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Queens DWI Lawyers

1. Sackstein & Sackstein: How serious are your charges? Will I go to jail, will I lose my license? A DUI charge in New York results in two separate cases. The first case involves criminal proceedings and criminal penalties. The second involves the Department of Motor Vehicles and can result in the suspension or revocation of your driver's license. A conviction for DWI in New York can result in serious drunk driving penalties. Arrests for DWI/DUI in New York DWI arrests in New York will trigger two separate cases for those accused of driving while impaired. The first is the DWI case in criminal court; the second is the DMV case, where the New York DMV is empowered to suspend the driving privileges of those accused of DWI or DWAI (driving while abilities are impaired by alcohol). New York DWI cases: A. Either violation of the DWI "per se" law (which is based only on alcohol level, not driving impairment), or B. Under a traditional "common law" theory (where the prosecution must prove that the driver is intoxicated). Intoxication, for the purpose of Vehicle and Traffic Laws, is a condition where the motorist lacks the necessary physical and mental skills to operate a motor vehicle as a reasonable and prudent driver. New York DWI arrests based on the common law theory do not require any measurement of BAC; they may be based entirely on the opinion of the arresting officer. DWI cases can be ''aggravated'' (with harsher punishment and penalties) where the BAC is .18 or more, where there is a traffic accident, refusal to take the chemical test, or any other attempt to evade police or flee the scene of a DWI accident. New York DWI law is unique, in that it gives all motorists a qualified right to consult with a DWI lawyer before deciding whether to take or refuse the chemical test. (It is ''qualified'' because those arrested have a right to call and obtain advice from a DWI lawyer, but the police do not have to wait for that lawyer to show up.) New York DWI lawyers know that taking late-night calls is simply part of the job description. It is critical to consult with a qualified New York DWI attorney before deciding this issue, since taking or refusing the test is an important and complicated decision following a drunk driving arrest.
2. Henry Ramirez: Even if this is your first offense, the penalties for driving under the influence (DWI) or under the influence of a controlled substance or prescribed medications can be serious. Such penalties include: * License suspension * Fines * Attendance in alcohol prevention programs * Jail time You may also be charged with higher insurance premiums for a period of several years. If you've been charged with drunk driving, you need the services of our attorneys. Our goal is to avoid the suspension of your license, or at least obtain "restricted status", which will enable you to drive to work.
3. Shalley & Murray: DWI car Forfeiture Driving While Intoxicated is a Crime in New York that creates a number of issues and difficulties for people who are accused. Driving While Intoxicated, or DWI cases in New York can range in seriousness and complexity from something that can be dealt with in relatively short order without significant inconvenience to full blown felony charges carrying potential long term state prison sentences. Trials of Driving While Intoxicated cases can, under some circumstances, be among the most specialized and complex, expert driven trials or a comparatively far simpler trial essentially boiling down to a determination of who was driving the car in question. In order to know where your New York Driving While Intoxicated case fits in the grand scheme of driving while intoxicated cases, you ought to consult a New York criminal defense lawyer with experience in the area of driving while intoxicated cases. In the New York Metropolitan Area, Driving While Intoxicated Cases create a number of problems beyond the obvious problem of being accused of a crime Some of these problems can even require retaining counsel separately from the criminal case itself. For example, if you are arrested for Driving While Intoxicated in New York City or Nassau County or Westchester or Putnam County you could face the following additional problems: Commercial Drivers (CDL Holders) Beware! If you hold a Commercial Driver's License (CDL) and you are accused of any driving while intoxicated offense, you are in extremely serious trouble with respect to your ability to use your CDL. The penalties for conviction of a DWI related offense for CDL holders are extreme and potentially devastating. Do not assume that the same rules involving suspensions and conditional licenses apply to you because they don't. Refusal Hearing If the police claim that you refused to take a breath or blood test, then the Department of Motor Vehicles will be holding a hearing SEPARATE AND INDEPENDENT FROM THE CRIMINAL CASE that could result in your license being revoked for one year (changed from six months). Although the burden is low and the defenses are limited, it is possible to win these hearings. Furthermore, they do offer an opportunity on occasion to cross-examine the arresting officer and obtain some critical paperwork in the case. Read an article about whether a person accused of DWI should