What is the name of your state? New York
I apologize for the length of the post here, but there seems to be a great deal of information here in some of the posters and I just want to provide as many details as possible. I have a bunch of standalone questions in bold, and if any of you have any experience or suggestions with any of the questions or my general situation I'd love to hear about it. I've also scanned and read most of the threads in here, appreciated the fact that I wasn't alone in this and definitely appreciating REAL WORLD EXPERIENCES instead of the endless "this is the worst penalty" pages that exist out there, and I'd like to contribute. Thanks in advance.
Abbreviated version: Friday night, I got in a small car accident (fender bender, no injuries, he drove his truck off and my vehicle operated without issue but is currently waiting to be looked at) and got a resulting DWI after blowing a .12. I'm a first time offender.
Long version
Disclaimer: I'm not a bad guy. I went out to celebrate my promotion at work, drank too much, and made a horrible, horrible decision to drive home. I'm not a partier. I don't drink more than maybe once a month, and when I do that it's typically at a friend's house where I can stay the night. I'm not mad at anyone but myself, I can't even look at alcohol right now, I'm ashamed to tell anyone besides immediate and family and best friends, and my goal is to absolutely put this behind me and never, ever make this mistake again. My goals right now are to right the boat and try to salvage as much as I can.
When driving home on a one lane road with a median, a pick-up truck cut into my lane from the median. He had no signal on. I braked hard and cut to the right, but I hit. OK, pulled over into the street he clearly wanted to turn into and get out of the car. He first said "Hey man, I had my blinker on!" as if that was a valid excuse to cut someone off from the MEDIAN. He didn't have it on, by the way. Next he even said "Oh man, let's not involve the cops, I've had a few beers!" I was out drinking myself (had stopped, but really I was a complete moron for driving). About two minutes later the cops show up. Don't know how, but since there's a trooper barracks literally about 2,000 ft away, I'm guessing they heard it.
They ask me if I've been drinking. I said I had three ******is starting about seven hours ago (it was midnight at the time). Stupid, I know, but really I'm out of denial and I know that what I did was wrong. Anyhow - went through the whole process, and basically I got busted. The other guy apparently got away with his "few beers."
I blew a .12 at the "official" machine at the barracks. I was very well behaved and cooperative. I was then picked up by a family member (no jail, no bail, released on my own recognizance, kept my license). I've been charged with a DWI and driving too close (I'm a little miffed about this one because the officers didn't even ask me what happened, but OK, bigger fish to fry right now).
Fast forward to today, about two days after my arrest. I've done a TON of internet research, literally over 14 or 15 hours' worth. The general conclusion that I came to was that my end goal here is to plead down to a DWAI. Reason being that you can't plead to a non-alcohol conviction, my license will only be suspended for 90 days as opposed to six months, and most importantly, a DWAI is a non-criminal offense.
I talked to my lawyer, whose wife is the county clerk and a generally decent guy who I know has good connections. His plan is to jump on this immediately and get the ball rolling. He helped me out with a problem I had three or four years ago and I genuinely trust this guy.
My arraignment date is a week from Thursday. Now, for all of the research I did online, and hunting through forums, I didn't really see a lot of detail on this whole stage of the game.
So here's my theory on how this is going to happen. Basically what I'm looking at from some of you guys with experience is just to correct me where I'm wrong, give me an advice, provide "buts", etc.
Final Conviction:
I'm a 26 year old, first time DWI offender. My driving record is completely clean aside from a few parking tickets and a speeding ticket in Ohio that occurred roughly four years ago. I'm going for a MBA and have a career job that pays well for my age. I have no crimes under my belt or anything like that.
Big question #1 (Conviction): Keeping in mind that I'm a first time offender with an otherwise clean record and a .12 BAC and that an accident WAS involved (but no injuries and I'd assume no property damage over 1,500), what do you think of my chances at pleading down from a DWI misdemeanor to a DWAI? I realize this is an extremely open-ended question with an infinite amount of variables, but again, just wondering what experiences some of you have.
