Queens

Published on: April 22, 2012

Woman Claims DWI Stop Was Not Lawful

by Stephen Bilkis

Many issues of law are important to cases of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In some cases, these lines can be blurred. However, when it comes to what rights an officer has to stop a vehicle, the law has stated that an officer only needs to have articulable reasonable suspicion that a crime is afoot. However, to make an arrest, an officer must have probable cause to believe that a crime has been committed and that the person under suspicion was involved in the commission of that crime in one way or another. A New York DWI Lawyer said that sometimes, a person may attempt to have their case reviewed by the court in order to suppress some or all of the evidence against them. When this happens, it is clear that often it involves the legality of the traffic stop itself.

If the legality is not in place, the traffic stop is not legal. If the traffic stop is not legal then everything after that stop is not admissible. This is an example of the exclusionary rule. Any evidence that is obtained as the result of an illegal search or seizure is considered fruit of the poisonous tree. It is not admissible in a court of law. Therefore, if a defendant can prove that the traffic stop was illegal, then everything after that stop cannot be used against them in a court of law.

A New York DWI Lawyer said that in one case, which occurred in the Bronx, a woman was stopped after a police officer observed her executing a left turn without using her turn signal. The officer pulled in behind her and observed that she was talking on her cell phone as she executed a U-turn to return in her previous direction. The officer turned on his emergency equipment and executed a stop of her car. When he approached her car, he noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage from about her person. He asked her if she would submit to field sobriety tests and she agreed. After the officer noted that she had not passed the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the walk and turn, and the one leg stand, he asked her if she would take a portable Alco sensor test. She agreed, and tested positive for alcohol. A Queens County DWI Lawyer said she was arrested and transported the precinct for a breath test.

Published on: April 18, 2012

Defendant Challenges the Accuracy of Breathalyzer Instrument

by Stephen Bilkis

A New York Criminal Lawyer said on 11 March 2007 at 4:58 A.M., a police officer who was trained to estimate the speed of a moving vehicle observed defendant traveling at about 90 miles per hour on the Long Island Expressway. The officer confirmed that estimate by a laser device and by his speedometer during the subsequent pursuit. The officer stopped defendant and noted that defendant exhibited several indicia of intoxication. Defendant admitted having had “one drink.” The officer administered a series of field sobriety tests, all of which defendant failed. The officer arrested defendant at 5:23 A.M. and transported defendant to the Nassau County Police Department’s Central Testing Unit, where defendant again failed a series of sobriety tests and consented to a chemical test of the alcohol content of his blood. The test, conducted at 7:24 A.M. by an Intoxilyzer 5000 EN breath test instrument, produced a reading of.11 per centum by weight.

Defendant was convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI) and speeding under the Vehicle and Traffic Law. Defendant appeals the decision with the herein court.

Defendant sought to introduce expert testimony as to the range of individual variation within the general population from the 2, 100:1 “conversion” or “partition” ratio used in the Intoxilyzer 5000 EN to derive the concentration of alcohol in a person’s blood from the quantity of alcohol vapor detected in a breath sample. A New York DWI Lawyer said the defendant did not challenge the instrument’s reliability, but sought to lay the foundation for a jury argument that defendant’s individual ratio might differ so significantly from the mean as to diminish the evidentiary weight to be accorded the test results. The District Court precluded the evidence, apparently on relevancy grounds.

Published on: January 14, 2012

City Official Resigns After Controversial Arrest for DWI

by Stephen Bilkis

A city official stepped down from his position early Tuesday morning following his arrest earlier this month on DWI charges in a borough of New Jersey. His resignation was made official in the form of a letter to the mayor.

The former official faces not only the charges of driving while intoxicated, but a police report obtained by a New York Criminal Lawyer allege that the 67-year-old man also asked officers at the scene of his DWI to reduce his charges. He reportedly asked officers on the scene to speak with their superiors when they failed to recognize who he was.

Copies of the letter, were sent to the other council members, along with the township’s clerk, manager, and attorney. In the letter, the man said he enjoyed not only his service with the council, but also “working to provide the highest level of public service to the residents of the community.”

