DWAI Lawyers
DWAI DEFENSE LAWYERS
Mayo Bartlett is a DWAI Defense Lawyer who has the experience and dedication that you or your loved one needs on their side when facing DWI, DUI, DWAI and related charges. He is a former Westchester County prosecutor who served more than 10 years in the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office in White Plains New York. Mr. Bartlett has also been a Criminal Defense Attorney and Westchester DWAI Lawyer since 2003, and he has a thorough understanding of police procedure from years spent working with officers and detectives throughout Westchester County, Putnam County, New York City and the Hudson Valley.
Mayo Bartlett was featured in the Journal News in a front page story entitled “Drunken driving: What you need to know during the holidays” which focused on the impact DWI arrests have on people and describes the hardships that one may encounter as a result of drinking and driving, or of being arrested even though one was not impaired. He puts his clients first, and he has won the Best Client Satisfaction Award form the American Institute of DUI/DWI Attorneys, and he was selected as the AVVO Client’s Choice for DUI Defense. Moreover, Mayo has been recognized as a SUPER LAWYER and has been also selected as one of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers by the National Trial Lawyers.
As a former Westchester County District Attorney, and current Westchester DWAI Lawyer, Mayo has handled thousands of DWI, DWAI, and DWAI Drug cases and has successfully defended his clients by carefully scrutinizing their cases. His work as a DWAI lawyer has resulted in many DWI, DWAI and DUI cases being reduced or dismissed entirely. Mayo Bartlett is a DWAI trial attorney and he has extensive criminal trial experience throughout New York State. He is familiar with the multiple aspects of handling DWAI and DUI related cases from the investigative stage through trial. Our DWAI Lawyers work frequently with private investigators and forensic experts who form our DWI Legal Defense team to provide you with the best defense.
Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol (DWAI) is found under the New York State Vehicle and Traffic Law 1192(1). You may be charged with DWAI if you operate a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) between 0.05 and 0.07 of one percent. Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol is a traffic infraction and not a crime. Even though it is not a criminal offense, it does carry serious consequences and it may lead to the loss of your driving privileges, it may make it harder for you to remain employed, it may increase your insurance rates, and it may impact your immigration status.
It is important that you are aware that a conviction of a crime, or even a violation or an infraction may result in severe collateral consequences. In fact, a conviction may lead to you removal from the United States.
Investigating Your DWAI Case
Our DWAI lawyers will investigate your DWAI arrest thoroughly. We will scrutinize your case to determine whether the police had probable cause to make the traffic stop. The police officer must conduct all tests in accordance with proper procedure and within your rights. This includes:
- Breath testing
- Testing of your Blood
- Testing of your Urine
- Field Sobriety Tests
We will review everything from the initial stop, through all forms of chemical and alcohol testing, through your arrest, to make sure that everything was properly conducted within the confines of proper police procedure and the law. Our experience has helped us to understand that many Field Sobriety Tests are deeply flawed. For instance, many people are physically incapable of performing the walk and turn, or the one leg stand due to medical conditions, or even because they were nervous while taking the test, or because of the physical conditions of where the test was administered. Nevertheless, the police may never ask the driver if he or she has a medical condition medical condition which may impede their ability to take the test, or has the person perform the tests in places that make it harder to pass the tests, such as on a slope, or outside in the rain, or in cold and windy conditions.
DWAI: Driving While Ability Impaired (by alcohol)
You may be prosecuted for DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol) under Vehicle and Traffic Law 1192(1) if you have .05 BAC to .07 BAC, or other evidence of impairment as listed above under DWI.
