When a Rochester driver is placed on trial for drinking and driving, the burden is on the prosecution to prove that the defendant committed the alcohol-related driving offense charged.

During a typical trial, the prosecution must present its case first, and the defendant is under no obligation to present any defense at all if he or she feels the prosecution has not proven its case.

At the conclusion of the prosecution’s case or – if the defendant chooses to present a defense – at the conclusion of all the evidence, the defendant may request that the court issue a “trial order of dismissal.”

A trial order of dismissal is the dismissal of any of the offenses charged, including a drinking and driving offense, upon the ground that the trial evidence is not legally sufficient to establish the offense charged or any lesser included offense.

New York State defines legally sufficient evidence as evidence which, if accepted as true, would establish every element of an offense charged and the defendant’s commission thereof.

A trial order of dismissal is essentially a ruling that the prosecution did not submit sufficient evidence for the charge to even to be considered by a jury.

When making a request for a trial order of dismissal from the court in a DWI case, the defense usually is arguing that the prosecution failed to present evidence establishing one of the elements necessary to support the charge or any lesser offense (such as Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol where Driving While Intoxicated was charged).

This may occur, for example, where the defendant was not directly observed operating a motor vehicle and the prosecution failed to present legally sufficient evidence at trial establishing that the defendant had, in fact, operated a motor vehicle during the same time period he or she was under the influence of alcohol.

At any trial for drinking and driving, it helps to have an experienced trial attorney. Call us at 585-484-7432 for legal help.