If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
N.Y. DA says no more plea bargains in DUI cases
Amen to that. Stop coddling these killers. http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercu...s/15602504.htm Posted on Mon, Sep. 25, 2006 Rookie N.Y. DA goes after drunk drivers FRANK ELTMAN Associated Press MINEOLA, N.Y. - Kathleen Rice's eyes begin to well up when she talks about the victims of drunken driving. She cannot fathom why so many people - more than 4,100 arrested in her community last year - turn the ignition after having a few drinks. More troublesome, she said, is that one-third have been caught before. Rice, however, can do something about it: As Nassau County district attorney, she has launched an aggressive assault on drunken driving in one of the nation's busiest traffic corridors. She does not allow plea deals in DWI cases. She put a man on trial for murder in a horrific drunken-driving crash. And she plans to slap alcohol-sensors on the ankles of admitted alcoholics. Rice's office is currently prosecuting a 25-year-old insurance salesman on murder charges - a rarity in drunken-driving cases - following an accident that killed a 7-year-old flower girl and the chauffeur who was driving her family home from a wedding. While the murder case is getting national media attention, Rice said it's only one part of an effort to get drunks off Long Island highways. Plea deals in DWI cases are no longer acceptable, she said, and this summer her office obtained a warrant for a blood sample from police inspector who was later charged with drinking and driving after crashing his unmarked police cruiser into a utility pole while off duty. She said while getting blood samples is standard practice in other jurisdictions, it is something new in Nassau County. She also intends to use a $110,000 state grant to purchase high-tech alcohol-detecting ankle bracelets for DWI offenders who, as part of their probation, are required to stay sober. (snip) Denna Cohen, president of the Long Island chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, enthusiastically endorses Rice's efforts. "She's absolutely correct that there's an epidemic of drunk driving on Long Island," said Cohen, whose 21-year-old daughter Jodi was killed in a DWI-related accident in 1989. "There's not a day that you can open the paper and not read about another DWI crash. I am so proud of the way she is handling the situation." Not everyone is so happy. Defense attorney Thomas Liotti held a news conference in August claiming Rice's refusal to yield on plea bargains is too stringent. "She's basically looking at this as a black-and-white issue," he said. "People need some degree of hope, and under Kathleen Rice's policies, they're not getting it." |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
N.Y. DA says no more plea bargains in DUI cases
I guarantee "no plea bargains" won't work. It will make every
drunk-driving arrestee whose prior record has him facing mandatory jail or other harsh mandatory punishment hold out for a trial - and make him hire a lawyer specializing in all-out defenses of such cases. And - having both prosecuted and defended criminals from my law-school days in the early 1980s through lawyer days in the late 1990s - I can tell you that the defense always has the advantage in that situation. No $4 to park! No $6 admission! http://www.INTERNET-GUN-SHOW.com |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
N.Y. DA says no more plea bargains in DUI cases
On 25 Sep 2006 18:17:47 -0700, " > wrote:
>No $4 to park! No $6 admission! http://www.INTERNET-GUN-SHOW.com No guns, either... |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
N.Y. DA says no more plea bargains in DUI cases
In article .com>,
" > wrote: > I guarantee "no plea bargains" won't work. It will make every > drunk-driving arrestee whose prior record has him facing mandatory jail > or other harsh mandatory punishment hold out for a trial - and make him > hire a lawyer specializing in all-out defenses of such cases. And - > having both prosecuted and defended criminals from my law-school days > in the early 1980s through lawyer days in the late 1990s - I can tell > you that the defense always has the advantage in that situation. There's no mandatory minimum for a first-arrest DWI in New York state. |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
N.Y. DA says no more plea bargains in DUI cases
On 25 Sep 2006 18:17:47 -0700, "
