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The New York State Senate today passed a measure that would impose mandatory jail time for individuals who chose to drive again under the influence of drugs or alcohol after having been previously convicted of such a crime.  The bill has been sent to the Assembly.

The bill (S.2597) is sponsored by Senator Charles Fuschillo (R- Merrick), Chairman of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, and is intended to increase the penalties for multiple DWI offenders.

“Someone who repeatedly endangers innocent lives by driving drunk needs to go to jail; period. It’s unconscionable that current law enables repeat DWI offenders to avoid jail and get away with only paying a fine and possibly performing community service. The only appropriate community service is getting these drunk drivers behind bars and off the roads. Mandatory jail sentences would make DWI offenders think twice before driving drunk again and send a strong, but simple message; if you continually drink and drive in New York State, then you are going to jail,” said Fuschillo.
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District Attorney David Soares just announced a new policy regarding plea bargains in drunk driving cases.

Soares told the press that he will crack down on people who refuse to take the chemical test. Soares says those who refuse the test will not be able to get a plea bargain that reduces their charges from DWI down to a driving while ability impaired.

He says his DWI prosecutors are seeing more suspects refusing the tests in beliefs that it will help make it harder to convict them.

Opposition to the policy says this is “one size fits all justice” and that it doesn’t leave room for extenuating circumstances. They also question the timing of the announcement.

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Suburban prosecutors and New York City police said Thursday they are investigating whether small-town officers tried to cover up an NYPD officer’s drunken driving after he mowed down several light poles and parking meters.

A recorded telephone call posted online indicated the driver got off lightly after a late-night, off-duty accident in suburban Tuckahoe, 16 miles north of the city.

The recording appears to be the account of another NYPD officer who says he was called to the scene of the 2010 accident. It was posted by the New York City news website DNAinfo.com.

The recording indicates that Tuckahoe officers offered to cite the NYPD officer for causing property damage without including that he was intoxicated. The officer is not identified.

The driver — described on the recording as “bombed” — resisted the offer until the fellow NYPD officer and a union delegate were recruited, late at night, to persuade him it was in his interest, according to the recording.
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The State Senate has enacted legislation he fought to adopt (S.164C) which creates a  new penalty for a licensed driver who is under the influence of alcohol or drugs and is supervising a unlicensed driver.

“This legislation closes a significant loophole by making it clear that if you are supervising a younger driver, you must be sober,” said Senator Mike Nozzolio, R-C-Fayette. “People who are supervising unlicensed drivers have the same responsibility to be fully aware and capable of operating a vehicle as the driver. Those who supervise a driver under the influence of alcohol or drugs must be held accountable for their dangerous, irresponsible actions.”

Under this legislation, known as “Abbagail’s Law”, a supervising driver with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.18 percent or more would be charged with a Class E felony. The law is named after 8-year-old Abbagail, who was killed in September 2009 after leaving a family gathering when her father, who had been drinking, convinced a 17-year-old cousin with a learner’s permit to drive him to a store to get more beer. The young driver was operating the vehicle at dangerous speeds and lost control of the car. Abbagail was thrown from the car when it rolled down an embankment, eventually trapping her underneath the car and killing her. Under current law, neither the driver nor the father could be prosecuted for the circumstances leading to her death.

“The tragic death of Abbagail demonstrates that new protections are needed to prevent supervising drivers from endangering the lives of everyone on the road by getting in the car while under the influence of alcohol or drugs,” said Nozzolio. “I am proud that we were able to enact this legislation to ensure that New York continues to have some of the toughest penalties against drunk driving in the Nation.”

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Steven Schwartzapfel, a New York lawyer whose law firm handles DWI accident cases, says a new report shows that despite an encouraging drop in highway fatalities, the percentage of deaths caused by impaired drivers in New York is not improving.

A recent report in Newsday reveals that while drunken driving deaths have been cut in half since 1982, drunk drivers still account for about one in three fatal accidents in New York, a rate that has leveled off despite tougher DWI laws.

“Better cars, better safety features and the fear of arrest have cut the number of drunk driving fatalities nationally but not in New York State,” says Schwartzapfel, a founding partner of the New York law firm of Schwartzapfel Partners.

“Drunk driving is deadly, it’s against the law, and unfortunately, it’s still a problem,” said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “With the help of law enforcement around the country, we are going to continue doing all that we can to stop drunk driving and the needless tragedies that result from this reckless behavior.”

Newsday reports that from 2000 to 2009 in New York there were 500,000 DWI arrests, including 76,500 on Long Island.

Nassau County Assistant District Attorney Maureen McCormick is part of a statewide task force reviewing drunk driving patterns. She told the newspaper that the group has focused on the leveling off of DWI traffic fatalities at 30 percent and is now asking, “Why have we stagnated?”

