly for speeding and following too 

closely behind another vehicle.” 986 A.2d at 896. The officer “noticed that [the 

licensee’s] eyes were glassy, but that there was no smell of alcohol emitting from 

him.” Id. At that point, the officer had the licensee exit the vehicle and perform 

several field sobriety tests. The officer asserted the licensee failed these tests. 

After conducting a search of the licensee’s car, the officer arrested the licensee for 

DUI. Thereafter, the officer requested the licensee consent to a chemical test of his 

blood and read the licensee the DL-26 Form. The licensee refused to consent to a 

blood test. As a result of his refusal, DOT suspended the licensee’s operating 

privilege pursuant to the Implied Consent Law. The licensee appealed, and as 

stated above, the trial court found the officer lacked reasonable grounds to suspect 

the licensee was DUI. The trial court reasoned that speeding and following too 

closely were not indicators of intoxication and that while glassy eyes were an 

indicator, they are, without more, insufficient to establish reasonable grounds to 

suspect intoxication. As to the field sobriety tests, the trial court found the 

officer’s testimony on this subject to be “weak and unconvincing in that he could 

not remember exactly the extent of [the licensee’s] failure.” Id. at 897. Based 

upon the trial court’s determinations as to weight of the evidence and credibility of 

 

6

“[P]robable cause is a reasonable ground of suspicion supported by circumstances 

sufficient to warrant that an ordinary prudent person in the same situation could believe a party is 

guilty of the offense charged.” Turano v. Hunt, 631 A.2d 822, 825 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1993). 
11

the officer’s testimony, we affirmed. We concluded that the trial court “did not 

abuse its discretion[] given that its determination is supported by the record.” Id. 

at 899. 

Before common pleas, Trooper Imperati testified, among other things, that 

when he approached Licensee he detected the odor of an alcoholic beverage, which 

Licensee admitted to consuming earlier that evening. Trooper Imperati further 

testified that he administered three field sobriety tests and, on each test, Licensee 

presented multiple indicators of intoxication. However, Trooper Imperati could 

not remember what the specific indicators were because he did not bring his report 

of the incident with him to court. Common pleas credited Trooper Imperati’s

testimony. We are bound by common pleas’ credibility determinations. Reinhart, 

954 A.2d at 765. The question then becomes, did Trooper Imperati, based upon 

the foregoing facts, have reasonable grounds, at the time of the incident, to suspect 

Licensee was DUI. Common pleas concluded that, based upon the foregoing 

testimony, Trooper Imperati had reasonable grounds to suspect Licensee was DUI. 

We agree. 

A person, in the same position as Trooper Imperati, that detects the odor of 

an alcoholic beverage on a licensee, observes the licensee admit that he had been 

drinking, and views indicators of intoxication while the licensee is performing field 

sobriety tests could conclude that the “licensee was operating a vehicle while under 

the influence of alcohol or controlled substances,” Banner, 737 A.2d at 1207. As 

such, based on the facts of this case, Trooper Imperati had reasonable grounds to 

suspect Licensee was DUI. Licensee asserts that reasonable grounds do not exist 

in this case because there is no evidence that he had glassy eyes, slurred speech, or 

that he was staggering. However, “the absence of one or more” indicators of 
12

intoxication outlined by this Court in prior decisions does not mean that Trooper 

Imperati did not have reasonable grounds to suspect that Licensee was DUI. 

Farnack, 29 A.3d at 48. Rather, we review questions of reasonable grounds on a 

case-by-case basis because “[t]here is not a set of behaviors that must be exhibited 

in order for an officer to have reasonable grounds.” Id. Therefore, Trooper 

Imperati did not lack reasonable grounds simply because he did not observe every 

indicator of intoxication that this Court has previously outlined in prior decisions. 

To the extent that Licensee argues this case is similar to Stancavage because 

Trooper Imperati could not recall, with specific detail, the indicators of 

intoxication that Licensee demonstrated on the field sobriety tests, we disagree. 

