The Costs Associated With DWAI Drug Charges In New York

Interviewer: What are some of the costs that are going to be associated with a DWAI Drug charge? Apart from attorney costs, what are some of the costs associated with it?

Michael Kramer: It depends on what you’re convicted of, if you’re convicted. If the DWAI Drug charge is reduced to DWAI Alcohol, then the fine is between $300 – $500. There’s the cost of a drug evaluation probably between $300 – $400. There’s a cost to attend the drinking driver program of perhaps a $150. There is the cost for the Victim Impact Panel which is up to $65. If it’s a DWAI Drug plea, that is if you are not convicted of the lesser charge, then the fines go up to $500 to $1,000 and everything else remains the same.

Common Client Mistakes in a DWAI Drug Case in the State of New York

Interviewer: What are some of the common mistakes people make when it comes to DWAI Drugs? What are some things that you have heard that people have said to police officers?

Michael Kramer: The worst mistake you can make in a DWAI Drug case is admissions. Admission to recent ingestion of a drug, prescribed drug or marijuana. The police may smell marijuana in a car but they can’t say when and who caused that smell and there is no test, no chemical test which can show recent use of marijuana. So other than you’re admitting that you smoked that day, or perhaps smoked an hour before, you are your own worst enemy. So if the police ask you such questions, you should just refuse to answer. You should say I’d rather not discuss it, I’d like to discuss it with an attorney first if that’s necessary.

The Urine Test Will Show the Presence of Marijuana for a Month After You’ve Smoked it

Interviewer: Have you dealt cases or seen cases where someone’s been suspected and arrested let’s say marijuana use for instance. They submitted to some sort of chemical test. Now this person says, ‘Well, I do smoke marijuana but this was a few days ago, maybe even a week ago.’ Are those results going to show up in those tests?

Michael Kramer: The test they usually employ is a urine test. The urine test can show the presence of marijuana but experts tell me that marijuana stays in your system and may In a case such as this with no admission to recent marijuana use, all the police will then rely on is their observations of the motorist and results of FST, if any.

The Demographics Associated With DWAI Drug Charges in New York

Interviewer: What about demographics here. What have you observed about demographics of the individuals. What are some trends that you have noticed as far as age groups and drug usage when it comes to driving?

Michael Kramer: There really isn’t any trend that I can point to. I’ve had clients arrested for DWAI drugs who are 40 / 50 / 60 years of age as well as teenagers. However, common sense tells us that the younger you are, the less responsible you may be in terms of drug use.