NEW YORK DUI LAWYERS

 It is likely that you will have to take a drug/alcohol screen/evaluation following a New York DUI arrest because under New York law, an alcohol/drug screening and evaluation is mandatory if your BAC (blood alcohol concentration) at the time of your Newyork DUI arrest (as measured by the breath test) was a BAC 0.15 or higher.

It is often helpful to have a drug/alcohol evaluation provided to your DUI lawyer New York prior to negotiating a plea on your charges. The results of an evaluation can demonstrate that your conduct on the night of the New York DUI arrest was a one-time event, and not a pattern of alcohol abuse behavior and it can show that you are now choosing to proactively address a problem with your use of drugs and/or alcohol.

The alcohol screening/evaluation is part of the DMV's DDP (Drinking Driver Program) and must be done to obtain a conditional driving privilege. This is true whether your final plea is to a DWAI, DWI, or ADWI. The program's completion is predicated upon a follow through with any treatment recommendations made by the OASAS (Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services) certified provider.

There are 3 things you must do before having your New York drunk driving screening/evaluation:

1)      To allay your fears and give you a good idea of the types of screening questions asked, you should read through the relevant tests that are available online. Within the DDP program, the alcohol screening is a questionnaire/form to determine if you need further evaluation/assessment by a provider.

2)      Be prepared to be honest and truthful with the Newyork DUI evaluator. It is important for your long term health and wellness that if alcohol and/or drugs are the reason for your current criminal charges the underlying causes can be addressed. Note that even though DWI recidivism rates are very low (approximately 3-4%), the dangers to yourself and others from a second instance of driving while under the effect of any drug or substance can be substantial.

3)      Be prepared to follow through on all recommended treatment. You are entitled to a second evaluation/opinion. This second alcohol evaluation and the final result is binding. The Court is going to want proof of completion of any treatment programs recommended and assessed. If you receive a CD (conditional discharge) from the Court this will be one in terms of that discharge. If you fail to meet the Court's conditions, your case can be re-opened and your failure will be considered a violation of the Court's Order.

If your alcohol evaluation indicates a clean 'no treatment recommended' conclusion, it will often be helpful for your DUI lawyer New York to show the District Attorney why a term of probation as a condition of your final sentence is not necessary. This report of No Treatment by an evaluator can also assist your attorney in getting a ADWI (Aggravated DWI) charge where your BAC was .18 or higher possibly reduced to a 'regular' BAC over .08 New York DUI.

 New York drunk driving is no small infraction. If you are stopped by an officer who administers a field sobriety test, then follows up with a chemical test, and you are found to have a blood alcohol concentration of at least .08, you are bound to face a harsh sentence after a New York DUI arrest.

If charged with a second driving while intoxicated (DWI) offense within ten years of the first misdemeanor, you face Class E felony penalties. The mandatory fine starts at $1,000 and can run up to $5,000. There is a minimum one-year license revocation, but an ignition interlock and alcohol assessment may also be required.

A driver convicted of a second DWI offense will go to jail for at least five days unless they receive a sentence for 30 days of community service in lieu of this mandatory term. The sentence could involve an incarceration period of up to four years. A second New York DUI conviction for aggravated DWI within five years of the first offense involves sentencing similar to that of a Class E felony. However, the driver's license is revoked for a longer period of time-at least 18 months.

Although class E felonies such as the felony following Newyork DUI arrest carries the lightest sentences of the five felony classes, the minimum jail time for this class is one year.

Three or more Newyork DUI convictions within 10 years can result in permanent revocation of a driver's license. Although waiver requests are permitted after five months of revocation, the Department of Motor Vehicles will be the final determinant in when and whether or not a license can be returned. This is not an automatic process. In fact, the convicted driver must reapply for a license and may be required to take a driver's test again.

Moving up into the Class D felony group, convicted drivers will now face a mandatory minimum fine of $2,000, with a potential maximum charge of $10,000. Furthermore, these steep fines do not even include the mandatory conviction surcharge and potential crime victim's assistance fees. The fees alone may reach upwards of hundreds of dollars.

On this third strike, the offender gets to spend a week-and-a-half in jail, or they may be allowed to substitute it for 60 days of community service. Depending on the circumstances, as many as seven years of incarceration could be the punishment. This possible jail sentence is technically, what moves the driver from E into the D felony class. A DUI lawyer New York will help you avoid harsh penalties.

 You could fight your own DUI (drinking under the influence) charge following a New York DUI arrest, but hiring a pro has a lot more benefits. Hiring a pro gives you professionalism since these pros have the necessary training, experience, and resources such as law books. Hiring a pro gives you unparalleled convenience – fighting a New York drunk driving charge can take a lot of time and effort. You should however not go for the first DUI lawyer New York – it is important that you know the qualities of a good lawyer if you are to get the best.

The lawyer should be an expert in DUI law in New York. Too many times, people choose a DUI defense attorney because their cousin used them; or they found a DUI lawyer New York out of the Yellow Pages that would represent them for $500. The problem is that these attorneys are not experts in New York DUI law; rather they are general practitioners of law in the state. In other words, they are jacks of all legal trades, and masters of none. Such lawyers will not represent you adequately.