While we agree with common pleas that it would have been helpful for Trooper 

Imperati to have his report with him when testifying so he could recount the

specific indicators of intoxication, there are other indicators of intoxication in this 

matter besides Licensee’s performance on the field sobriety tests. Here, Trooper 

Imperati detected the odor of alcoholic beverage on Licensee and Licensee 

admitted to Trooper Imperati that he had been drinking earlier that evening. 

Licensee’s argument that Trooper Imperati did not have reasonable grounds to 

suspect he was DUI because he did not have glassy eyes, was not in an accident, 

etc., omits the fact that Licensee admitted to Trooper Imperati that he had been 

drinking earlier that evening. Therefore, as set forth above, based upon Trooper 

Imperati’s testimony, which was credited by common pleas, we conclude Trooper 

Imperati had reasonable grounds to suspect Licensee was DUI. Accordingly, we 

conclude common pleas did not err as a matter of law in reaching the same

conclusion. 
13

B. Whether DOT failed to demonstrate that Licensee refused to submit to a 

chemical test of his blood.

Licensee avers common pleas erred by concluding DOT met its burden of 

demonstrating that Licensee refused a chemical test. Licensee asserts that “[t]here 

is no evidence in th[e] record describing how [he] allegedly refused to submit to 

chemical testing,” and therefore, he cannot properly “defend against a refusal that 

has not been proven” to have occurred. (Licensee’s Br. at 12.) Pointing to the 

approximately eight-minute delay between when the DL-26B Form was read and 

when Licensee allegedly refused the chemical test, Licensee contends that this 

timespan “makes no sense as it would not take [eight] minutes for an individual to 

affirmatively or implicitly refuse to submit to chemical testing of blood.” Id. As 

such, Licensee contends that DOT did not meet its burden to sustain the 

suspension. 

DOT responds by arguing it met its burden of demonstrating that Licensee 

refused a chemical test of his blood. Specifically, DOT points to the testimony of 

Trooper Imperati as sufficient evidence to demonstrate that Licensee refused to 

submit to the chemical test. As for the approximately eight-minute timespan 

between when Trooper Imperati read the DL-26B Form and when Licensee refused 

the chemical test, DOT asserts that Trooper Imperati was giving Licensee a 

meaningful opportunity to comply with the request by allowing him to review the 

DL-26B Form and by answering Licensee’s questions. 

“The question of whether a licensee refuses to submit to a chemical test is a 

legal one, based on the facts found by the trial court.” Nardone v. Dep’t of 

Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 130 A.3d 738, 748 (Pa. 2015). “The trial 

court initially finds the facts surrounding the licensee’s response to a request to 

submit to chemical testing and the facts surrounding the performance of the test. 
14

The issue of whether there was a refusal is a question of law and reviewable by this 

Court.” Mueller v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 657 A.2d 90, 92 

(Pa. Cmwlth. 1995). This question turns on whether the licensee’s “overall 

conduct demonstrates an unwillingness to assent to an officer’s request for 

chemical testing.” Nardone, 130 A.3d at 749. “A ‘refusal’ is ‘anything 

substantially less than an unqualified, unequivocal assent to [submit to] a 

[chemical] test . . . . A refusal need not be expressed in words, but can be implied 

from a motorist’s actions.’” Lanthier v. Dep’t of Transp., Bureau of Driver 

Licensing, 22 A.3d 346, 348 (Pa. Cmwlth. 2011) (quoting Dep’t of Transp., 

Bureau of Traffic Safety v. Mumma, 468 A.2d 891, 892 (Pa. Cmwlth. 1983)). 

Here, as stated above, common pleas credited the testimony of Trooper 

Imperati. We are bound by this credibility determination. Reinhart, 954 A.2d at 

765. Our role is limited to determining whether, based upon the facts found by 

common pleas, Licensee refused a chemical test of his blood. Based upon Trooper 

Imperati’s testimony, common pleas found 

[T]rooper [Imperati] [] read the DL-26 [F]orm verbatim to [] Licensee 

upon arrival at the DUI Center. [] [T]rooper [Imperati] gave [] 

Licensee time to review the DL-26 [F]orm and the Licensee 

acknowledged and signed that the refusal warnings were given to him. 

