HOW IS IT DEFINED? Drunk driving in New York State is prosecuted under any of four theories of driving while intoxicated or impaired: the first is being intoxicated as a "common law" drunk (weaving and driving erratically).  Next is driving while one has more than .08% of one gram of alcohol per liter in one’s bloodstream. This second theory ignores how well the driver is doing, but makes it a criminal offense in itself to merely  have more than the limit allowed in your blood, even if your car is standing still. Yet a third option for prosecution is Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs and a fourth is Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs in Combination With Alcohol.  The third theory addresses situations in which substances such as marijuana or prescription drugs have been used, and the fourth applies when both alcohol and drugs are used together even though the level of each would not necessarily be a crime if used alone or cannot be measured.

Roughly, one ounce of alcohol will raise your blood alcohol content (BAC) .02%. In other words about 4 regular drinks or 4 regular sized beers would mean the "average" person may be legally considered drunk. The liver metabolizes about one ounce per hour, so it can only lower your Blood Alcohol Content or BAC by .02% per hour. If one has 8 drinks in two hours, theoretically, one’s BAC would be .12% BAC (8 ozs. less 2 ozs. that get metabolized in two hours = 6 ozs. which, when multiplied by .02%, results in .12%). This is well over the limit. Each person will vary somewhat or a lot from this calculation, but this is a rule of thumb.

WHAT ARE THE PENALTIES AND EFFECTS ON YOUR N.Y.S. LICENSE?

DWI under either theory is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of one year in a county jail, and/or a maximum of a $1,000 fine (with a significant surcharge), and a revocation of one’s license for a minimum of 6 months. Penalties increase for repeat offenders. An ignition interlock device is also imposed at sentencing.

A special class of drunk driving now included is "Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated" for a BAC .18 or over.  Although still a misdemeanor, it carries penalties up to $2,500, up to a year in jail, and mandatory installation of an ignition interlock in one's automobile. 

Impaired Driver Program: Even a first time offender convicted of DWI is required to attend the Impaired Driver Program and undergo dependency screening which may result in mandatory substance abuse counseling. 

Leandra's Law: If one is DWI and has a passenger under 16 years of age, the driver is also charged with a felony, which is punishable with state prison, even if only a first time offender. The level of felony and punishment increase with certain conditions, and if the child passenger dies in a DWI accident, the driver may be sentenced up to 25 years in prison.

Ignition Interlock Device (IID): Anyone convicted of misdemeanor DWI is also required, at his own expense, to install an ignition interlock device in the vehicle which prevents ignition of the engine if the driver is not sober unless the court determines to waive it because there is no evidence of alcohol abuse or dependence.

When one’s BAC is lower than .08 (of one percent), but over .07%, such a driver is deemed to be driving while his ability is impaired. This means that while illegal, it is not a crime, but a violation. It is punishable by a maximum of 15 days in a jail and/or a maximum of $500 fine (plus a surcharge), and a suspension of one’s license for 90 days. The penalties are, therefore, less and one’s license is suspended, not revoked (so restored after the period of suspension), for a shorter period than for the misdemeanor.

In New York State, you are penalized without being convicted! For merely being arrested for DWI and having a BAC of at least .08, your license is suspended at arraignment(when you appear before the judge the first time) and it remains suspended until your case is finished. If one meets certain criteria, one can obtain a hardship license for the first 30 days, and a conditional license thereafter while the case is pending in court. These are limited forms of driving privileges designed to avoid one from losing one’s job, schooling, or health care. Keep in mind, the penalties after a conviction are in addition to this suspension pending prosecution. For example, if one is convicted, whatever the suspension or revocation of your license imposed, starts anew. One gets no credit for the prior time suspended pending the prosecution of your case.