A good lawyer is one who is licensed by the New York Bar Association. Price is not always the yardstick of the best DUI attorney. A good DUI lawyer can often pay for himself in reduced fines, jail time, and community service. Just because he/she is the most expensive does not make him/her the best DUI attorney for your individual case.

The best DUI attorney is one that works with you, understands the nuances of your case, and most importantly, understands you. After all, a Newyork DUI arrest and case is stressful enough; you do not want to be banging heads with your DUI defense attorney as well. Find out, whom among the different lawyers you consider, is a member of or affiliated with, National College of DUI Defense. A good Newyork DUI lawyer is one who has a high success rate and who past clients heap praises on. You could get tips on the best lawyer from independent reviews.

A good DUI lawyer New York is one who has different charging methods. Do your calculations to determine which method between fixed or hourly charges works best. A good lawyer is one who offers additional services, which are directly related to the case, examples being the production of expert witnesses and doing independent blood testing. A good lawyer will give you a written contract to protect you and himself/ herself.

 If you are in New York, it is important that you know everything there is to know about DUI or drinking under the influence in the state following a New York DUI arrest. One way of doing this is getting answers to Newyork DUI FAQs. What is DUI? Driving under the influence is the driving of motor vehicles with alcohol blood levels in excess of what is allowed. In the New York, the legal limit stands at .08%.

Why should you fight a New York DUI charge? The consequences of a DUI conviction are severe. These include high fines and the suspension of your license or its revocation. Your insurance premiums will also go through the roof. A DUI on your record will affect you when you are applying for a job and it will impair travel too. Fighting the DUI charge ensures that you get better results.

What are the consequences of fighting the New York drunk driving charge? The greatest short-term consequence of fighting a DUI charge in New York is the 'prompt suspension law.' If your blood alcohol level (BAC) is 0.08 or higher, the judge may suspend your license while the case is pending. For the first 30 days after that your lawyer can get you a 'hardship privilege' that lets you drive to and from work (but not for work). After that you can get a conditional license from the DMV that lets you do most of your regular driving. Leisure driving is limited and you do not get credit for this time if you later get suspended.

Will you be able to get a plea bargain after the Newyork DUI arrest? Your lawyer can get a first DUI charge reduced to a DWAI violation. However, for BAC of over 0.18 it attracts a charge of Aggravated DWI (driving while intoxicated), and the only offer is likely to be a reduction to DWI, which is still a misdemeanour. Other factors also might prevent a plea bargain, such as if you have a criminal record, if the charge arose out of a serious accident or if it is not the first DWI on your record.

Do I need a New York DUI lawyer? The only time you do not need a lawyer is if you plan on pleading guilty, but hiring a lawyer is advantageous in that you get professionalism and unparalleled convenience.

Do you have to come to court? If you are an out-of-state or an out-of-area client, the lawyer may appear for you. Other than that, DUI defendants usually have to come to Court. You will have to surrender your license, and the judge will want to make sure you understand what you have to do.

 New York drunk driving could be DWI or DUI. DWI, or Driving While Ability Impaired, is a traffic violation in New York State and is covered by Section 1192(1) of the Vehicle and Traffic Law. It is a lower level offense, below the criminal DWI charges. You will be charged with DWAI if your BAC (blood alcohol level) is below .08 while you will get a DUI or Driving Under the Influence when the BAC is measured between 0.05, 0.06, or 0.07.

DWAI is more like the common law DWI (Driving While Intoxicated). The judge (there is no jury for DWAI because it is not a crime) must be persuaded that your ability to drive was impaired. The difference between intoxicated and impaired is not well defined in the law, leading to confusion and increasing your chances of winning a New York DUI case if you have a good New York DUI lawyer. The law states that a BAC of 0.07 is sufficient on its own to prove a charge of DWAI - though it is still possible to defeat the charge on a 0.07. With a BAC of 0.06 or 0.05, the prosecutor must submit additional evidence beyond the BAC to show impairment.

In most Newyork DUI cases, the prosecution will have a few different kinds of evidence. This includes the BAC, standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs), and the officer's general observations. In a DWAI case, the defendant's BAC is usually, well below 0.10. So, if the prosecution tries to prove impairment by saying that the defendant failed the SFSTs, a capable defense attorney can argue that the tests must have been done wrong, since the BAC was actually below 0.10.

With most DWI cases, the prosecution will offer a deal, where the defendant would plead guilty to a lesser offense after the Newyork DUI arrest - often this means a reduction from DWI to DWAI. With DWAI cases, there is generally no lesser DUI offense. DWI laws in New York make it difficult for prosecutors to reduce a DUI charge to something that is not a DUI charge. Because of this, the typical offer in a DWAI case is for the defendant to plead guilty to the charge. In other words, the plea bargain is no bargain. Other than attorney fees, a DWAI defendant has essentially nothing to lose by fighting the case.

After a New York DUI arrest, you are encouraged to fight the charges since the consequences, which include the suspension or the revocation of the license and increasing insurance premiums, are dire, but the argument for this is strongest with DWAI cases and less for DUI and DWI cases.