In New York, driving while intoxicated is a leading cause of death, making the penalties for drinking and driving quite severe.  For a first offense, you can expect a fine of about $300, to perhaps spend some time in jail, and to lose your license for 90 days. For a second DWI offense, the fines are larger at about $500, you may be in jail for longer, and you’ll lose your license for six months. The further you go, the worse it gets, and the more chance you have of getting a felony conviction. If you are a problematic drinker, or have a history of legal trouble, you might try a designated driver or calling someone. Anything other than driving is crucial. If you are arrested, it’s time to consult with an experienced New York DWI lawyer.

Why consult with a lawyer?
A New York DWI lawyer is crucial for your defense. You might think pleading guilty and moving on is best; that’s wrong. You should plead innocent and hire a lawyer way before your trial begins. A lawyer is a necessary part of this process.

What can a lawyer do?
A lawyer can question the charges against you, question what happened, and act in your defense. He or she can lower any fines against you, if not eliminate them. You can avoid losing your license, or at least  decrease the suspension. You can avoid jail time. A lawyer is an important part of this process, a voice in the court room for you.

How much will a DWI lawyer cost?
All New York DWI lawyers have different rates. Some charge hourly and some charge flat fees. No two DWI situations are exactly alike, but this will not be cheap. You will likely spend thousands of dollars on a lawyer, but again the advantages are numerous. If you have multiple DWI charges, you may face extended jail time and other very stiff penalties. So the price is relative. How much is your license worth? How much is avoiding jail time worth to you?

How do you hire one?
The New York State Bar Association has a website with a listing of lawyers at NYSBA.org, where you can find some of the most experienced DUI lawyers in the state. You can find them online. You can find them in the yellow pages. You can find them through referrals. But don’t settle on the first one you find; be picky. Consult with at least 5-10 experienced New York DWI lawyers, if not more, before settling on one. Factor in court room experience, price, how well you communicate with him or her, and availability. You want a lawyer experienced in DWI court, who knows what to question. You want a lawyer you can afford. You want to be able to talk to this lawyer, as he or she will guide you for weeks if not months through this process. And you want a lawyer who is available, not overbooked with clients.

What if you pick the wrong one?
If you pick the wrong lawyer, there is no New York law saying you must keep him or her. You must only pay the fees up to that point. So if you make the wrong choice, which does happen, fire your current lawyer and continue your search. You have enough options to do so.

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DWI laws change from state to state, making some study important. Even if you get a lawyer – and you definitely need a DWI lawyer if you’re being charged – you should be aware of basic laws. Why? If you don’t know what is happening in the court room, you won’t be able to make key decisions. This guide helps you make those decisions by going over 6 DWI laws you should understand.

New York DWI – The First Offense
Expect fines from $500 to $1,000. You might be charged with up to 1 year jail time. Finally, your drivers license will be revoked for at least six months. Why so hard for a first offense? One of the leading causes of death in New York is drinking and driving. But it does not mean you have no rights; you do.

The Second Offense
If you get a second New York DWI within 10 years of the first, you can expect major fines, a longer jail sentence, and a longer license suspension. Fines can be as high as $5,000. You may face up to 4 years jail time. And your license is often suspended for years. If you believe you were pulled over in error, that your rights have been broken, or that you were not under the influence, you need to speak with a lawyer.

The Third Offense
Now we are getting even worse. Expect penalties to be doubled in comparison to your second offense. If you get a third DWI within 10 years of the second, that’s a felony charge (technically a class d felony), and felonies are the worst driving penalties you can get. If you want to avoid long time jail, fines up to $10,000, and a lengthy license suspension, get legal help.

Aggravated DWI
While less common, we all know how sometimes you just can’t stop drinking. That applies most when you consider than an aggravated DWI means your BAC (blood alcohol concentration) is .18 or higher. That’s not only dangerous to you, as much higher and you risk life, but it also puts others in grave danger. The more you drink, the more likely you are to be in an accident (some studies have pointed out you can be 10 to 40 times more likely to be in an accident if drink enough).

DWAI/Drug
If you are arrested for being “driving while ability impaired” by drugs, the penalties are close to what you get for a DWI. If no alcohol is in your system, but drugs are, you can still be charged.

