A state appeals court has thrown cold water on a type of plea bargain that has been used to bypass New Jersey’s mandatory seven-month license suspension for drivers’ refusals to take breath tests for alcohol consumption.

Trial judges may not merge a refusal conviction into a first-offense drunken-driving conviction so as to limit the license suspension to three months, the Appellate Division panel ruled Monday in State v. Eckert, A-0216-08.