[] Licensee was asked to submit to a chemical blood test and he 

refused. Trooper Imperati recalled that Licensee either verbally 

refused, or gave no indication he would submit to the test. Either 

way, [] Licensee signaled a refusal. 

(Common Pleas’ Op. at 7-8.) We cannot agree with Licensee that the record is 

devoid of evidence of how Licensee refused the chemical test. Trooper Imperati 

testified, and common pleas found, that Licensee either verbally refused or gave no 

indication he would submit. Under the law, either a verbal refusal or non-
15

responsiveness constitutes a refusal because “anything substantially less than an 

unqualified, unequivocal assent” is a refusal. Lanthier, 22 A.3d at 348 (internal 

quotation marks omitted). In light of the above factual findings, by which we are 

bound, we must agree with common pleas and conclude that Licensee refused to 

consent to the chemical test. 

As to Licensee’s argument regarding the approximately eight-minute lapse 

in time, that argument only serves to support common pleas’ factual findings. In 

arguing that it would not take eight minutes for Licensee to refuse the chemical 

test, Licensee ignores the inverse, which is that it would not take eight minutes to 

consent to the test. Trooper Imperati explained the eight-minute timespan in his 

testimony before common pleas by indicating that he allowed Licensee to read the 

DL-26B Form and, following this, Licensee asked Trooper Imperati some 

questions. Viewing this testimony in a light most favorable to DOT, the inference 

drawn therefrom is that Trooper Imperati gave Licensee a meaningful opportunity 

to consent to the requested chemical test and that Licensee did not provide his 

“unqualified, unequivocal assent,” Mueller, 657 A.2d at 93, because the passage of 

such a lengthy period of time “demonstrates an unwillingness to assent,” Nardone, 

130 A.3d at 749. We note that Licensee did not present any evidence to rebut 

Trooper Imperati’s testimony. Therefore, based upon the foregoing, we affirm 

common pleas’ conclusion that Licensee refused the chemical test. 

C. Whether common pleas erred in dismissing Licensee’s appeal from the 

suspension because he was advised he had no right to speak to an 

attorney before deciding whether to submit to the chemical test. 

Licensee avers common pleas erred by dismissing his appeal because he was 

“advised, contrary to the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, that he had no 

right to consult with an attorney prior to deciding whether to submit to testing.” 
16

(Licensee’s Br. at 14.) Licensee contends that while he understands the current 

state of the law is that a licensee does not have a Sixth Amendment right to counsel 

before deciding whether to submit to chemical testing, Licensee should have this 

right and, therefore, he is asserting this argument here “to preserve it for further 

review.” (Id.) As support for his argument that a licensee should have the right to 

counsel when deciding whether to submit to a chemical test, Licensee cites to the 

Supreme Court’s decision in Birchfield and our Supreme Court’s grant of the 

petition for allowance of appeal in Commonwealth v. Bell, 183 A.3d 978 (Table)

(Pa. 2019), aff’d, 211 A.3d 761 (Pa. 2019). 

DOT responds by arguing that, under the current state of the law, a licensee 

does not have a right to counsel when deciding whether to submit to a chemical 

test. Citing this Court’s decision in Boseman, DOT asserts that Birchfield does not 

alter our precedent regarding the right to counsel in these circumstances. As to 

Bell, DOT argues that based upon the petition for allowance of appeal in that case, 

it does not appear “that the Supreme Court’s decision in Bell will have any impact” 

on our precedent regarding the right to counsel. (DOT’s Br. at 27.) 

As we explained in Collons v. Department of Transportation, Bureau of 

Driver Licensing (Pa. Cmwlth., No. 1186 C.D. 2018, filed July 2, 2019),

7

the 

current state of the law in Pennsylvania is as follows:

As do other states, Pennsylvania’s Motor Vehicle Code provides that 

“[a]ny person who drives . . . a vehicle . . . shall be deemed to have 

given consent to one or more chemical tests of breath or blood for the 

purpose of determining the alcoholic content of blood . . . .” 75 Pa. 