1 Penalties for First DWAI include a fine, up to 15 days in jail, and a license suspension for 90 days.
2 Second DWAI violation in 5 years are a fine, up to 30 days in jail, and a license revocation for at least six months.
DWAI Drugs: Driving While Ability Impaired (by a drug that is not alcohol)
You may be prosecuted for DWAI Drugs under Vehicle and Traffic Law 1192(4) if you show signs of impaired ability to operate a motor vehicle, and that impairment is a result of the consumption of a drug and/or combination of alcohol. This is particularly problematic for people who smoke marihuana because it remains in a person’s body for 28 or more days. For this reason, you may show the presence of marihuana even if it was consumed days or weeks earlier.
1. Penalties for a First Offense DWAI Drugs are a fine, up to 1 year in jail, a license revocation for at least six months.
2. Second DWAI Drugs in 10 years is a Class E Felony and penalties include a fine, up to 4 years in jail, and a license revocation for at least one year/18 months.
3. Third DWAI/Combination in 10 years is a Class D Felony and penalties include a fine, up to 7 years incarceration in state prison, and a license revocation for at least one year and up to18 months.
Refusal To Take A Chemical Test
If you refuse a chemical test for BAC (Blood Alcohol Content), your license will be suspended by the court at your arraignment, and the court will schedule a DMV refusal hearing. You will also be subject to a civil penalty of $300 (second offense, $750).
A driver who refuses to take a chemical test (normally a test of breath, blood or urine) can receive a driver license revocation of at least one year (18 months for a commercial driver) and must pay a civil penalty (higher for a driver of commercial vehicles) to be eligible to apply for a new driver license.
Drivers who refuse a chemical test within 5 years after a DWI-related conviction, or prior refusal will have their driver license revoked for at least 18 months, if they hold a commercial license, they will lose it permanently, and both must pay a civil penalty to be eligible to apply for a new driver license.
The penalties and fines for refusing to submit to a chemical test are separate from, and in addition to the penalties and fines for alcohol or drug-related convictions. For this reason, it is possible for a person to be found not guilty of the underlying DWI related offense, yet still have his or her license revoked following the DMV Refusal Hearing.
The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office has implemented strict new policies concerning DWI related offenses. If you have a refusal, you will be held as charged to the DWI, and the Westchester DA’s policy will be not to reduce your case to a DWAI. Our DWAI defense lawyers will work closely with you and with substance abuse professionals in an effort to mitigate your case so that you may be considered for a reduction where appropriate.
With offices located in the Westchester Financial Center which is one block from the White Plains Train Station and bus depot, and two blocks from the Westchester County Court, our Westchester DWAI defense lawyers handle all DWI felonies and misdemeanors in New York State Courts in New York City, and Westchester County, including White Plains, Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Rye, Sleepy Hollow, Tarrytown, Dobbs Ferry, Armonk, Chappaqua, Greenburgh, Elmsford, Valhalla, Pleasantville, Bedford, Katonah, Somers, Cortlandt, Southeast, Brewster, Pelham, Putnam Valley, Larchmont, New Rochelle, Peekskill, Mount Pleasant, Bronxville, Eastchester, Hastings, Poughkeepsie, Scarsdale, Mamaroneck, Hartsdale, Harrison, Mount Vernon, Port Chester, Somers, Croton on Hudson, Yorktown, Ossining, Mount Kisco, New Castle, North Castle, Lewisboro, South Salem, North Salem, Nyack, Ardsley, Irvington, Bronx, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Putnam County, Dutchess County, Rockland County, Ulster County and throughout the Hudson Valley, let us help you in your time of need.
Mayo appeared almost every week on a legal panel featured on Richard French Live which is available on WRNN. The show wass taped live every Wednesday from 6:00 pm to 7:00 p.m. and airs throughout New York, Connecticut and New Jersey, including the five boroughs of New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, the Washington DC Metro Area, Dallas, Houston, San Fransisco, Los Angeles and Hawaii.
If you or someone you know is in need of legal representation in a criminal matter, don’t hesitate, contact our DWAI defense lawyers now to begin the fight to protect your assets, seek justice, and to keep your freedom.
Protect yourself…Protect your license…Don’t Drink and Drive.
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