What's the First Problem With a New York DWI Refusal Case?

This video highlights the first problem when dealing with a New York DWI refusal case. If you miss the first DMV administrative license hearing, because your attorney reschedules it OR the police don't show up OR it is adjourned to another date, then it may take many, many months for Albany to reschedule it.

This is months without a license (it is suspended).
This is months without getting credit (time served) towards a suspension or revocation.
This is months without getting an opportunity to challenge the evidence.
This is months waiting for closure and putting this behind you.

Hence the importance of the FIRST scheduled hearing, and your attorney's role in that process. In some cases this first DMV DWI refusal hearing date can be rescheduled (only the first) via the court/judge.

See my previous blog for more issues or potential problems with DWI refusal cases here:

http://ithacadwi.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-problems-with-dwi-refusal-cases.html

Always remember to consult with an attorney about any criminal or non-criminal charges you have pending to discuss your options and/or defenses.

http://www.ithacadwi.com

newman.lawrence@gmail.com
607-229-5184

Reviews of Larry Newman:

http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/14850-ny-lawrence-newman-530905.html

Chosen as a 2013 Rising Star in DWI/DUI in Upstate New York by Super Lawyers

The Problems with New York DWI Refusal Cases

Is there JUSTICE or Is there JUST US?

The New York DWI refusal case has very specific and unique issues. Firstly, when you refuse a chemical test of your breath or blood in New York State you are entitled to a DMV administrative refusal license hearing.

The Problems with the New York DWI Refusal

What they Should Teach in College: Lawful Orders Versus Lawful Requests

from antiauthoritarian.net
This is Anti-authority Behavior

I doubt whether Cornell University or Ithaca College have in courses or even classes in dealing with authority. I know I have gone through many years of college including law school, and I was never taught the basics of orders and requests.

Basic Human Rights and the Police: What do I have to do?

A crucial difference: Lawful orders vs. lawful requests?

Ithaca DWI Defense: What I Learned from the Cornell Tree

Magnificent tree roots at Cornell Plantations

Tree sculpture at Cornell Plantations

I love trees. You knew I had to be a bit quirky practicing in Ithaca, NY. This is a place where you can really observe nature going through it's paces. They go through the seasons up here, and adapt to change. The harshness of our Ithaca winter conditions only strengthens them for the future. I think we can learn from the trees, especially the old ones who have endured and grown strong over long periods of time. Defense is ultimately more than law, more than facts, and more than words on paper.

Why are trees so strong?

In a word, resilience. They can adapt, they are flexible, and that is why their bending is not defeat. Within every criminal case a person accused of a crime or crimes must also be willing, be willing to adapt to change, be willing to endure, and be willing sometimes to go the distance. Part of your attorney 's role as counsel is to assist and support that adaptation. Survivors Adapt!

In every DWI case we must be able to deal with loss of license privileges or lessened privileges.

In every DWI chemical refusal case this loss of license may stretch for many months while our criminal case is unresolved.

In every DWI case we will have things to do and deadlines to meet for the court, the judge, and the prosecutor. Lessening consequences begins here. Finding certainty step by step leads to the best outcome. Meeting these goal markers, or better exceeding them is where success meets opportunity.

Many Hands Make Light Work

Trees have strong foundations made up of many branches all working in unison to provide support.
Bending our schedules, our routines, and leaning on others may not be what we want to do but it may be what we need to do. Family and friends play a role in our getting over and past this point in our lives. You truly discover who will be there for you in times like these. In my practice I have seen friendships and marriages end over a DWI, and I have also witnessed friendships and marriages strengthened over a DWI.

I believe that people much like trees can endure, can overcome, can learn, can adapt, and can emerge stronger from harsh conditions and situations. So I'll leave with with a favorite quote for it embodies my personal philosophy, and has helped me through hard times.

"That which does not kill us, makes us stronger" 

                                                 Friedrich Nietzsche

Always remember to consult with an attorney about any criminal or non-criminal charges you have pending to discuss your options and/or defenses.

http://www.ithacadwi.com

newman.lawrence@gmail.com

607-229-5184

Reviews of Larry Newman:

http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/14850-ny-lawrence-newman-530905.html

Chosen as a 2013 Rising Star in DWI/DUI in Upstate New York by Super Lawyers

Ithaca DWI Lawyer "As I Thinketh About Time"

I Love My Star Trek Shirt
Lawrence A. Newman

Today is the day of my birth and as always a real time to reflect. To reflect upon the year and the years that have passed. I am at that stage where knowing who I am and what I am about becomes ever clearer.