Your Right to Representation
Scared? There is one other important law to consider – that you have a right to representation. Simply put, not all DWI cases are the same. You may have been charged with a  higher BAC level than you had, or you may have been profiled by the arrest officer, or the officer lied about something, or a variety of other points. If you are charged with abusing substances and driving, your first move is to immediately hire an experienced DWI lawyer. Do not hire someone who does a “little of everything;” get a specialist in DWI law. And don’t wait until days before your trial to hire a lawyer; hire one as soon as possible.

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DWI charges can mean jail time, fines, license suspension, probation, and life changing problems.

DWI law is quite complex, from the moment you are pulled over to your court case. That’s what can make an experienced lawyer invaluable, and that’s what leads to our first DWI question.

Do you need a DWI lawyer?
Yes, you always need a lawyer if you’ve been charged with a drinking and driving offense (or charged with operating a vehicle while using drugs). Simply put, it can keep you out of jail, lessen license suspension charges if not eliminate them, stop fines, and more.

Is any lawyer good?
Not all DWI lawyers are equal, unfortunately, though just because one is quite cheap in price does not mean you’ll lose, and higher priced DWI lawyers do not guarantee a win. The best method is to go somewhere in the middle, to pay for value, but to understand that spending tens of thousands in defense is just unrealistic.

How much do DWI lawyers charge?
Costs are either based on flat rate fees for defending DWI or on hourly. You can typically estimate lawyer prices beforehand and get a good idea of who you can afford. If they charge an hourly rate and give an estimate on hours, you can easily compare this with others. If a flat rate, that’s easy to compare too. But note value: if they have experience in and out of the court, in winning, that’s valuable.

What is the difference between DWI, OWI, and DUI?
Different states have different terms. On this blog, we typically use DUI, but generally DUI has the same intent as OWI and DWI: to punish those who drink or abuse drugs in excess and drive. DUI stands for driving under the influence. OWI means operating while intoxicated. And DWI means driving while intoxicated. Each term used the same blood alcohol content (BAC) limit of .08%, has similar charges in terms of jail time and fines and suspensions, and has similar defenses. The only major differences are between state laws.

What should you do if pulled over?
You will likely be asked to take a breathalyzer test if the officer believes you’ve been drinking. This is pretty much the same across all states, where if you refuse you can immediately have your license suspended. If you’re pulled over, the less you say the better. This is not to say you don’t cooperate; only you avoid incriminating yourself.

How do you make a DWI defense?
You make a DWI defense with a DWI lawyer. Yet it’s more complex than that. DWI penalties can be quite stiff, but defenses can be very effective. How you act during the arrest, what your BAC level reads in the breathalyzer and potentially with blood tests, what the officer does, and how good a lawyer you hire all make complicated but winnable.

True, if you avoid abusing drugs or alcohol and driving you have nothing to worry about. But cases where you’re arrested for a DWI and have abused nothing occur all the time. The defense in this instance is based on proof.

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If you made a mistake by drinking and driving, you need a lawyer more than ever. Why? You need someone capable of defending you, especially if you feel the charges are wrong. If you want to plead guilty, thinking this will be easier, you still need a New York DWI lawyer. You can plead for lesser charges, find out the officer made mistakes, and much more.

Now let’s go into detail on these advantages.

For the Price, Hiring a Lawyer Is Worth It
Yes, a New York DWI lawyer will cost you some money. Lawyers have never been free, but they’re valuable for many reasons. Consider how much you’d be willing to keep your license or lessen the suspension, think how much you’d be willing to pay to stay out of jail, and then create a price. You’d likely, as we all would, do plenty to stay out of jail.

A typical fee for a DWI lawyer can be from $10,000 to $20,000. For a felony charge – if you’ve received more than one DWI charge or hurt someone – you might pay $25,000 or more. It depends on the time involved. That may seem like a lot, but sometimes you have to pay for experience.

Experience in DWI Court
You clearly want someone capable in court. You could hire the friend of a friend, the lawyer who offers to do it cheap, but in most of these cases, you’re losing out on experience. The big advantage here is in knowing laws, bargaining, and knowing what to argue.

