When a Rochester driver is convicted of a drinking and driving offense, there are certain areas – including participation in alcohol treatment programs – where the court sentencing the defendant has broad discretion to impose whatever sentence it deems appropriate. This includes the requirement that the defendant attend a certain number of meetings with Alcoholics […]
Author Archives: Friedman & Ranzenhofer
When a trial in conducted in the Rochester area where the defendant has been charged with a drinking and driving offense based on his or her blood alcohol content when driving – such as Driving With A Blood Alcohol Content Of .08% Or Greater or Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, per se – the results of […]
A driver convicted of Driving While Intoxicated faces serious penalties and needs the help of an experienced Rochester DWI lawyer. While the judge must remain within certain parameters when determining issues such as whether to impose jail or probation, the amount of any fines, and the length of any driver’s license revocation, an experienced lawyer […]
In every Rochester area drinking and driving case involving a breath test, a chemical mix known as a “simulator solution” will be used to make sure the breath test machine is working properly. This solution is supposed to consist of distilled water mixed with a known amount of alcohol. When a defendant in a DWI […]
You have the right to handle your divorce yourself, without an attorney representing you, and there are cases where that works out. If you and your spouse don’t have a lot of assets or any children to work out custody and support arrangements for, divorce may simply be a matter of filing certain forms with […]
Obviously, there is no absolute right for a Rochester driver to withdraw a guilty plea to a drinking and driving charge at any time. Allowing DWI or other criminal defendants to withdraw a guilty plea simply because they changed their mind or did not like the sentence imposed would make it very difficult on the […]
It is not unusual in Rochester area courts for a driver charged with Driving While Intoxicated (DWI), which a misdemeanor, to be convicted after trial of the lesser offense of Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol (DWAI), which is normally only a traffic infraction. A DWAI charge may be raised to a misdemeanor, however, if […]
A Rochester resident arrested for drinking and driving has all the rights of a defendant not only under New York State law, but also under federal law. The Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution specifically requires that anyone accused of a crime be given the opportunity to confront the witnesses in his or her case. […]
When a Rochester driver takes the breath test after being stopped on suspicion of drinking and driving, the breath test machine uses a mixture known as a “simulator solution” to test the accuracy of the machine. The simulator solution contains a known amount of alcohol.If a simulated breath test using this solution yields the correct […]
In many cases, younger drug offenders can avoid the worst criminal sanctions, but when an adult over the age of 21 sells controlled substances to a person younger than 17, they can be charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance to a Child (NY PL 220.48), a Class B Felony that carries a sentence […]