Top Rated New York suspended license lawyer Defending Your Right to Drive
When you have your license suspended you will lose your freedom to drive for a period of time before it is returned to you. New York suspended license lawyer Carl Spector has over 28 years defending New York motorists and helping them get their licenses back after a suspension. If you have lost your license due to DWI or another alcohol related charge, New York suspended license lawyer Carl Spector can help you earn a hardship license or maintain a conditional license. Contact attorney Carl Spector today for a free confidential consultation. Let him defend your right to drive in New York State.
Hardship License
After your arrest for a DWI / DUI in New York, your driver’s license will be administratively suspended at your arraignment and remain suspended until the end of your case. If you are an out of state driver, your privileges to drive in New York will be suspended. State law provide you an opportunity to try to get a hardship drivers license in New York while your case is pending to drive to and from work.
In New York, if you are charged with a DWI or DUI, you will have to appear in front of a judge. When you do appear before a judge, if your blood alcohol content level is 0.08% or more, or if you refuse to take a breath test, the judge will suspend your privileges. If you do refuse to take a breath test, you are not eligible for a hardship license. However, if you do blow a 0.08% or more, you are eligible for a hardship license. A hardship license is not given by the Department of Motor Vehicles. It is only handed out by the judge. Ordinarily the process is to ask the judge to put the case on for a few days later for a hardship hearing. The purpose of the hardship hearing is to determine whether the judge will give you a hardship license based on financial hardship.
In the more rural areas of New York State, it is very difficult to get from one’s home to one’s place of employment without using a motor vehicle. There is not very much mass and/or public transit. Therefore, one might have to hire a driver or pay for a taxi. None of these options is easy on the pocket. Everybody is on their own income and it is fixed to some extent, of course. If you can prove to the court that based on your income it would be a financial hardship for you to essentially hire a driver, then the court would grant you a hardship license.
However, in the City of New York, getting a hardship license is a little more difficult due to the advent of copious mass transit. If you live in Brooklyn and you have to go to Washington Heights, there are buses and subways, which would not create, in most cases, a financial hardship. Remember, a financial hardship does not imply that it is going to take you longer.
After your arrest for a DWI / DUI in New York, your driver’s license will be administratively suspended at your arraignment and remain suspended until the end of your case. If you are an out-of-state driver, your privileges to drive in New York State will be suspended. State law provides you with an opportunity to try to get a hardship driver’s license in New York State while your case is pending, in order for you to commute to and from your place of employment.
The factors that the court will consider are as follows:
- You must not have refused to take a chemical test;
- You must not have had a previous DWI conviction within the last five years,;
- You must testify at the hardship hearing that with out your drivers license you would suffer extreme hardship and that there is no viable alternative means of getting to work other than driving yourself, you may have to provide documentation to support your hardship claims;
- You must have a witness testify who supports and confirms your hardship claims;
- Additional witnesses must confirm that there are no family members, friends or coworkers that could drive you to work.
New York suspended license lawyer Carl Spector can assist you in getting your hardship license. If you need driving privileges as soon as possible, Attorney Carl Spector is there to assist you and help present your claim to the court for a hardship license.
Conditional License
In the State of New York, if you are charged with a DWI, you are required to appear before a judge for an arraignment. At that time, if your blood alcohol content is 0.08% or more, the judge will suspend your driving privileges or your driver’s license, if you are licensed in the state of New York, while your case is pending. In such a situation, there is something called a conditional license. You are not entitled to a conditional license immediately after the judge suspends you at the arraignment. However, you are entitled 30 days later to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles and acquire a conditional license.
The conditions for this license are that it is for work, school or medical appointments. They will also give you a time slot on a specific date of your choosing when you may run errands and shop. These stipulations will be stated on the conditional license.
After a first time conviction for DWI / DUI or DWAI, you participate in the Drinking Driver Program (DDP) and receive a conditional license under the following circumstances.
- If Department of Motor Vehicles determines you are eligible for the DDP;
- The sentencing judge does not stop your enrollment in the DDP;
- Payment of the enrollment and program fees.
The law mandates participation in the DDP, even if the driver is not eligible for a conditional license, for convictions of specific alcohol or drug-related violations, or in specific plea-bargaining situations.
New York suspended license lawyer Carl Spector can guide you through the conditional license process. He has over 30 years of experience handling DWI license suspensions and will use his knowledge of the law and the Drinking Driver Program (DDP) to get the best possible result for you.
DWI License FAQs
What effect will the DWI have on my driver’s license?
In the state of New York, a DWI can have a tremendous effect on someone’s driver’s license. The driver will be suspended pending prosecution while the case is going on. But there might be a hardship license available in some cases. If someone does not appear for a refusal hearing, their driving privileges will be suspended or revoked.
What is the cost of an Ignition Interlock Device?
The cost of the Ignition Interlock Device depends on the vendor and the level of ignition interlock service. It usually costs approximately $100 for installation and a monthly fee of $100. The individual that is convicted of DWI in New York has to pay to pay all the fees associated with installing and maintaining these devices.
While using the interlock device, you may be eligible to hold a conditional license. However, your license will be revoked if you fail to comply with the court’s terms, or you are convicted of any traffic offense other than parking, stopping or standing.
What can I expect if I am convicted of a DWI? Can you illustrate some of the penalties and elaborate how it may affect someone’s life?
If one is convicted of a DWI as a criminal conviction, they can expect a driving license suspension of six months, having to install an ignition interlock device for one year and a $500 fine, as well as having to take DDP, which is a drunk-driving educational program. Having a conditional discharge means that they must stay out of trouble and not get re-arrested for a whole year.
If you have been charged with any alcohol related crimes and have lost your license, New York suspended license lawyer Carl Spector can defend your right to drive. Contact attorney Carl Spector today for top rated legal defense in New York City. With over 30 years of experience defending good people caught up in bad situations, he can help you earn back your right to drive. Call today to schedule a free confidential consultation.
