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Southamptom DWI Lawyers

1. Cadden & Steuerwahl: Field Sobriety Tests If a police officer suspects a person of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, many times they will request a driver to perform a field sobriety test. Field sobriety tests were developed by law enforcement officials to help officers make roadside determinations about whether or not a driver is impaired. As the test is performed, the police officer will evaluate the drivers reactions and performance of the required tasks taking notes of behaviors that may indicate impairment. If a person performs poorly during a field sobriety test this may give the police officer probable cause to make an arrest for DWI. The accuracy of field sobriety tests has been a widely contested issue because many of these tests are designed to facilitate failure on the part of the test subject. Many sober people have trouble performing field sobriety tests and as a result many attorneys believe the results of these tests should not be considered as evidence to incriminate a person of DWI.
2. Fisher, Fred: New York DUI/DWI Law Under New York DUI/DWI law, you have rights that govern the instances in which you can be pulled over. However, if you are legally pulled over and a police office has reason to believe that you are driving under the influence, then he or she can administer field sobriety tests to collect evidence of your impairment. You will be arrested if your blood alcohol content (BAC) level is .08 or higher. If you are arrested, you may be fingerprinted and asked to take additional tests to determine your BAC level. You will likely be held in jail overnight, and you may have to post bond before you will be released. Under New York law, you may be convicted and required to pay fines and serve jail time even if your BAC level is only between .05 and .07. Maximum fines and jail sentences are levied to those whose BAC levels are over .18 or who have previous drunk driving convictions. Drivers under 21 can lose their licenses if their BAC levels are measured at .02 or higher. If you've been arrested for DUI/DWI in New York, you need a DWI attorney who has the necessary experience and knowledge to build a successful case in your defense.
3. Miller, Gary:

   In New York, an alcohol related driving offense can be a violation, a misdemeanor or a felony.
   
   Driving While Intoxicated involves operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher. Driving while intoxicated is a misdemeanor unless there is a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated within the last 10 years. A person can also be charged with driving while intoxicated when there is no blood alcohol level reading, based on other factors that establish intoxication. If there is a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated within the last 10 years of the new arrest, then you may be charged with Felony Driving While Intoxicated.
   
   If the blood alcohol reading is .05 or greater, but less then .08, then the charge will be Driving While Ability Impaired by the consumption of Alcohol. This charge is a violation unless there is a prior conviction for driving while impaired or driving while intoxicated within 5 years of the new charge, in which case it could be a misdemeanor.
   
   How the DWI arrest affects your license
   
   If you have been charged with Driving while intoxicated as a misdemeanor and you took the breath test, the court will still suspend your privileges to drive for 30 days from the date of the arrest. If you had a valid New York State drivers license at the time of the arrest, the court may conduct a Hardship Hearing and under certain circumstances issue a Hardship Privilege permitting you to drive your vehicle to and from your place of employment, to and from school, and / or to and from medical appointments, at specified times of the day during the 30 day period. After 30 days, you should receive a letter from DMV advising that you may go to New York DMV and apply for a new license. Upon conviction of an alcohol related offense, there will be additional suspensions and/ or revocations on the license.
   
   If you have been charged with Driving While Intoxicated as a misdemeanor, and it is alleged that you refused to take a breath test, the court will suspend your license at arraignment, pending a refusal hearing at DMV. If you fail to show for the refusal hearing or you loose the hearing, your license will be revoked for a minimum 6 months, or 1 year for those under the age of 21 and a civil penalty of at least $300
   
   If you appear for the refusal hearing and the officer does not, you should receive your privileges to drive back pending a refusal hearing at a later date, or pending a conviction on an alcohol related offense.
   
   If you are convicted of Driving while intoxicated or Driving While ability impaired due to Alcohol and this is your first alcohol related driving conviction, you should be eligible to take the DMV Drunk Driving program (DDP). The DDP program is a once a week, 7 week program, with each session lasting 2 1/3 hrs. Approximately 1 out of every 3 participants is referred for additional follow up counseling at an agency recognized by the Department of Motor Vehicles, at their own expense. Upon signing up for the program you will be granted a Conditional license. The license will remain conditional until completion. Upon completion of the program you should receive your full license back. In New York convictions for speeding and other moving violations carry points on your license. Below is a list of the various traffic offenses and the points allocated to each conviction: 1102 Failure to Comply with a Lawful Order 2 points 1110 (a) Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device 2 points 1110 (a)(1) Passed Green Arrow 3 points 1111 (d)(1) Passed Red Light 3 points 1111 (a)(1) Passed Red Arrow 3 points 1120 (a) Failure to Keep Right 3 points 1122 Improper Lane Change 3 points 1128 (a) Unsafe Lane Change 3 points 1129 (a) Following Too Closely (Tailgating) 4 points 1140 Failure to Yield Right of Way at Intersection 3 points 1141 Failure to Yield Right of Way--Oncoming Traffic 3 points 1143 Failure to Yield Right of Way--Pedestrians 3 points 1163 Failure to Signal Lane Change 2 points 1172 Failure to Stop at Stop Sign or Flashing Red Light 3 points 1180 (a) Unreasonable/Imprudent Speed 3 points 1180 (b) Speeding 1 - 10 mph over speed limit 3 points 11 - 20 mph over speed limit 4 points 21 - 30 mph over speed limit 6 points 31 - 40 mph over speed limit (possible suspension) 8 points More than 40 mph over speed limit (possible suspension) 11 points 1212 Reckless Driving (Misdemeanor Offense) 5 points 600 Leaving the Scene of an Accident 3 points 1229 (c)(3) No Seat Belt/Driver 0 points 319 Uninsured Motorist (Mandatory Revocation) 375 (1) Inadequate Brakes (Misdemeanor offense) 4 points 375 (3) Failure to Dim Headlights 2 points 375 (29a) Improper Towing/More Than One Vehicle 2 points 375 (29c) Connection Longer Than 16 Feet 2 points 375 (29d) No Licensed Driver in Towed Vehicle 2 points 381 (1a) Inadequate Brakes- Motorcycle 4 points The points are assessed against your driving record based on the date that violation was committed, not the conviction date. If your driving record accumulates 11 or more points within an 18 month period, your license will be suspended or revoked. You can reduce up to four points from your driving record and save up to 10% on your auto liability insurance premiums by completing a DMV approved accident prevention course. You can use the point reductions once a year. If you have already taken the accident prevention course within the year, regardless of whether you received a point reduction, you will not be able to reduce any points by taking the program again until a year has passed. Also you can not apply the point reduction as a credit against future points. NO ONE SHOULD EVER PLEAD GUILTY TO POINTS VIOLATION WITHOUT FIRST CONSULTING WITH AN ATTORNEY