DWI Roadblocks an Police Targeting DWI
One of the approaches that we are seeing when it comes to apprehending DWI suspects is a stronger mandate for officers to specifically target people who may be drinking and driving. Roadblocks, regular patrols dedicated to DWI enforcement and increased training regarding proper arrest of suspected DWI offenders are just a few of the ways the police are adapting to the volume of DWI offenders. Indeed, there seems to be a great deal of increased pressure on officers to catch people who may be guilty of DWI. Officers I speak with from...
The recent trends in DWI prosecution have made it harder to negotiate with the local DA’s offices in DWI cases—and again, some individual counties have their own policies in terms of how they handle alcohol-related offenses. It is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain the type of disposition for your client that you could have received five or six years ago, simply by demanding it. For many years it was almost assumed that a first time DWI defendant, who was not involved in an accident and whose BAC was not very high, could receive an offer of a DWAI, a violation level offense. Now in...
Dangerous Repeat Offenders and Increased Look Back Time Periods
A trend that I am seeing in the area of driver’s licenses is an increasing number of clients who have committed multiple alcohol-related offenses who are facing serious limitations to their ability to have an unrestricted driver’s license, even a lifetime denial of their driving privileges.
This is an area of the law that attorneys who represent clients charged with DWI related matters need to be fully educated so they can sufficiently inform their clients as to ramifications of their conviction. They can labeled...
Increased Pressure for Increased DWI Penalties
There is an immense amount of pressure being exerted on the New York State legislature from outside groups such as MADD and other advocacy groups to put laws in place that will presumably deter people from drinking and driving. For example, back in 2013 the New York State Senate passed legislation requiring mandatory jail sentences for repeat DWI offenders. However, we are finding that the passage of such legislation does not seem to be impacting the number of drivers convicted of DWI. Unfortunately, most people who are repeat DWI offenders...
The “DWI Law” in New York is contained in VTL §1192 titled “Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs”. The law includes 6 separate offenses; here we will cover 3 of the most frequently charged sections. .
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