Experience in Winning Cases
We all want to win the case that takes us to trial, but the difference with an experienced DWI lawyer is that they know how to win them. That’s priceless. You can ask your prospective lawyer his success rates. Of course, there is only so much you can disprove in a DWI case, and it’s not always about winning. Sometimes you want to lessen penalties.

Time Involved
The time involved is what makes the price higher for a DWI case. If your lawyer has time available to focus on your case, and the one you hire should, then that makes him or her an asset to you. They can know the laws, but more time means more chances they’ll find some mistakes. For example, the breathalyzer test may have been used incorrectly, ruining the prosecution’s case.

Lessening Penalties
If your DWI lawyer can actually prove mistakes were made, you don’t always win entirely. However, you may be able to prove doubt in the eyes of judge or jury, and they might lessen the suspension, fine, and jail time.

There are many more things an experienced DWI lawyer brings to the table. One might not be cheap, but he or she can earn your respect by winning.

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According to the New York DMV, “Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) is a crime. If you are convicted, you will face a substantial fine, a mandatory surcharge, license revocation, higher insurance premiums, and a possible jail sentence. ” So how can you avoid these stiff penalties? It might be easy to say — never drink and drive — but that’s the #1 way to do so.

Why are the New York DWI laws so strict?
Traffic accidents are nationally some of the biggest killers in the country. And one third of deaths in New York state involve someone who’s been drinking or using drugs and driving. You are a danger to others driving, to pedestrians on the road, and if you have passengers, you’re putting them in danger.

If you are over the limit — the blood alcohol content (BAC) limit is .08 for all 50 states — you are four time more likely to get into a car accident than someone who hasn’t been drinking. Also, young drivers are in some of the most danger; it makes sense, as the younger you are the less experience you have driving.

If you drink, it can alter your decision making process while driving, not seeing angles, turns, or traffic lights correctly. All it takes is one mistake and it could cost someone’s life and lead to an arrest.

So we know why New York State DWI laws are so strict. What can you do to avoid the stiff penalties?

Hire An Attorney
Your first choice may in fact be whether you should fight this case. If you believe the breathalyzer test was wrong, that you need not plead guilty to the charge, you can. There are some cases where sobriety tests are inaccurate. To do so, you need an experienced New York DWI attorney. They are not free, but a good one saves you time and money, doesn’t take it. Reading a guide like this one is good, but it does not mean you know everything there is to know.  You need someone who’s fought and won cases, if not  lessening charges. The best way to limit penalties is to hire the right attorney.

Defend
How will they defend you? An attorney may find out the officer acted incorrectly, that he or she had no right to pull you. You may have been pulled over for reasons other than your driving, such as how you look (if you’re a minority, for example). Also, the officer may have made mistakes in the arrest, incorrectly using the breathalyzer, or never reading your Miranda, or was inappropriate with you.

Always Hire a Taxi or Ask for a Ride
Finally, just avoid drinking and driving. If you’ve been through this situation once, that’s more than enough. If you never have to go through this process, you can avoid jail time, fines, and license suspensions. You can also be safer, and other drivers on the road will appreciate it.

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Did you know that one third of deaths in the state of New York directly involved impaired or intoxicated people? That means one third of deaths are a direct result of alcohol. It happens beyond driving, of course, but it’s clear driving fatalities are high, and they are high because people drink and drive.

Once you drink alcohol and your blood alcohol content increases, the chances of getting into an accident are incredibly high. According to the state of New York, if your BAC (blood alcohol content) is 0.08% or over, you have four times greater chance of causing a crash.

Another disheartening fact is of drivers under the legal drinking age, who are the most likely of all drivers to be in alcohol related crashes leading to death.

Let’s go over some more details so you can protect yourself and others from being more statistics.

Will you be caught for a DWI?
A DWI is the New York State version of the DUI for most other states, where your blood alcohol content is 0.08% or higher and you drive a vehicle. The chances of being caught for a DWI are “greater than ever before” says the state of New York DWI guide. How so? Officers are not only trained to be effective in catching drivers driving while intoxicated, but they also are out in force using special equipment to catch drinking drivers.

