Practical ideas, and information about defending New York DWI, criminal charges, and traffic violations. Winning strategies from an Ithaca DWI lawyer's vantage point.
In New York if you are charged (not convicted) with any drinking or drugging DUI (DWI/DWAI drugs) then you will have to have a OASAS drug/alcohol assessment. This is no longer voluntary, this is a requirement of the times we live in. Every New York DWI judge now requires this before sentencing for a number of reasons.
Is it a fair to require a comprehensive evaluation for every single DWI arrest?
Is the evaluator I pick going to be biased or prejudiced against me?
Do I have to be on the defense when it comes to my New York DWI evaluation?
Often we are asked what to do when facing a drug/alcohol evaluation and being a marijuana user? You really only have two choices: reveal or don't reveal. I never tell my clients to lie, that is there decision. Drug/alcohol evaluations are one of those areas in which you have to use your judgment.
Public Crimes Bring Your Private Life Public
What you do privately comes into play when you make your life public. And any DWI, DWAI drugs, or other type of drug charge brings your private life public. Even though pot is legal either recreationally or medically in so many states it still has a bad rap. Many judges, prosecutors, and even probation departments are filled with people who view pot in a bad light. They do not see cannabis as anything but a dangerous substance, a gateway drug which leads to harder substances.
This mis-information about cannabis is staggering. And it continues to receive bad press even in 2018.
It has so many good uses, and it is my humble opinion that it is far better to use marijuana than so many other legal drugs.