C.S. § 1547(a). This “implied consent” provision also grants 

 

7 Pursuant to Section 414(a) of this Court’s Internal Operating Procedures, an unreported 

panel decision issued by this Court after January 15, 2008, may be cited “for its persuasive value, 

but not as binding precedent.” 210 Pa. Code § 69.414(a). 
17

licensees the right to refuse such testing. Commonwealth v. Myers, 

164 A.3d 1162, 1164 (Pa. 2017). Refusal “comes with its own set of 

consequences.” Id. Section 1547 of the Vehicle Code sets forth the 

civil penalties for refusing to take chemical tests, which include 

mandatory suspension of operating privileges (drivers’ licenses), see

75 Pa. C.S. § 1547(b), and provides that a licensee’s refusal to submit 

to chemical testing is admissible in evidence in criminal proceedings, 

see 75 Pa. C.S. § 1547(e). Police officers who request a chemical test 

are required by statute and precedent to inform a licensee, who has 

been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, of the 

consequences of refusal. See 75 Pa. C.S. § 1547(b)(2); . . . O’Connell, 

555 A.2d [at] 878 []. In O’Connell, the Supreme Court specified that:

where an arrestee requests to speak to or call an attorney, 

or anyone else, when requested to take a breathalyzer 

test, we insist that in addition to telling an arrestee that 

his license will be suspended for one year if he refuses to 

take a breathalyzer test, the police instruct the arrestee 

that such rights are inapplicable to the breathalyzer test 

and that the arrestee does not have the right to consult 

with an attorney or anyone else prior to taking the test.

Id. at 878 (emphasis added). The Court explained that a licensee “is 

entitled to this information so that his choice to take a breathalyzer 

test can be knowing and conscious and we believe that requiring the 

police to qualify the extent of the right to counsel is neither onerous 

nor will it unnecessarily delay the taking of the test.” Id. This 

clarification was necessary because “the course of conduct of the 

police[,]” in giving [] warnings [pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 

U.S. 436 (1966),] when arresting the licensees, created the arrestees’ 

confusion over their Miranda rights. Id. O’Connell has been applied 

to requests for all chemical tests including blood. Dep’t of Transp., 

Bureau of Driver Licensing v. Ingram, 648 A.2d 285, 294-95 (Pa. 

1994). 

As a result of this decision, the “O’Connell” warning is included in 

Form DL-26. We have held that reading Form DL-26 to a motorist 

“is sufficient as a matter of law to meet the warning requirement 

under Vehicle Code Section 1547(b) . . . .” Quigley v. Dep’t of 

Transp., Bureau of Driver Licensing, 965 A.2d 349, 354 (Pa. Cmwlth. 

2009). 
18

Implied consent provisions in states’ motor vehicle codes were 

recently addressed in Birchfield, a United States Supreme Court 

opinion. At issue was whether the search incident to arrest and 

consent exceptions to the Fourth Amendment’s warrant requirement 

allowed for warrantless breath and blood tests when the refusal 

subjected the licensee to criminal penalties. Weighing the privacy 

rights of individual motorists against the governmental interest of 

ensuring safety on the roadways, the Court concluded that the search 

incident to arrest exception to the warrant requirement allowed police 

to administer breath tests. [Birchfield, 136 S. Ct.] at 2177-78. The 

Court found the impact of breath tests on privacy interests is slight 

compared to the need of the government to conduct alcohol testing to 

ensure safety on the public roadways. Id. at 2184. However, the 

Court concluded that blood tests are highly intrusive and that, in light 

of the availability of less intrusive breath tests, warrantless blood tests 

could not be justified, absent consent or exigent circumstances. Id. 

The Court next examined whether implied consent laws can be found 

to provide the necessary consent, and determined “that motorists 

cannot be deemed to have consented to submit to a blood test on pain 

of committing a criminal offense.” Id. at 2186 (emphasis added). 

Important to the present matter, the Court noted that:

Our prior opinions have referred approvingly to the 

general concept of implied-consent laws that impose civil 

penalties and evidentiary consequences on motorists who 

refuse to comply. Petitioners do not question the 

constitutionality of those laws, and nothing we say here 

should be read to cast doubt on them.

Id. at 2185 (citations omitted). 

This Court has subsequently examined the impact of Birchfield on the 

civil penalty of license suspension under our Implied Consent Law. 

