DWI Defense Strategies
New York State is known for having the some of the toughest DWI laws in the country. Not only does NY penalize drivers with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .08 or higher, the state also penalizes drivers with a Blood Alcohol Content at or higher than .05%, also known as a DWAI (driving While Ability Impaired). When a driver gets to a point of having a BAC of .17% or higher, they may be charged with an Aggravated DWI.
Regardless of what your BAC was at the time of your arrest, a lawyer who understands how New York State prosecutes those accused of DWI can be paramount in protecting your rights in a DWI case and will work with you to create a positive outcome that will allow you to move forward with your life.
DWI Convictions Carry Serious, Life-changing Consequences
An arrest for drunk driving in New York carries serious consequences. Those charged with DWI can face jail time, suspension or revocation of their driver’s license, fines that can feel unsurmountable, and mandatory alcohol screening along with educational courses.
The state also now mandates vehicle interlock devices for certain DWI offenses that can prove embarrassing and inconvenient. Even if your BAC was only .05%, you can still be subject to many of the same consequences as higher BAC offenders. All of these consequences can lead to lingering issues which can impact your employment, raise your insurance rates and affect your future career options.
Everyone Makes Mistakes and Everyone Deserves to be Treated Fairly
Being charged with a DWI doesn’t necessarily mean you will be convicted and thus automatically lose your license. The state of New York must prove the criminal charges that have been made against you and the law entitles you to challenge the strength of the state’s case. Hiring an experienced DWI Attorney will allow you to better defend your rights against a criminal charge of drinking while driving.
Our Skilled Criminal DWI Attorneys Provide a Proactive Defense
Contacting an attorney early on is important when you are charged with a DWI or DWAI. There are certain defenses that need to be brought up promptly, or you risk losing the right to assert those defenses. When you contact Hinman, Howard & Kattell to defend you in your case, you get the peace-of-mind of knowing you’re hiring an experienced DWI defense team that has worked on both sides of the law and understands what it takes to successfully defend your rights.
New York State has a “prompt suspension” law that makes it very likely your driver’s license will be suspended at your arraignment. An experienced DWI attorney can assist you in challenging this law in order to obtain conditional driving privileges that will help you continue to commute to your place of employment.
In addition to aggressively defending your right to drive, our team will diligently defend you against a DWI conviction and protect you from the devastating results of such a conviction on your record. We do this by relentlessly reviewing the facts involved in your accusation and by formulating a plan to raise all applicable defenses during the course of your DWI case.
How We Defend Against DWI Accusations
Certain defense strategies and the circumstances surrounding your arrest may enable evidence to be suppressed in your case leading to the dismissal of the charges or a reduced charge that does not have the criminal consequences of a DWI conviction. Some of these defenses can include police not having probable cause to arrest you, an improper arrest or testing procedure, bringing in credible witnesses who attest to you being sober, and malfunctioning testing equipment. While not an exhaustive review, requesting a free case consult from our attorneys can help provide more insight into viable defense strategies we can utilize to prove your innocence or reduce your charges.
Reasons for Administering the Breath Test
If you were pulled over for a legitimate reason, then the police officer may ask if you have been drinking. If you deny this and they still want to perform a field sobriety test, then you may refuse to do so. Generally the refusal of a field sobriety test will come with the request of the officer to give you a breath or chemical sobriety test. If you refuse these tests as well, then you can lose your license for one year or more.
In order to get your license back you will have to go to a license suspension hearing and demonstrate several different things. Here is what you need to demonstrate in court:
- You were stopped for an invalid reason;
- There was no probably cause for the officer to request a chemical or breath test;
- The breath or chemical test that was given had invalid results;
- The reason why you refused to take the breath or chemical test was legitimate; and/or
- There was no probably cause for the officer to assume that you were under the influence of drugs or alcohol while driving
Fighting the Chemical or Breath Test
In order to properly fight this test, an experienced DWI lawyer who knows how the testing mechanisms operate is needed. The lawyer will be able to contest: the way the tests were administered, the mechanics of the testing mechanisms, or that the driver has a medical condition that affected the test results.
These things could result in the court ruling that evidence is inadmissible, which could potentially get the case dismissed. There are strict protocols when it comes to taking breath or chemical tests. If these protocols aren’t followed exactly, then it’s likely that the DWI charge can be reduced or dismissed.