DUI Arrest: What to Do, Available Defenses, How We Can Help

A DUI arrest can lead to booking, processing, and an eventual conviction. With competent representation, it is possible to avoid a conviction. The most important rule when interacting with the police is to not say anything and to ask to speak to your lawyer. Call us at any time at 212-233-1233 or email [email protected].

After the stop, if you are suspected of a DUI, the police take you to the station for booking: personal information, photographs, fingerprints, criminal-history check. A conviction can land on your record for fifteen years and follow you in employment, insurance, and licensing.

Two Sides of a DUI Arrest

Every DUI arrest in New York has two sides: criminal and administrative. The criminal side is litigated in Criminal Court or Supreme Court under VTL § 1192 and exposes you to fines, probation, license penalties, and jail. The administrative side is litigated at the DMV and controls your driving privileges — suspensions, revocations, and refusal hearings.

Defenses to a DUI Arrest

Miranda Issues

Miranda rights are rarely read at the roadside because most DUI evidence is gathered before the formal arrest. But after the arrest, custodial interrogation without Miranda warnings makes the resulting statements inadmissible. If you admitted to drinking, driving, or anything else after being placed under arrest and before being warned, those statements can be suppressed.

Failure to Give the Refusal Warning Properly

VTL § 1194(2)(f) requires the police to warn you, in clear and unequivocal language, that refusing a chemical test will result in license suspension and revocation, and that the refusal can be used as evidence. If the warning was incomplete or garbled, the refusal evidence is inadmissible.

Lack of Probable Cause for the Stop

The Fourth Amendment requires that the police have probable cause (or at least reasonable suspicion) before stopping a vehicle. If you were following the rules of the road and the officer pulled you over on a hunch, the stop fails — and the breath test, field sobriety tests, and statements that followed are fruit of the poisonous tree.

Other Defenses

• Failure to calibrate the breathalyzer within statutory time limits
• Medical conditions (GERD, diabetes, neurological issues) that mimic intoxication
• Rising-BAC defenses where the test was administered far after driving
• Improper administration of standardized field sobriety tests
• Chain-of-custody breaks in blood-test cases

If you have been arrested for DUI, call us at 212-233-1233 or email [email protected].