New York Criminal Attorney Blog

Under New York’s tough new Ignition Interlock Device Program, those convicted of Driving While Intoxicated per se under VTL 1192(2); Common Law Driving While Intoxicated under VTL 1192(3); Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated under VTL 1192(2-a) or any crime found in the Vehicle and Traffic Law or the Penal Law of which an alcohol-related violation of any provision of VTL 1192 (New York’s DWI laws) is an essential element will be required to install an IID in any vehicle they own or operate for at least six months.

However, the law does not apply to those convicted of Driving While Ability Impaired (Alcohol) [VTL 1192(1)]; Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs [VTL 1192(4)]; Driving While Ability Impaired by the Combined Influence of Drugs or of Alcohol And Any Drug or Drugs [VTL 1194(4-a)]; Commercial Motor Vehicles: per se - level I (.04-.06 while operating a commercial vehicle) [VTL 1192(5)]; and Commercial Motor Vehicles; per se - level II (more than .06 but less than .08 while operating a commercial vehicle) [VTL 1192(6)].

Perhaps an argument could be made that the IID law applies to Driving While Ability Impaired by the Combined Influence of Drugs or of Alcohol And Any Drug or Drugs [VTL 1194(4-a)] because under the second provision of this statute one’s ability to drive must be impaired by the combined influence of alcohol and any drug or drugs. Therefore, impaired by alcohol is an essential element of the second provision of VTL 1194(4-a).

While the IID law does not apply to Driving While Ability Impaired (alcohol) [VTL 1192(1)], it does apply to any crime found in the VTL or Penal Law if an essential element of that crime is a violation of any provision of VTL 1192 including Driving While Ability Impaired under VTL 1192(1). And it does appear that Driving While Ability Impaired (alcohol) under VTL 1192(1) is an essential element of VTL 1194(4-a) where the charge is based upon impairment by the combined influence of alcohol and any drug or drugs. We will have to await court rulings or legislative action on this issue.

For more information about any Driving While Intoxicated or Impaired issue please contact Tilem & Campbell toll free at 1-888-DWI-COUNSEL (888-394-2686) or visit us on the web at www.888dwicounsel.com.

New York DWI lawyers are now forced to counsel their clients on the new penalties attached to DWI convictions in New York. On November 18, 2009, New York enacted the Ignition Interlock Device Program. Pursuant to this law, effective August 15, 2010, one who was arrested in New York on or after November 18, 2009 and convicted on or after August 15, 2010 for (1) Driving While Intoxicated per se (VTL 1192(2); (2) Common Law Driving While Intoxicated (VTL 1192(3)); (3) Aggravated Driving While Intoxicated (1192(2-a)); or (4) any crime found in the Vehicle and Traffic Law or the Penal Law of which an alcohol-related violation of any provision of VTL 1192 (New York’s DWI laws) is an essential element will be required to have installed an ignition interlock device in any vehicle he or she owns or operates for a period of at least six months.
This ignition interlock device must be installed even if the court imposes a conditional discharge. (See VTL 1193(1)(b)(ii); VTL 1193(1)(c)(iii); VTL 1198; and PL 65.10(2)(k-1)). To clarify: the IID law does not apply to those arrested before November 18, 2009 even if they are sentenced after August 15, 2010.
This can prove to be quite an onerous condition. For example, a married father with two children of driving age might very well own or operate four cars. If he were to be convicted of an offense that mandates the installation of an IID, he would have to install an IID in all four cars at his own cost. Initial installation and monitoring costs will be discussed in a future blog but generally, initial installation will cost from $80.00 to $225.00 for each car and monthly monitoring will cost as much as $90.00 per month per car. In this example therefore, the defendant could spend as much as $900.00 for installation in the four cars and $360.00 per month for monitoring of the four units for a minimum of six months. The costs can run into the thousands.
For more information about New York’s Ignition Interlock Device Program or other Driving While Intoxicated issues, please contact Tilem & Campbell toll free at 1-888-DWI-COUNSEL (888-394-2686) or visit us on the web at www.888DWICOUNSEL.com

New York law firm Tilem & Campbell has endorsed District Attorney Dan Donovan to be New York's next Attorney General. Senior partner Peter H. Tilem is a former colleague of Dan Donovan from their days at the New York County District Attorney's Office and believes Dan Donovan has what it takes to take on the corruption in Albany. Dan Donovan has a proven track record of independence and will not be caught up in politics or partisanship.

We believe that you should vote for Dan Donovan on Election Day, November 2nd to help win Albany back for the People of this great state.

The second episode of "Law Talk with Peter Tilem and John Campbell" aired last night and was a great success. The topics last night included prosecutorial and judicial misconduct, the role of the prosecutor and a little bit more about DWAI (Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol) in New York. For those who missed the show it is available on demand at the Centanni Broadcasting Network website. Just click on the date to hear the October 20, 2010 show.

Law Talk with Peter Tilem and John Campbell airs every Wednesday night at 8pm. You can listen live or on demand and if you have a specific topic that you would like us to discuss please E-Mail us the question at info@tilemandcampbell.com.

