DWI

The drunk driving laws in the state of New York (NY) are serious business. New York has some of the toughest DWI laws in the nation; a second DWI conviction within a ten year period can be a felony. Therefore, the service of an attorney is critical not only for repeat offenders, but for first offenders as well. .

In addition to the serious incarceration time potentially possible in New York, a DWI conviction can also come with heavy fines, the loss of your driver’s license, increases in insurance rates, and immigration consequences. In addition to all of this, there is still one fundamental truth in the great state of New York: This is still America, and you are still innocent until proven guilty. Even some of the toughest laws in the country cannot change that.

There are many potential defenses when confronting a DWI charge. The first issue every DWI Lawyer should look at when analyzing a DUI charge is why was the vehicle pulled over? If there is a suspect reason associated with the stop, then it should always be challenged. If it can be shown that the vehicle was stopped without the requisite legal justification, the case can be dismissed in its entirety. The 4th Amendment protects against unreasonable search and seizure, and if the officer stopped your vehicle for no reason or for a reason that is false, then that fact needs to be brought to the court’s attention.

Even if there is a valid reason for stopping your vehicle, the matter is far from done.

  • Did the officer read you your Miranda rights?
  • Did the officer explain the field sobriety tests correctly?
  • Did the officer properly administer any breathalyzer given on the side of the road?
  • Is the officer trained to administer the breathalyzer?
  • Was your blood alcohol level rising—had the alcohol actually absorbed into your bloodstream when you were driving, or had it absorbed into your bloodstream only after taken to the police station (which generally takes 45 minutes to an hour) to be given the breath, blood or urine test?

This represents only a fraction of the issues associated with any DWI case. The prosecution has the burden of proof, and when facing a competent attorney, it is still a great burden to overcome.