Can A Rochester Felony Drinking And Driving Charge Be Prosecuted In Town Court?

Anyone arrested for drinking and driving who has prior alcohol-related driving offenses requires the help of an experienced Rochester DWI lawyer.

A driver who is arrested for Driving While Intoxicated, Driving With .08% or Greater Blood Alcohol Content or Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated per se and has been convicted of one or more of these same offenses within the past ten years faces a felony charge.

In most cases, the defendant initially will be required to appear before a judge in the local city, town or village court where the arrest was made.

After this initial appearance, however, felony drinking and driving cases almost always will be removed from that court for presentation to the grand jury.

If the grand jury determines that there is sufficient evidence to support a drinking and driving charge, the defendant will be indicted and the case will then be sent to the county court to be heard before a different judge.

This is because the local city, town and village courts are not authorized to hear cases involving felony level offenses.

As a result, when a defendant is arrested for felony drinking and driving, it is very unlikely that his or her case will remain in the lower court.
A trial on a felony DWI charge simply cannot be legally conducted in these courts.

The only way a felony DWI offense can remain in a city, town or village court is if it is quickly determined that there is no basis to proceed with a felony charge and, as a result, the offense is reduced to a lower level offense.

While this is rare, it may happen, for example, where the prosecution realizes that there is an issue regarding the prior drinking and driving offense that will make it difficult to prove the defendant has a prior conviction.

Instead of wasting resources, the prosecution may decide to proceed with a misdemeanor offense in the local court instead.

The laws surrounding New York DWI cases are complex.We can help answer your legal questions.

Call us at 585-484-7432 if you have any questions following a DWI arrest.

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