Published on: January 8, 2012

DWI Probable Cause of Back-to-Back Wrecks in California

by Stephen Bilkis

A 27-year-old man rammed his vehicle into the back of another on an interstate in Riverside, California, then went on to drive the wrong way down the freeway, eventually getting into a head-on collision with another vehicle, California Highway Patrol officials said. The driver is suspected of a possible DWI.

The driver suffered a number of major injuries. He was trapped in the wreckage of his vehicle until emergency crews could finally extract him and take him to a hospital. An officer told a New York Criminal Lawyer that investigators would seek drunken driving charges from the driver.

It all began at 1:59 a.m. on the morning of April 2011, when the suspect was driving his vehicle at around 100 mph going south, authorities revealed. His first crash was into the back of a vehicle being driven by a 63-year-old man.

Published on: October 15, 2011

One Killed, More Injured in Bus Crash

by Stephen Bilkis

A Baiting Hollow bus accident resulted in one death and eight injuries. A collision on Sound Avenue between a tractor-trailer and a school bus for special-needs children was the cause of the tragedy.

A police chief told NY Criminal Lawyers the bus was from the Maryhaven Center of Hope in Port Jefferson and the tractor trailer was carrying sand. According to him, they sideswiped each other, their control hampered by the hilly, twisting two-lane road.

The Maryhaven Center of Hope has a program for people with special needs. According to one of their dispatchers, six students and two staff members were on the bus.

Published on: September 8, 2011

Drunk Driver Kills in Crash

by Stephen Bilkis

A New York Criminal Lawyer reports about a fatal accident which occurred on Monday morning on Interstate 30. This crash has claimed the lives of a loving father and left a family devastated. It has also seen the wrong way driver locked up behind bars, and severe damage to the highway which will need to be repaired.

The driver responsible for the accident has apologized for killing the man and being irresponsible by driving when drunk.

The New York Criminal Lawyer said that the police were alerted about the drunk driver at 2:30 AM. 911 calls to the police department reported that the driver was traveling on the wrong side of the road.

Published on: August 2, 2011

A member of a Major League Baseball team arrested on DUI charges

by Stephen Bilkis

A current team member of the Cleveland Indians was recently arrested on charges of drunk driving.

Austin Kearns of the Cleveland Indians, age 30, was taken into custody by a Lexington patrol unit after the officer observed the man “flashing his headlights and weaving on U.S. 68” on the evening of Feb. 12 in the county of Jessamine. A New York Criminal Lawyer stated that the defendant was driving a 2007 Cadillac Escalade at the time, and was requested to submit to roadside sobriety tests following his sporadic stop-and-go driving while on the road. Though the Lexington officer was out of his jurisdiction, he requested and received permission from Jessamine county authorities to pursue Mr. Kearns.

Upon apprehension, sources say that Mr. Kearns refused roadside sobriety tests, was “very unsteady on his feet” according to an officer. Additionally, the official police report of the Jessamine County Police Department states that Mr. Kearns had admitted to a sheriff’s deputy that during the course of the night just prior to the apprehension, he had consumed “a couple bourbon and cokes” , and was thus taken into custody. However, he was later released upon posting $100, which was 10% of his $1,000 bond. Mr. Kearns has an upcoming court appointment on March 10, which his attorney will attend on his behalf. In Manhattan and Queens, DWI is a serious crime and treated as such by Law Enforcement.

Published on: February 21, 2008

Leyritz charged with killing a 30-year-old woman.

by Stephen Bilkis

Former baseball player Jim Leyritz was taken into custody and charged with DWI after his car crashed into another killing the driver in the accident.

Leyritz who played for The NY Yankees is represented by an attorney who will have to defend him against these very serious charges. Leyritz who is 44 years of age is awaiting the results of the blood alcohol tests which are being run right now. He is out on bail of $11,000 according a detective in Broward County who was acting as a spokesperson for the police.

The advice and council of a Queens Criminal Lawyer is crucial if you or a member of your family has been detained by the authorities and faces prosecution. Lack of representation could cost you or a loved one dearly. Make sure you have someone on your side that knows your rights and will fight for them.