Lisa Pelosi: Definitely more alcohol than drug-related. Sometimes what appears to be drug-related gets taken as alcohol-related and in those cases in the drug-related, the officers have to have a blood test done, but definitely more drunk driving cases.
The Signs That Police Officers Look for to Check if Someone Is Driving on Drugs
Interviewer: How do the Police look for signs to see if someone is driving while on drugs?
Lisa Pelosi: Just slurred speech, watery eyes, just a look. . Also, they’ll search the car and often times they’ll find the drug paraphernalia like a pipe that marijuana is being smoked out of or prescription drugs that are in the car or illegal drugs in the car.
If you do a breathalyzer test, then there’s no reading for alcohol, then it will draw the conclusion that there’s some substance that’s being used that shouldn’t be used and more importantly that the person shouldn’t be behind the wheel of the car.
Taking a Prescribed Drug Might Be Considered as a Mitigating Factor
Interviewer: Is that a misconception that people when they’re on a prescription medication are treated differently? How does it complicate things or is it handled the same way as regular drug related DWI?
Lisa Pelosi: It will be considered a mitigating factor. You’re certainly not going to get credit for taking a prescription pill and then drinking when you’re not supposed to do that, but if you haven’t been drinking and you clearly were just on a prescription pill that you are having a bad reaction to, most prosecutor’s offices would be are kind to you in that sense.
Interviewer: If I was stopped by a police officer and I had my mother or my grandmother’s medication in my car because maybe I driven her to the doctor previously or something to that nature, could I be facing DWI charges?
Lisa Pelosi: There would be no reason why you would be facing DWI charges under that scenario. Many people carry prescription drugs in the car and you would just need to explain that to the police officer that they weren’t yours and it’s just something that could be verified by the police officer.
Every DWI Case Is Unique and Specific Towards that Particular Arrest
Interviewer: Can you chalk out a typical scenario for a DWI case?Is it predictable with DWI cases?
Lisa Pelosi: Each case is really individual and specific to that arrest. The things that a good attorney will look at will be what is special about this case, meaning what is the person’s background, what is their criminal record if they’ve ever been arrested before. What type of human being they are and trying to make the prosecutor understand that this was a mistake.
If that’s the type of client you’re dealing with, then you would want to stress that there’s no need for them to be on probation that we would try to get them to be a little educated and driving while intoxicated try to get them into a program, a diversion program versus if you’re dealing with.
It Is Important to Ensure that the Police Do Not Violate the Rights of Citizens During a DWI Arrest
Also looking at what the cops roll and this is meaning that the police officer followed proper procedures, what were the client’s rights violated in any way. If you have a client who has a lot of arrest, then you still want to work with them to try to get them a program if possible to help them and to try to keep their record clear.
As a criminal defense attorney, your goal is to make sure your client gets a fair play during the process and to make sure this due process and the civil rights were not violated.
Diversion Programs for DWI Charges in New York
Interviewer: What can you say about that, alternative programs that are available to people rather than jail?
Lisa Pelosi: What the diversion programs, the goal is to try to use them to, A, help someone, but, B, to try to not have your client end up with a criminal record. For someone who’s made one mistake and it’s not a pattern or habit for them, the courts in the prosecutor’s offices will often permit these programs.
It’s something that a good criminal defense attorney would really know about all the different programs because it would tremendously help the client to keep out of jail, to keep out of going to probation, and to most importantly end up with not having a criminal record depending upon the charge of the arrest charge.