In Boseman . . . , after the licensee refused to submit to a chemical test 

of her blood, the licensee’s operating privileges were suspended 

pursuant to the Implied Consent Law. Citing Birchfield, licensee 

argued her suspension should be overturned based on the police 

officer’s failure to obtain a warrant to collect a blood sample. We 

denied licensee’s appeal, concluding “Birchfield does not apply to 

implied consent laws that merely impose civil penalties.” Boseman, 

157 A.3d at 21. Additionally, we noted that “although Birchfield may 

have some impact in criminal DUI proceedings in Pennsylvania where 

enhanced penalties based on refusal of a blood test are imposed, such 
19

is not the case before us in this civil license suspension appeal under 

the Implied Consent Law.” Id.

Collons, slip op. at 5-8. 

After the briefs were filed in the present matter, our Supreme Court issued 

its decision in Bell. In Bell, the Supreme Court 

granted discretionary review to determine whether Section 1547(e) of 

the Vehicle Code, 75 Pa. C.S. § 1547(e), which expressly allows the 

Commonwealth to introduce evidence at trial that a defendant charged 

with . . . []DUI[] refused to submit chemical testing, violates the 

Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution or Article I, 

Section 8 of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

211 A.3d at 763 (footnote omitted). Specifically, our Supreme Court examined 

whether Section 1547(e) of the Vehicle Code was in violation of the U.S. Supreme 

Court’s decision in Birchfield. Our Supreme Court concluded that “the 

‘evidentiary consequence’ provided by [the Implied Consent Law] for refusing to 

submit to a warrantless blood test . . . remains constitutionally permissible postBirchfield.” Bell, 211 A.3d at 776. In reaching this conclusion, our Supreme

Court noted that while the U.S. Supreme Court “rejected criminal prosecution as a 

valid consequence for refusing a warrantless blood test” in Birchfield, “the Court 

did not break away from its prior approval of other kinds of consequences for 

refusal, such as ‘evidentiary consequences.’” Id. at 775. 

After reviewing Birchfield and Bell, it is clear that neither case discusses or 

interprets an individual’s right to counsel under article I, section 9 of the 

Pennsylvania Constitution8 or the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

9

 As 

 

8 Article I, section 9 of the Pennsylvania Constitution provides, in relevant part, that “[i]n 

all criminal prosecutions the accused hath a right to be heard by himself and his counsel.” PA.

CONST. art. I, § 9. 
20

such, Licensee’s citation to these cases is not persuasive. Licensee boldly asserts 

that he “should have had a Sixth Amendment right to counsel prior to deciding 

whether to consent to a blood draw.” (Licensee’s Br. at 14.) However, as 

Licensee recognizes, this is not consistent with our precedent, which holds that a 

licensee does not have a right to counsel before deciding whether to submit to a 

chemical test. Accordingly, while Licensee raises this issue to preserve it for 

further review, (see Licensee’s Br. at 7), we conclude that common pleas did not 

err in following our precedent on this issue. 

III. Conclusion 

For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that DOT met its burden of 

demonstrating that Trooper Imperati had reasonable grounds to suspect that 

Licensee was DUI and to request Licensee to consent to a chemical test of his 

blood. Additionally, we conclude that DOT met its burden of demonstrating that 

Licensee refused a chemical test. Licensee does not challenge the other 

requirements for DOT to sustain the suspension of Licensee’s operating privilege. 

Accordingly, we affirm common pleas’ dismissal of Licensee’s appeal of the 

suspension. 

_____________________________________

RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, Judge

_____________________________

(continued...)

9 The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides, in pertinent part, that “[i]n all 

criminal prosecutions, the accused shall . . . have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.” 

U.S. CONST. amend. VI. 
IN THE COMMONWEALTH COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA

Neil Jessen, :

Appellant :

 :

v. : No. 250 C.D. 2019

 : 

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, :

Department of Transportation, Bureau :

of Driver Licensing :

O R D E R

NOW, December 4, 2019, the Order of the Court of Common Pleas of 

Monroe County, dated January 14, 2019, is AFFIRMED. 

_____________________________________

RENÉE COHN JUBELIRER, Judge