> wrote: > I guarantee "no plea bargains" won't work. It will make every >drunk-driving arrestee whose prior record has him facing mandatory jail >or other harsh mandatory punishment hold out for a trial - and make him >hire a lawyer specializing in all-out defenses of such cases. And - >having both prosecuted and defended criminals from my law-school days >in the early 1980s through lawyer days in the late 1990s - I can tell >you that the defense always has the advantage in that situation. > Unlike you, most americans don't believe in coddling killers. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
N.Y. DA says no more plea bargains in DUI cases
Larry quoted me:
> > I guarantee "no plea bargains" won't work. It will make every > > drunk-driving arrestee whose prior record has him facing mandatory jail > > or other harsh mandatory punishment hold out for a trial - and make him > > hire a lawyer specializing in all-out defenses of such cases. And - > > having both prosecuted and defended criminals from my law-school days > > in the early 1980s through lawyer days in the late 1990s - I can tell > > you that the defense always has the advantage in that situation. and replied: > There's no mandatory minimum for a first-arrest DWI in New York state. A high percentage of drunk-driving prosecutions involve repeat offenders - for whom a guilty plea on original charge means mandatory jail or other big consequence. They would have every incentive to hold out for trial and get decent lawyers if no plea bargain was possible. And don't forget that many cases are lousy from prosecutor's viewpoint, too. A memorable one here involved a grossly-overweight officer who had arrested a woman for drunk driving. Defense attorney made officer demonstrate in court the field-sobriety test he'd made the woman do on roadside; officer couldn't - in a brightly-lit courtroom - do in flat shoes what he had woman in high heels do on a dark roadside. Acquittal. In that case, no plea bargain meant the prosecutor got all of nothing - instead of some of everything. No $4 to park! No $6 admission! http://www.INTERNET-GUN-SHOW.com |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
N.Y. DA says no more plea bargains in DUI cases
In article om>,
" > wrote: > Larry quoted me: > > > I guarantee "no plea bargains" won't work. It will make every > > > drunk-driving arrestee whose prior record has him facing mandatory jail > > > or other harsh mandatory punishment hold out for a trial - and make him > > > hire a lawyer specializing in all-out defenses of such cases. And - > > > having both prosecuted and defended criminals from my law-school days > > > in the early 1980s through lawyer days in the late 1990s - I can tell > > > you that the defense always has the advantage in that situation. > > and replied: > > There's no mandatory minimum for a first-arrest DWI in New York state. > > A high percentage of drunk-driving prosecutions involve repeat > offenders - for whom a guilty plea on original charge means mandatory > jail or other big consequence. Where do you get this from? I happen to be a prosecutor in NY. I can tell you that first-arrest DWIs do not have a mandatory minimum. They're misdemeanors. And the majority of DWI cases are first-time offenders. A second DWI within 5 years is a class E felony, for which up to 4 years in jail is possible, but probation is also a legal sentence, and obviously a no-jail option. > They would have every incentive to hold > out for trial and get decent lawyers if no plea bargain was possible. Not necessarily. Sentencing would be more lenient pre-trial if the defendant admitted responsibility for his actions. And the best defense lawyer in the world will have a tough time beating a BAC test of 2 or 3 times the legal limit. > And don't forget that many cases are lousy from prosecutor's > viewpoint, too. A memorable one here involved a grossly-overweight > officer who had arrested a woman for drunk driving. Defense attorney > made officer demonstrate in court the field-sobriety test he'd made the > woman do on roadside; officer couldn't - in a brightly-lit courtroom - > do in flat shoes what he had woman in high heels do on a dark roadside. > Acquittal. In that case, no plea bargain meant the prosecutor got all > of nothing - instead of some of everything. I'll give the DA the benefit of the doubt and presume she took these risks into account. Though I think she's already achieved her goal. Rather than take the risk, people are (hopefully) having second thoughts before they get behind the wheel after drinking. |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
N.Y. DA says no more plea bargains in DUI cases
Larry wrote: <brevity snip/groups adjusted
> I happen to be a prosecutor in NY. I can tell you that first-arrest > DWIs do not have a mandatory minimum. § 1193. Sanctions. 1. Criminal penalties. (a) Driving while ability impaired. A violation of subdivision one of section eleven hundred ninety-two of this article shall be a traffic infraction and shall be punishable by a fine of not less than three hundred dollars <snip> http://www.nysgtsc.state.ny.us/alco-vt.htm I'd provide a link to the "actual" law but NY seems unwilling to provide it. ----- - gpsman |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
