People who drive in New York are expected to be fully sober and able to make the decisions necessary to operate a motor vehicle. When they aren’t, there is a chance that they will be pulled over by a police officer and arrested for drunk driving. Another possibility is that the driver will be involved in an accident, which can start a difficult criminal justice process.

There are several important things to remember about drunk driving in this state. Whether you are currently facing criminal charges for impaired driving or just trying to increase your knowledge, here are some points that you might find interesting:

Reason for the stop

Police officers don’t need to have probable cause to stop a driver who is showing signs of impaired driving. Instead, they merely need to have reasonable suspicion to believe that the person is intoxicated. This is usually met when they observe the driver speeding or driving too slowly, swerving through lanes or driving in a generally unsafe manner. An accident can also lead to a police officer taking steps to determine if a driver is impaired.

Determining impairment

When police officers encounter a person they feel might be intoxicated, they can take steps to determine the person’s impairment. This is done through a field sobriety test, a breath test or other tests to check for the blood alcohol concentration percentage. In some cases, such as wrecks, the police officer might be required to get the tests done. Implied consent laws do allow drivers to refuse taking BAC tests, but there are penalties for doing this that must be considered.

Legal limits

New York has established BAC limits for what constitutes driver impairment. For most non-commercial drivers, this is .08 percent. Enhanced penalties are possible for drivers with a BAC over .18 percent. Drivers who can’t legally consume alcohol have a much lower limit — .02 percent, which makes New York a no tolerance state for underage drunk driving.

Criminal charges

At a minimum, a drunk driver will face criminal charges for driving while intoxicated. This comes with the possibility of time in jail, fines and the loss of your driver’s license. When there is an accident, other charges are possible. Sometimes, drivers might face vehicular manslaughter charges if the wreck was fatal. There are two degrees of this charge, first and second. Which one a person is charged with is determined by the circumstances of the incident.

No matter what kind of charge you are facing in your drunk driving case, you need to explore your options. Once you know what is possible, you can work on getting your defense strategy set.

If you’re pulled over in New York on suspicion of drunk driving, chances are you’ll have to submit to a chemical test also known as a breathalyzer, for alcohol-related incidents. The question is, is it within your rights to refuse to take the test?

The short answer is no. New York State has a law against chemical test refusal, called the implied consent law. The law says that anyone operating a motorized vehicle gives implicit consent to submit to a chemical test when asked to by police. This means you’re already obligated to comply once you hit the road.

Refusing a chemical test is charged as a separate crime from the DWI, so a DWI could be an additional charge.

So what happens if I refuse?

If you are arrested for a DWI or DWAI and refuse a chemical test from a police officer, your license will be suspended and you could face a fine, in line with regular DWI consequences.

You’ll likely have to go to a DMV hearing where it will be confirmed that you refused the test. If this is the case, you’ll get your license revoked for at least a year. You’ll also face a fine of at least $500. This is in addition to the charges and penalties you’ll receive for the DWI.

Even if you are not charged with a DWI, you can still face consequences for refusing the chemical test.

If you refuse a chemical test, your license will be suspended for a mandatory 6 months and you will be issued a $300 fine. Then, if you refuse a second test within five years of the first, your license will be suspended for a year and you’ll have to pay a $750 fine.

What if I’m a minor?

If you’re under the age of 21, the penalty is more severe. If you refuse to take a chemical test while underage, your license is revoked for a minimum of a year, regardless of whether or not you’re charged with a DWI.

If you refuse a second chemical test within five years of your first charge, your license is revoked until you turn 21.

So what should I do?

To put it simply, if you refuse a chemical test, you run the risk of double penalties. You can still be charged with a DWI, DWAI or Zero Tolerance after you have already faced penalties from a test refusal. It’s more than likely your license will be revoked in addition to the consequences of a DWI.

If you are accused of committing murder in New York, you face very serious charges. Murder is one of the most heinous crimes, and 31 states can impose the death penalty on convicted murderers. New York, along with 18 other states, abolished capital punishment, and four other states have a gubernatorial moratorium on it.

As Diffen.com explains, New York statutes specify two classifications of murder: first degree murder and second degree murder. Your charge depends on your intent for committing the alleged murder and the way in which you allegedly committed it.

Murder 1

If your charge is first degree murder, the state is alleging that you committed a premeditated killing with special circumstances such as the following:

• You killed a law enforcement officer, firefighter, judge or crime witness.
• You killed multiple people at the same time.
• You killed someone while committing a felony such as a robbery, kidnapping or hijacking.
• You committed a particularly heinous killing, such as by torturing your victim.

If convicted of this A-1 felony, you will serve a minimum of 20 years in prison. However, you could serve life in prison without the possibility of parole, especially in you were convicted of one or more previous murders.

Murder 2

If your charge is second degree murder, the state is alleging that you committed a premeditated killing without any special circumstances. If convicted of this A-1 felony, you will serve a minimum of 15 years in prison. As with a first degree murder conviction, you also could serve life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of second degree murder.

This is general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice.