A driver facing a felony level drinking and driving charge faces serious consequences and needs the help of an experienced Rochester DWI lawyer.

Most felony drinking and driving charges require proof that the driver was previously convicted within the past ten years of Driving While Intoxicated, Driving with a Blood Alcohol Content of .08% or Greater, Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated, Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs, or Driving While Ability Impaired by a Combination of Alcohol and Drugs.

The prosecution is required to prove that the defendant committed this prior offense at trial.If it does not, the defendant cannot be convicted of a felony level offense.

To prove that this prior offense occurred, the prosecution will usually submit a certificate of conviction as evidence.

Under New York State law, a certificate of conviction constitutes presumptive evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.

While this would seem to indicate that the submission of the certificate of conviction is all that is necessary to prove that the defendant committed the prior offense, the New York State courts have ruled that this is not the case.

This is because all a certificate of conviction may prove is that someone with the same name as the defendant committed a drinking and driving offense within the past ten years.

It does not necessarily prove that the person named on the certificate is actually the same defendant.

As a result, the courts have ruled that further connecting evidence is necessary, such as proof that the defendant has the same date of birth as the person listed on the certificate, for the prosecution to establish that the defendant committed this prior offense.

If the prior offense is not properly connected to the defendant, then he or she cannot legally be convicted of felony level DWI.

If you have been arrested for felony DWI and need an experienced lawyer, call us at 585-484-7432.