Big question #2 (Conviction): Is it possible to make such a deal happen before the arraignment, and if so, can I simply plead guilty to the DWAI charge at my arraignment that was originally a DWI? What I'm getting at with this one is that if I'm arraigned with a DWI charge, the only way I'll be able to drive after my arraignment is if the court believes I have a hardship, which from what I've read requires actual evidence to support it. With a DWAI, my understanding is that I can request a "stay" which will delay the start of the mandatory 90 day suspension by 20 days - enough time to get a conditional license which does NOT have the 30 day limit that the DWI charge entails.
License:
Currently, I still have a full, unrestricted license. My license has not been taken away, I haven't gotten a call from the DMV or anything saying that my license has been suspended.
Big question #3 (License): A major concern of mine at this point is running into a driving lapse to get back and forth from work. Assuming that my lawyer is not able to negotiate the DWI down to a DWAI by my arraignment (and therefore my license will be taken and I won't be eligible for my conditional license for thirty days after), is it difficult to attain a hardship license AT the arraignment? I believe I should qualify - I live in a very suburban area with no public transportation, my job is 45 minutes away and the rest of my family work in completely different areas. I'm also enrolled in graduate classes, though they will literally have just ended on that night until the Fall.
Big question #4 (License): What sort of evidence should I bring to be prepared to get a hardship license? Basically, the main reason I need a restricted / hardship license is that I need to get to work and back. Though each member of my family drives and owns their own cars, they are all going in thirty different directions and my employment is 40 miles away. I'm not sure how to make the court aware of that without me saying it (which is useless, from what I've read). If my lawyer simply states this instead of me, is that enough? Do I get written / signed letters from my family members maybe?
Car Insurance (going through Geico):
I have a claim in for the accident, telling them my side of the story (driver swerved from the median into my lane). My expectations here are that I'm going to be at fault if for no other reason other than the officers gave me a "Following too closely" ticket. When filing the claim, one of the questions was whether or not the police were involved. I said "yes," because they're going to find out one way or another and I did not want to outright lie to the insurance company. The one thing I did NOT fill in was the ticket #.
Big question #5 (Insurance): Is Geico going to, or able to pull up the police report of what happened that night and thus find out about my DWI charge? I realize that they will most likely find out at some point, but since I'm not lying I'd prefer to make them work if they want to find the charge.
Big question #6 (Insurance): What's the general deal with SR22? I've seen two things:
A) that it's just a form that says "Yup, this guy has adequate insurance and he's paying"
B) it is an entirely different type of insurance, such that regardless of how well covered I am under my current policy, that even if my current policy isn't dropped then I will still need to call up Geico and ask for what's essentially an SR22 quote.
Big question #7 (Insurance): Does a DWAI conviction in New York automatically mean I must file for an SR22? If not, is that because an SR22 is only applicable for DWIs or higher or something to that effect? Is the necessity for an SR22 negotiable in the plea bargain?
Big question #8 (Insurance): Assuming that Geico does not find out about the DWI charge and I successfully negotiate a DWAI but am required to submit an SR22, does A) the DMV automatically alert Geico, who then drop me / raise my insurance
B) my request from Geico for an SR22 tips them off and they automatically jack up the rates / drop me
C) Geico simply sends the SR22 form since I already meet the necessary coverage?
Big question #9 (Insurance): Currently, I'm paying about 900 dollars a year for car insurance while still getting very good coverage. Understanding that my insurance will likely increase drastically but that my record with Geico is otherwise clean, what would some of you guess this I will end up paying, either with Geico or another company, given a DWAI or DWI conviction? I'm assuming they will not drop me outright since they also insure high-risk motorists. I've seen figures that start as low as a 70% increase (which "only" amounts to a new yearly rate of $1530) and all the way up to 450% (over four grand). What happened with you guys?