N.Y. DA says no more plea bargains in DUI cases
Larry quoted me:
> > I guarantee "no plea bargains" won't work. It will make every > > drunk-driving arrestee whose prior record has him facing mandatory jail > > or other harsh mandatory punishment hold out for a trial - and make him > > hire a lawyer specializing in all-out defenses of such cases. And - > > having both prosecuted and defended criminals from my law-school days > > in the early 1980s through lawyer days in the late 1990s - I can tell > > you that the defense always has the advantage in that situation. <and> > > A high percentage of drunk-driving prosecutions involve repeat > > offenders - for whom a guilty plea on original charge means mandatory > > jail or other big consequence. and replied: > Where do you get this from? Personal experience as intern in local prosecutor's office here in North Carolina, early 1980s, while in law school - and as trial lawyer defending cases of all kinds, including drunk-driving-related, plus being in courtroom where such cases were tried, from 1968 through end of 1990s. > I happen to be a prosecutor in NY. I can tell you that first-arrest > DWIs do not have a mandatory minimum. They're misdemeanors. Same here. > And the majority of DWI cases are first-time offenders. Maybe - but the docket here is FULL of repeat offenders. Some are charged with drunk driving - and MANY others with related stuff (driving while license suspended for drunk driving conviction, driving while license revoked, driving while license permanently revoked). In this state, driving while license permanently revoked generally is only after repeat drunk driving convictions. > A second DWI within 5 years is a class E felony, for which up to 4 years > in jail is possible, but probation is also a legal sentence, and > obviously a no-jail option. > > They would have every incentive to hold > > out for trial and get decent lawyers if no plea bargain was possible. > Not necessarily. Sentencing would be more lenient pre-trial if the > defendant admitted responsibility for his actions. Absent some explicit plea bargain, that's a hell of a crapshoot for the defendant - and he lacks any incentive to bet it. > > And don't forget that many cases are lousy from prosecutor's > > viewpoint, too. A memorable one here involved a grossly-overweight > > officer who had arrested a woman for drunk driving. Defense attorney > > made officer demonstrate in court the field-sobriety test he'd made the > > woman do on roadside; officer couldn't - in a brightly-lit courtroom - > > do in flat shoes what he had woman in high heels do on a dark roadside. > > Acquittal. In that case, no plea bargain meant the prosecutor got all > > of nothing - instead of some of everything. > I'll give the DA the benefit of the doubt and presume she took these > risks into account. Every prosecutor's office knows some officers are problems for trying their cases - for one reason or another. No plea bargaining in their cases has substantial risk of acquittal in their cases. > Though I think she's already achieved her goal. Rather than take the > risk, people are (hopefully) having second thoughts before they get > behind the wheel after drinking. Get real. I guarantee you that no plea bargaining in that New York county will invite defendants and their attorneys to hold out for trials if the officer is one of the (too) many in the National Guard being called up for Iraq or Afghanistan. What are you going to do if your sole prosecution witness is in Iraq for a year? No $4 to park! No $6 admission! http://www.INTERNET-GUN-SHOW.com |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
N.Y. DA says no more plea bargains in DUI cases
> Rice, however, can do something about it: As Nassau County district
> attorney, she has launched an aggressive assault on drunken driving in > one of the nation's busiest traffic corridors. Sounds like somebody is up for re-election. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Outrageous ruling on Indy traffic court cases | 223rem[_2_] | Driving | 317 | August 24th 06 01:16 PM |
Plea bargain for Sacramento Police Officer in DUI Hit & Run death of 13 year old boy | Jenner 335 | Driving | 3 | July 17th 06 03:02 AM |
LIDAR Trial this Week | [email protected] | Driving | 17 | April 9th 06 02:44 AM |
toyota dual transfer cases | [email protected] | 4x4 | 7 | April 7th 05 09:23 PM |
Feedback needed-New types of T1 Engine cases. | 69' Dune Buggy | VW air cooled | 7 | November 10th 04 04:19 AM |