Felony DWI Lawyer in New York

New York has two felony Driving While Intoxicated or DWI laws. The laws have nothing to do with a driver’s blood alcohol content or BAC. Rather, DWI is charged as a felony in New York based on a prior Driving While Intoxicated or Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs conviction in any state or if there is a child who is a passenger in the car. Felony DWI in New York is a class E felony, which is punished by up to 4 years in state prison.

Felony DWI By Previous Conviction in New York

Under New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law or VTL Section 1193(1)(c), a driver who has previously been convicted of DWI, DWAI By Drugs, or DWAI By the Combined Use of Drugs and Alcohol, within the past 10 years will be charged with felony DWI. And, that’s not only limited to a previous DWI conviction in New York.

Under Vehicle and Traffic or VTL Law Section 1192(8), “A prior out-of-state conviction for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs shall be deemed to be a prior conviction of a violation of this section for purposes of determining penalties imposed under this section or for purposes of any administrative action required to be taken.” However, if a driver is convicted of misdemeanor DWI or felony DWI in another state it will not automatically be treated as a prior misdemeanor DWI or felony DWI. It depends on the specific facts of the prior out-of-state conviction. If the out-of-state conviction of misdemeanor DWI or felony DWI would have been considered a traffic infraction in New York, or Driving While Ability Impaired, then the prior conviction is not considered a crime and the driver will not be charged with misdemeanor DWI in New York.

Felony DWI Leandra’s Law in New York

If a driver is arrested for DWI and there is a child is 15 years old or younger, then DWI will be charged as a felony. Vehicle and Traffic Law Section 1192(2-a)(b) states, “No person shall operate a motor vehicle . . . while a child who is fifteen years of age or less is a passenger in such motor.” The section, which is called Leandra’s Law, was enacted in 2009, after the DWI-related death of an 11-year-old girl named Leandra.

Penalties for New York Felony DWI

As noted above, for a first DWI conviction in New York, felony DWI is punished by a maximum of 4 years in state prison. (A second DWI conviction within 10 years is a class D felony, which is punished by up to 7 years in state prison.) Alternatively, a person convicted of felony DWI may be sentenced to 5 years of probation or a split sentence of up to 6 months in prison and 5 years of probation. In addition, if convicted of felony DWI in New York, a driver will be required to pay fines, court surcharges, assessments by the Department of Motor Vehicles or DMV and a license revocation and a program to assess drunk driving.

First, a person may be fined between $1,000 and $5,000 and the court will enforce a surcharge of $520 for the felony conviction. In addition, DMV charges a driver responsibility assessment of $250 a year for three years. The license to drive will be revoked for 1 year and DMV has the discretion to revoke a car’s registration for at least one year. But, if a person receives probation, then a judge can prohibit a person from driving for all of some of the period of probation. In addition, an ignition interlock device is required to be installed on all cars owned or driven by the person who is convicted.

If the felony DWI is based on a previous DWI conviction within the past five years, the penalties are more severe. In addition to the penalties stated above, a driver must be sentenced to at least five days in jail or perform 30 days of community service.