Thanks!
I apologize for the length of the post here, but there seems to be a great deal of information here in some of the posters and I just want to provide as many details as possible. I have a bunch of standalone questions in bold, and if any of you have any experience or suggestions with any of the questions or my general situation I'd love to hear about it. I've also scanned and read most of the threads in here, appreciated the fact that I wasn't alone in this and definitely appreciating REAL WORLD EXPERIENCES instead of the endless "this is the worst penalty" pages that exist out there, and I'd like to contribute. Thanks in advance.
Abbreviated version: Friday night, I got in a small car accident (fender bender, no injuries, he drove his truck off and my vehicle operated without issue but is currently waiting to be looked at) and got a resulting DWI after blowing a .12. I'm a first time offender.
Long version
Disclaimer: I'm not a bad guy. I went out to celebrate my promotion at work, drank too much, and made a horrible, horrible decision to drive home. I'm not a partier. I don't drink more than maybe once a month, and when I do that it's typically at a friend's house where I can stay the night. I'm not mad at anyone but myself, I can't even look at alcohol right now, I'm ashamed to tell anyone besides immediate and family and best friends, and my goal is to absolutely put this behind me and never, ever make this mistake again. My goals right now are to right the boat and try to salvage as much as I can.
When driving home on a one lane road with a median, a pick-up truck cut into my lane from the median. He had no signal on. I braked hard and cut to the right, but I hit. OK, pulled over into the street he clearly wanted to turn into and get out of the car. He first said "Hey man, I had my blinker on!" as if that was a valid excuse to cut someone off from the MEDIAN. He didn't have it on, by the way. Next he even said "Oh man, let's not involve the cops, I've had a few beers!" I was out drinking myself (had stopped, but really I was a complete moron for driving). About two minutes later the cops show up. Don't know how, but since there's a trooper barracks literally about 2,000 ft away, I'm guessing they heard it.
They ask me if I've been drinking. I said I had three ******is starting about seven hours ago (it was midnight at the time). Stupid, I know, but really I'm out of denial and I know that what I did was wrong. Anyhow - went through the whole process, and basically I got busted. The other guy apparently got away with his "few beers."
I blew a .12 at the "official" machine at the barracks. I was very well behaved and cooperative. I was then picked up by a family member (no jail, no bail, released on my own recognizance, kept my license). I've been charged with a DWI and driving too close (I'm a little miffed about this one because the officers didn't even ask me what happened, but OK, bigger fish to fry right now).
Fast forward to today, about two days after my arrest. I've done a TON of internet research, literally over 14 or 15 hours' worth. The general conclusion that I came to was that my end goal here is to plead down to a DWAI. Reason being that you can't plead to a non-alcohol conviction, my license will only be suspended for 90 days as opposed to six months, and most importantly, a DWAI is a non-criminal offense.
I talked to my lawyer, whose wife is the county clerk and a generally decent guy who I know has good connections. His plan is to jump on this immediately and get the ball rolling. He helped me out with a problem I had three or four years ago and I genuinely trust this guy.
My arraignment date is a week from Thursday. Now, for all of the research I did online, and hunting through forums, I didn't really see a lot of detail on this whole stage of the game.
So here's my theory on how this is going to happen. Basically what I'm looking at from some of you guys with experience is just to correct me where I'm wrong, give me an advice, provide "buts", etc.
Final Conviction:
I'm a 26 year old, first time DWI offender. My driving record is completely clean aside from a few parking tickets and a speeding ticket in Ohio that occurred roughly four years ago. I'm going for a MBA and have a career job that pays well for my age. I have no crimes under my belt or anything like that.
Big question #1 (Conviction): Keeping in mind that I'm a first time offender with an otherwise clean record and a .12 BAC and that an accident WAS involved (but no injuries and I'd assume no property damage over 1,500), what do you think of my chances at pleading down from a DWI misdemeanor to a DWAI? I realize this is an extremely open-ended question with an infinite amount of variables, but again, just wondering what experiences some of you have.