We’ve all heard it a thousand times on T.V. and in the movies, “You have the right to remain silent ….” But unfortunately, many people who are arrested make statements to the police and/or prosecutors in an effort to exonerate themselves. Most times, those statements actually hurt the defendant. Other times, even after being read their rights, defendants outright confess. Normally, questioning of a defendant is done by detectives or assistant district attorneys who are clearly adversarial to the defendant.
However, in 2007, the Queens District Attorney’s Office implemented a program whereby assistant district attorneys conduct pre-arraignment interviews of defendants as they proceed through the booking process before they have been arraigned (brought before a judge) and before they have had the opportunity to obtain an attorney.
While law enforcement is free to ask a defendant if they will answer questions after they have been read their Miranda rights, the problem with the pre-arraignment questioning program in Queens is that before the defendant is informed of their right to remain silent they are asked the following three questions:

1. If you would like us to investigate an alibi, please give us as much information as you can, including the names of any people you were with.

2. If your version of the events of that day differs from what we have heard, this is an opportunity if you so choose, to tell us your story.

3. If there is something you would like us to investigate concerning this incident, if you tell us about it, we will look into it.

Those three questions make it appear as if the assistant district attorneys are perhaps neutral or maybe even there to assist the defendant. It falsely conveys the position that they are disinterested. Ethics professor Ellen Yaroshefsky of the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law believes “[t]he context of the interview misleads and deliberately induces the defendant to believe that there is an urgency to speak now when there is no advantage to him doing so prior to appointment of counsel. . .”
Currently, the Queens District Attorney, Richard A. Brown is attempting to block Acting Supreme Court Justice Joel L. Blumenfeld from ruling on the ethics of this pre-arraignment questioning process.
Anyone arrested must understand that there is virtually nothing you can tell the police or the district attorney that will get you released on the spot. Furthermore, once you’re arrested, the goal is to avoid a conviction. In that regard, nothing you say to law enforcement can help you. If you have information that can prove your innocence or that you think is important for your case, tell your defense attorney. Nothing good can come from a suspect or a defendant speaking with the police without first speaking with their own qualified defense attorney.
If you, a loved one or a friend have been arrested, feel free to call Tilem & Campbell toll free at 1-877-377-8666 or visit us on the web at www.888AnyCrime.com.

New York Criminal Defense lawyers Peter H. Tilem and John Campbell completed their first radio show broadcast live over internet radio earlier this evening on the Centanni Broadcasting Network. The topic of the show was the severe penalties for DWI and Gun cases in New York. The shows are archived and are available on demand by visiting the Centanni Broadcasting Network website and clicking on the Law Talk with Peter Tilem, Esq. and John Campbell, Esq. button. Or click on the October 13, 2010 show to be brought right there.

Law Talk received rave reviews and is the first in what is expected to be a weekly show, airing every Wednesday Night at 8pm.

Please join us live or E-Mail us any questions that you would like answered on the air to info@tilemandcampbell.com.

New York criminal defense lawyers Peter Tilem and John Campbell will begin hosting their own radio show next Wednesday October 13, 2010. The show called "Law Talk with Peter Tilem & John Campbell" will be airing on internet radio and will be available worldwide both live and on demand on the Centanni Broadcasting Network. The show will cover a variety of current law and political topics including criminal law, litigation and cases in the news.

If you would like to appear as a guest on the show, submit a question or a topic that you would like to have discussed on the air or need more information, please contact us via E-mail at info@tilemandcampbell.com.

New York criminal defense lawyers Peter Tilem and John Campbell will begin hosting their own radio show next Wednesday October 13, 2010. The show called "Law Talk with Peter Tilem & John Campbell" will be airing on internet radio and will be available worldwide both live and on demand on the Centanni Broadcasting Network. The show will cover a variety of current law and political topics including criminal law, litigation and cases in the news.

If you would like to appear as a guest on the show, submit a question or a topic that you would like to have discussed on the air or need more information, please contact us via E-mail at info@tilemandcampbell.com.

The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, Second Department unanimously overturned a Murder conviction from Nassau County because the trial Court committed a series of errors which combined to deny the defendant a fair trial. In People v. Terraine Slide the Court ruled that permitting the prosecutor to ask the defendant about his prior arrests for Marijuana and Shoplifting without giving a "limiting instruction" combined with additional errors deprived the defendant of a fair trial. Generally, a prosecutor may only use prior bad acts to cross-examine a defendant for the limited purpose of impeaching the defendant's credibility. The jury is generally instructed that they may consider the evidence only for that limited purpose and not to show a propensity by the defendant toward committing crimes.
In addition, Judges are required to hold a Sandoval hearing prior to trial to determine what if any prior bad acts may be used to cross-examine the defendant. The concern is that jurors will hear about a defendant's criminal record and convict him based upon his record and not the evidence of guilt.
In the Slide case, the prosecutor asked the defendant about his mother's incarceration which was clearly irrelevant and which tended to insinuate that he had a genetic predisposition to commit crimes. Although a motion for a mistrial was made, it was denied by the trial Court.
The New York criminal law firm of Tilem & Campbell represents individuals charged with all types of serious criminal offenses including murder and other types of homicide. Serious charges of these types require a high level of skill and experience to properly defend. Senior partner, Peter H. Tilem has been practicing criminal law for almost 20 years and has the advantage of having been a homicide prosecutor for the District Attorney's office.