On one level, Schwartzapfel said, the answer seems obvious: A certain number of drivers are less bothered by the risk of injury or arrest than they are by the inconvenience of not driving after drinking.

“Clearly, some Long Island motorists won’t comply with the law or use common sense regarding their own and others’ safety,” Schwartzapfel said. “The safety and well-being of the community requires that we reduce drunk driving fatalities. Establishments that serve intoxicated customers should start facing criminal charges as well as civil liability.”

“Many people are alive today because of the ingenuity of engineers and the resolve of lawmakers and law enforcement to get drunk drivers off Long Island roads and highways and into treatment,” Schwartzapfel says.

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A new law in New York that took effect on Sunday could keep repeated drunken drivers off the roads.

A small device is expected to make a big impression on convicted drunken drivers under a provision of Leandra’s Law, which requires any driver convicted of DUI to have an ignition interlock device installed on any car they drive.

“There’s an additional impact upon them should they drink and drive and be convicted of that,” said Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie.

What’s more, Wylie said the devices cost nearly $1,000 each.

“The operator — the defendant who is charged with and convicted of the driving while intoxicated charge — is paying for it,” he said.

The device is similar to a Breathalyzer device. The driver has to blow into it, and if there’s a reading of .025 or higher, the car will not start.

Big Apple Audio in Plattsburgh is one of several businesses contracted to install the ignition interlock devices, and the owner, Bill Ferris, said the devices will also require a random hourly “breath sample” while the vehicle is being operated.

“The random sample keeps everybody honest,” Ferris said. “You never know when you’re going to have to provide a sample.”

The Clinton County Department of Probation said it intends to closely monitor the results.

“We will get notified either via e-mail or through the Internet of violations and how they are doing on the system,” said David Marcoux, with the department.

The devices must be installed for at least six months; although, those convicted of a felony drunken driving charge may be required to have the devices in their cars for up to five years.

Have you been arrested for DUI, DWI or a related criminal offense in New York? If so, you would be well advised contact a NY drunk driving attorney ASAP.

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A new drunk driving law passed after the tragic death of an 11-year-old girl on the Henry Hudson Parkway goes into effect throughout New York State Friday.

The law, known as Leandra’s Law, makes it a felony to drive drunk with a child 15-years old and younger in the car.

The law was named after 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who was killed in a tragic car accident in October.

“(Today) is the day where everything changes for anyone who drinks and drives with children in the car,” Leandra’s father Lenny Rosado told the Daily News.

Carmen Huertas, 31, faces manslaughter after she was allegedly drunk when she was driving a car full of young girls from Manhattan to a slumber party in the Bronx. The car flipped several times on the Henry Hudson Parkway, according to authorities, and Leandra was thrown from the car.

State Senator Martin Dilan (D-Brooklyn) cosponsored the bill. He said 59 children were injured or killed while riding in a car with a drunk driver in New York last year, the News reported.

Lenny Rosado has lead the fight to get the law passed in New York and, according to NY 1, he is scheduled to meet New York congressional members with the goal of extending the law to a national level.

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A measure that significantly toughens penalties for drunken driving has passed the New York State Assembly and is headed to the upper chamber.

The bill, which could reach the governor’s desk this week, makes it a felony to drive with a child while intoxicated, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

If approved, it would make New York one of only a dozen U.S. states that force drivers convicted of operating a vehicle while intoxicated to have an interlock device installed.

The device measures the alcohol content of a driver’s breath and prevents the engine from starting if it detects a too-high level.

The push for tougher drinking while intoxicated penalties follows two recent crashes in which children were killed while traveling with adults who had been drinking.

Under the Assembly bill, drivers convicted of being drunk while carrying passengers 15 years or younger could face up to four years in prison.

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A Georgia lawmaker is suggesting that New York should use Georgia’s strict penalties on drivers who transport children while under the influence.

State Sen. Gail Buckner said she offered her 1992 legislation to New York Gov. David Paterson as a model as he works for tougher penalties in his state.

The Georgia DUI law carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison if an alcohol-related crash results in the serious injury or death of a young passenger.

Paterson is backing new legislation that would make a DUI in New York  with children in the car a felony. He is responding to the wrong-way crash last month that killed eight people, including the driver, on Long Island.

A 20 year old Rockland County, NY man is facing New York DWI manslaughter charges for killing his 21 year old passenger yesterday.

It happened in New York State Thruway in Clarkstown early Sunday morning.

Police say he veered his Mustang off the road and rolled down an embankment. His passenger was thrown from the car and killed when the car rolled on top of him.

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Have you been charged with a Clarkstown, NY DWI?

New york DWI’s are a serious matter as you should know. If convicted penalties range from stiff fines to jail time. If you are looking to avoid these NY DWI penalties waste no time contacting a New York DWI lawyer for a free consultation to discuss your case.

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