Big question #2 (Conviction): Is it possible to make such a deal happen before the arraignment, and if so, can I simply plead guilty to the DWAI charge at my arraignment that was originally a DWI? What I'm getting at with this one is that if I'm arraigned with a DWI charge, the only way I'll be able to drive after my arraignment is if the court believes I have a hardship, which from what I've read requires actual evidence to support it. With a DWAI, my understanding is that I can request a "stay" which will delay the start of the mandatory 90 day suspension by 20 days - enough time to get a conditional license which does NOT have the 30 day limit that the DWI charge entails.
License:
Currently, I still have a full, unrestricted license. My license has not been taken away, I haven't gotten a call from the DMV or anything saying that my license has been suspended.
Big question #3 (License): A major concern of mine at this point is running into a driving lapse to get back and forth from work. Assuming that my lawyer is not able to negotiate the DWI down to a DWAI by my arraignment (and therefore my license will be taken and I won't be eligible for my conditional license for thirty days after), is it difficult to attain a hardship license AT the arraignment? I believe I should qualify - I live in a very suburban area with no public transportation, my job is 45 minutes away and the rest of my family work in completely different areas. I'm also enrolled in graduate classes, though they will literally have just ended on that night until the Fall.
Big question #4 (License): What sort of evidence should I bring to be prepared to get a hardship license? Basically, the main reason I need a restricted / hardship license is that I need to get to work and back. Though each member of my family drives and owns their own cars, they are all going in thirty different directions and my employment is 40 miles away. I'm not sure how to make the court aware of that without me saying it (which is useless, from what I've read). If my lawyer simply states this instead of me, is that enough? Do I get written / signed letters from my family members maybe?
Car Insurance (going through Geico):
I have a claim in for the accident, telling them my side of the story (driver swerved from the median into my lane). My expectations here are that I'm going to be at fault if for no other reason other than the officers gave me a "Following too closely" ticket. When filing the claim, one of the questions was whether or not the police were involved. I said "yes," because they're going to find out one way or another and I did not want to outright lie to the insurance company. The one thing I did NOT fill in was the ticket #.
Big question #5 (Insurance): Is Geico going to, or able to pull up the police report of what happened that night and thus find out about my DWI charge? I realize that they will most likely find out at some point, but since I'm not lying I'd prefer to make them work if they want to find the charge.
Big question #6 (Insurance): What's the general deal with SR22? I've seen two things:
A) that it's just a form that says "Yup, this guy has adequate insurance and he's paying"
B) it is an entirely different type of insurance, such that regardless of how well covered I am under my current policy, that even if my current policy isn't dropped then I will still need to call up Geico and ask for what's essentially an SR22 quote.
Big question #7 (Insurance): Does a DWAI conviction in New York automatically mean I must file for an SR22? If not, is that because an SR22 is only applicable for DWIs or higher or something to that effect? Is the necessity for an SR22 negotiable in the plea bargain?
Big question #8 (Insurance): Assuming that Geico does not find out about the DWI charge and I successfully negotiate a DWAI but am required to submit an SR22, does A) the DMV automatically alert Geico, who then drop me / raise my insurance
B) my request from Geico for an SR22 tips them off and they automatically jack up the rates / drop me
C) Geico simply sends the SR22 form since I already meet the necessary coverage?
Big question #9 (Insurance): Currently, I'm paying about 900 dollars a year for car insurance while still getting very good coverage. Understanding that my insurance will likely increase drastically but that my record with Geico is otherwise clean, what would some of you guess this I will end up paying, either with Geico or another company, given a DWAI or DWI conviction? I'm assuming they will not drop me outright since they also insure high-risk motorists. I've seen figures that start as low as a 70% increase (which "only" amounts to a new yearly rate of $1530) and all the way up to 450% (over four grand). What happened with you guys?
Thanks!
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