What else are they doing?
There is the New York State STOP-DWI program, used in every county. This is funded by DWI fines, and involves programs for enforcement, prosecution, adjuration, and education. It’s a clear sign New York is serious about both punishing and helping drinking drivers. Since thousands of deaths are related to DWI cases, it’s clear why New York is doing this.

What happens if I’m stopped for a DWI?
If you are stopped by an officer, you will likely be tested. This includes the “breath screening test,” basically a breathalyzer, and possibly other field sobriety tests. If you are over the limit, 0.08% or above in all 50 states, you will be arrested and asked to take a chemical test. You can expect to be fined, get your license revoked, get higher insurance premiums, and possibly be punished with a jail sentence. If you get multiple DWI arrests, you can expect the penalties to be even stiffer, including large fines, longer jail time, and extended license suspensions.

I am drinking under age–does that change things?
Being under the drinking age of 21 does change things. If you have a license, that will typically be suspended for a DWI charge. If you are arrested for a DWI in any of the 50 states, you can expect a 1 year suspension. If you get a second or further DWI charge, your license can be revoked for longer than a year, or until you’re 21.

Do I need a DWI lawyer in New York?
Since this is only scratching the service on DWI questions you may have, you should consider hiring a professional New York DWI lawyer to help you with the case. Just knowing the laws is not enough; you need an expert on handling these kinds of cases. A DWI lawyer might be able to help get your license back, if not avoid jail time.

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Driving under the influence (DUI) in New York is actually termed a DWI (driving while intoxicated), a variation which occurs in separate states. But the basic principle of a DWI, has all the same core laws that others states use. For instance, you can get your license suspended, for multiple charges you can go to prison, and different laws for those under age as well as who hurt or killed someone while driving.

What is DWI in New York?
DWI in New York is considered a crime. You can lose your license, face fines, and quite possibly go to jail. It depends on a variety of conditions, most which will be familiar to you. But, the basic 0.08 rule of being intoxicated is the same across all 50 states, including New York.

The level of abuse is considered by New York law under 5 basic conditions.
-The amount of alcohol you drink
-The amount of food you eat
-The length of time you drink
-Your body weight
-Your gender

Some of those may seem obvious. If you drink 10 beers and drive in New York, you’ll get a DWI or worse. However, what does the amount of food have to do with drinking? This is because of how alcohol is absorbed by your body, and how food can sometimes weaken the effects. If you drank those 10 beers and ate nothing, you would likely be more intoxicated, at least that’s how the laws are.

Body weight and gender are similar, as the amount of intoxication you get from drinking 10 beers does include how big you are; a 300 pound man may be less intoxicated than a 110 pound woman.

There are variations to how intoxicated you can get and how old you are. For example, if you had a .18 or higher alcohol level, that would be considered aggravated DWI and would have stiffer penalties.

The Penalties for New York DWI
There are many penalties for a DWI in New York, and they can get complex. It’s smart to first hire a professional DWI attorney in New York who can plead your case in front of a judge or jury. The more DWI charges you get, as with other states, the bigger the punishments are. Of note is the A-DWI, aggravated driving while intoxicated, which has stiffer penalties. Let’s go over those first.

A-DWI: $1,000-2,500 fine, possible 1 year prison sentence, license revoked for one year
Second A-DWI in 10 years: $1,000-$5,000 fine, possible 4 years in prison, license revoked for at least 18 months
Third A-DWI in 20 Years: $2,000-$10,000, 7 years, License revoked for at least 18 months

Now let’s go over the basic DWI and DWI-Drug violation penalties, which can be less stiff.

DWI: $500-$1,000, 1 year in prison, License revoked for at least 6 months
DWI-Drug: Same as DWI
Second DWI: DWAI Drug: $1,000-$5,000, 4 years prison, License revoked at least 1 year
Third DWI – DWAI Drug: $2,000-$10,000, 7 years prison, license revoked at least 1 year

How do you stop these penalties from occurring? The best move is to drink responsibly, but if you make a mistake, hiring professional DWI attorneys in New York can help. A DWI attorney can help you fight or plea bargain, explain your rights, educate you on the penalties, and help you move on with your life.

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