Personal versus Impersonal: Challenged by Youth and the New School

I recently went to a legal seminar where a young lawyer who is extremely successful (multiple businesses) challenged me and my practice. Not a bad man, or a stupid man, just one with an assembly line mentality. His thinking centered on the bottom line, delegating everything, being detached from those he serves, ala the four hour work week, and with hundreds of employees he is achieving what to most may be "The Dream."

But it would not be my dream. 

I am living my dream. I chose Ithaca, New York for that very reason. Having a legal practice where people pay me to help them personally, and with care means a lot to me. Their entrustment and belief is something I try not to take for granted. We have gained and lost much with technology. It is all too easy to lose ourselves and our humanity in the process. Is it all just a numbers game?

"Not everything that can be counted counts, 

and not everything that counts can be counted." 

                                                                                                                  - Albert Einstein

Time is not always what it seems , , ,

Ithaca Police: Were You Really Arrested and Does it Matter?

I get all kinds of phone calls. This guy called yesterday. He was stopped for a traffic violation, then admitted to drinking, and then was tested at roadside (field sobriety tests). This is where it gets interesting, he said the police told him he was not under arrest

BUT they handcuffed him. They told him he was not under arrest
BUT they placed him in custody. They told him he was not under arrest.
BUT they fingerprinted him. They told him he was not under arrest
AND that this was just PROCEDURE, and then they breath (chemical) tested him at the police station.
AND they gave him DWI tickets (charges) and released him.

Cuffed, Held, and Taken into Custody = ARREST

So First, was he arrested by the police for a DWI?

The Ithaca Lawyer Decision Making Tree

Most of what we do day in and day out is make decisions. What to wear, what to eat, what to study, what to watch, etc. etc. It goes on and on, but the most important decisions we make occur rarely. BUT these may be the life changers.

Arrested, Charged, and Now Alleged to Have Committed...

When you are faced with criminal or even non-criminal charges your brain does not work as well as you would like. The clear objectivity of your logic and reasoning may be skewed under an ocean of emotion. Guilt, humiliation, and embarrassment are not a great base to draw from. That is why lawyers as counselors of law are often a good starting point to at least discuss viable options.
Whether it is a traffic offense or a DWI or a drug charge you need information to make the best decisions. You need correct and current CONTENT (information) which may come from the internet but more importantly YOU need CONTEXT.

Question Number One: So Do You Need a Lawyer?

Need is such a horrible word, being needy is not empowering. I would first ask when do you want or desire a lawyer consultation? You want to talk to a lawyer when you have been charged with any offense. Some people mistakenly believe that only criminal charges can be threatening or dangerous or have bad consequences. This is not true. Depending upon your situation, your job, your future endeavors, your status, your prior history, your licensure, your certification, even seemingly unrelated and innocuous charges can hurt you directly and even indirectly.

Question Number Two: So When Do You Need a Lawyer?

No sooner time then the present. Waiting in these circumstances places you at a disadvantage. Could things be done proactively? In many cases, being proactive requires a window of time in which to make effort.

Question Number Three: For What Do I Need a Lawyer?

What am I facing?

For the majority of people a short consult of less than 15 minutes will allay their biggest fears and concerns. What am I looking at? With the emphasis on "I." You are not your neighbor or your closest friend or the guy down the hall. How this may impact you is probably foremost in your mind and needs to be dealt with first. I call it your EXPOSURE. What are you being exposed to?

Exposure can be jail, prison, probation, fines, classes, treatment, loss of driver's license, loss of pistol permit, loss of work, loss of professional license, and the list goes on.

Always remember to consult with an attorney about any criminal or non-criminal charges you have pending to discuss your options and/or defenses.

http://www.ithacadwi.com

newman.lawrence@gmail.com

607-229-5184

Reviews of Larry Newman:

http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/14850-ny-lawrence-newman-530905.html

Chosen as a 2013 Rising Star in DWI/DUI in Upstate New York by Super Lawyers