CHEMICAL TEST REFUSAL: A separate and additional event occurs if one refuses to take the chemical test at the police station or a blood test at the hospital (this is different from refusing to blow into a portable Alcosensor at the time one is stopped which is only a traffic ticket). Chemical test refusal results in additionally being charged with a "refusal" and this commences a separate civil proceeding conducted by the DMV against the driver.  At arraignment, the license is suspended immediately and there is no hardship driving privilege available.  A civil hearing is scheduled by the DMV and an administrative law judge (ALJ) conducts it.  It is made virtually impossible to succeed at such a hearing, especially if you are unrepresented by counsel, and the license is revoked for at least one year.

For more information on getting one's license restored, go to Revocation of Driver's License on this website.  

Last, but not least, as a driver convicted of a drinking related offense, one is surcharged by DMV for the following three years for $250 per year, a total of $750.

A number of other penalties and variations may occur, too many to list in this short article, but which at consultation can be identified in your particular situation.

THE LITIGATION

Once arrested, does the driver, now a defendant, need an attorney? Once arraigned at his first appearance, one's license is usually suspended pending prosecution, and the matter is scheduled for motion practice. In the meantime, the People are required to provide automatic discovery of evidence in the defendant's case.  After written motions by the defendant and written answer by the prosecutor, the judge issues a decision which may include ordering that pre-trial hearings be held to determine certain legal issues which may include the propriety of the officer’s stop of the vehicle and the admissibility of any defendant’s statements made to the police. If the prosecutor’s case is still legally sufficient following the hearings, the matter proceeds to trial.

At a trial, the defendant may be found guilty or not guilty. Sometimes a "plea bargain" is obtained before or during trial in which the district attorney and the defendant’s attorney fashion an agreement which is mutually acceptable to the defendant and the State of New York. If convicted, the defendant is sentenced and his license is further suspended or revoked in addition to other aspects of the sentence.

HOW SHOULD YOU CHOOSE A DWI ATTORNEY? A DWI case is a criminal case, even if there was no accident, no one was hurt, and matters were relatively uneventful. The outcome will affect your liberty, license, reputation, job, and finances...not to mention your ability to be insured as a driver and the rates you will pay, and what modifications you will have to make to your automobile just to drive conditionally. Lots of normal people, not thought of as criminals, get arrested for DWI and are not experienced in such matters. An experienced criminal law attorney is a necessity.

The reasons for this are several. Only an experienced criminal law attorney will be able to analyze the case sufficiently to know if, and in what way, the charge can be challenged. An unrealistic challenge will be expensive and may result in a worse disposition than a plea bargain. On the other hand, a case that should have been challenged, but was not, will result in a conviction which should not have occurred. This analysis starts at the first conference with the client, but often will only be decided some later time during the case.

It must be recognized that DWI cases are, in reality, complicated. They involve technical and scientific devices yielding evidence, analysis of key facts and applicable law in the stop, questioning, and arrest of the defendant, knowledge of criminal procedure and rules of evidence, and may involve a pre-trial hearing and possibly a trial. Trial experience is also relevant because the attorney must have solid experience in knowing how things in your particular fact pattern and evidence will affect a jury.

The LAW FIRM OF MARCO CAVIGLIA will fulfill all of these needs and requirements.

It is often only an experienced criminal law attorney who can assist the client in overcoming his embarrassment at being arrested and seeking out potential and not so obvious defenses in a DWI case. Aside from dismissal or acquittal, weaknesses identified in the prosecutor’s case may result in a better disposition by plea bargain than originally offered by the prosecutor.

These considerations are magnified if this is not one’s first offense. A repeat offender with a prior DWI conviction is subject to conviction of a felony and loss of certain rights as an American citizen, prison or jail, being placed on probation for years, a $10,000 fine, and loss of license for years. Even if a felony conviction is avoided, harsher consequences will still follow for a lesser conviction if it is not the first.

With all of this in mind, choose an attorney with significant experience in criminal law and DWI cases. I have resolved or tried hundreds DWI cases over the past four decades and know what I am  doing. Call me. I can help.

Copyrighted 1999, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024.