New York Criminal Defense Blog

New DWI laws and penalties set to go into effect on 8/15 are causing some concerns for local counties about the costs of implementing the new restrictions. Under the law, NY Counties such as Genesee County take on new administrative and monitoring responsibilities for DWI offenders with new ignition interlock devices installed in their cars, and the source of the funding is not clear. [Read More...]

New stricter penalties for NY DWI convictions unanimously passed the New York Assembly and the Senate, and the new law was signed by Governor Patterson. “Leandra’s Law” includes a number of DWI penalty enhancements, including felony charges for drunk driving with a child under 16 in the car, and mandatory ignition interlock device installation for all DWI convictions. [Read More...]

Another tragic DWI case on Long Island adds to calls for a mandatory ignition interlock device law in New York.

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A Buffalo News Opinion piece accused the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of suppressing and ignoring data about the dangers of not just hand-held mobile phones while driving, but hands-free devices as well.

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Horrific tragedies are a common catalyst for change in our laws and procedures, particularly in drunk driving cases. While sometimes and emotional response can result in an over-reaction that is out of proportion with the facts, there are other situation where a truly heartbreaking situation demonstrates a loophole that needs to be addressed. [Read More...]

There has been a lot of discussion and commentary about “texting while driving” and the dangerous involved in this activity. The Syracuse Post Standard notes a Virginia Tech Transportation Instutite Study that texting while driving is even more dangerous than driving while intoxicated (DWI). [Read More...]