refuse the test or blow in the machine. Car Forfeiture The police departments may seek to forfeit the car they claim was used for the driving while intoxicated. Forfeiture is another SEPARATE AND INDEPENDENT court proceeding in which the police department is allowed to sue you and, if successful, keep your car. Forfeiture actions are not brought by the District Attorney's Office. They are brought by the Police Department itself. The outcome of the criminal case is totally irrelevant to the forfeiture action by the police. In other words, you could win your driving while intoxicated case at trial in New York, and the police could still sue you for your car AND WIN. The forfeiture lawsuit is a civil lawsuit subject only to the relatively small burden of proof of preponderance of evidence. A victory in criminal court merely means that the Government did not meet the burden of beyond a reasonable doubt. Forfeiture actions are real lawsuits in which you will have to decide whether you will hire a lawyer to defend the suit. Insurance Premiums A plea or conviction to a driving while intoxicated related offense could result in an increase in insurance premiums. Suspension of License Pending Prosecution In some circumstances, simply being accused of driving while intoxicated can result in the suspension of your license even before you have been convicted of anything. Since our courts have decided that having your license suspended is not a punishment, it has been held that suspension of your license before you have been convicted does not run afoul of the presumption of innocence. License Suspension or Revocation on Conviction A plea or conviction to a driving while intoxicated related offense will result in difficulties with your license to drive in New York that could range from a relatively brief suspension to a lengthy revocation. Enhanced Sentencing in Future A plea or conviction to a driving while intoxicated related offense will cause you to be subject to enhance the potential punishment if you are convicted of another dwi related offense in New York. For example, if you are convicted of driving while intoxicated and are arrested for another driving while intoxicated in New York within ten years, you face felony driving while intoxicated charges and could go to state prison. Different Versions of Driving While Intoxicated in New York Driving While Intoxicated comes in different forms in New York, "common-law" and statutory. Common-Law Driving While Intoxicated Common-law driving while intoxicated in New York allows you to be accused of driving while intoxicated even though there is no scientific test about your blood alcohol level. According to the law, whether or not a person is intoxicated is the sort of thing that nearly anyone can give an opinion about without being an expert. It is the sort of thing that the law says nearly everyone is an "expert" in. That means that you could be convicted of driving while intoxicated by the testimony of a police officer who simply said that in his opinion you were intoxicated. Of course at such a trial, your lawyer would have an opportunity to challenge the assumption of the police officer and point out the possibility of the alternative assumption that you were not intoxicated. Statutory Driving While Intoxicated Statutory driving while intoxicated in New York permits the Government to accuse you of driving while intoxicated based upon scientific proof of the level of alcohol present in your blood. Under current New York State law, the point at which you are intoxicated is when your blood alcohol level is .08 percent or above. Proof of this blood alcohol level can be accomplished by evidence of any one of a variety of tests a person accused of driving while intoxicated can be asked to take after arrest. The most common test in New York is a Breath Test that, according to its proponents, analyzes your breath and converts the results to blood alcohol level. These machines (and there a few different versions of them) all make certain assumptions about the way people absorb alcohol into their systems. The machines also make a variety of other assumptions about human physiology. These assumptions are subject to dispute and there are a variety of means to attack the results of these machines. Attacking the results of the machines, however, usually means hiring one or more expert witnesses. Frequently people accused of driving while intoxicated are unwilling or unable to obtain an expert. Expert witnesses to attack the breath machine's results are frequently employed in more serious driving while intoxicated cases, like for example felony driving while intoxicated cases. The Government prefers to use the statutory form of driving while intoxicated because they like being able to produce scientific evidence of the intoxication as opposed to relying on police statements that the accused had "bloodshot watery eyes, slurred speech and was unsteady on his feet." There are occasions, however, when for any number of reasons, the actual scientific result is not permitted to be used, and the only thing left is the common law case. From the defense perspective, a common law case is probably a better case to take to trial because it is easier to challenge the assumptions of a police officer than it is to challenge the printout of a machine.