Interviewer: Do people normally admit to drug usage even though it is against their interests?

Michael Kramer: Most people want to be honest, they feel that honesty is the best policy, and therefore they make admissions against their own interests which gives the police evidence that they would not normally have.

It is a Common Occurrence for a Motorist to Deny Usage of Drugs if There is a Smell of Marijuana Coming from the Vehicle

Interviewer: Do you ever get situations where someone says, ‘Hey, this wasn’t my marijuana, or this wasn’t my drug or whatever it was, this belongs to a friend of mine.’ Do you ever get cases like that and what would happen in a case like that?

Michael Kramer: All the time. If there is a smell in the car, the motorist then would say, well I just left off my friend and he was the one who was smoking in the car, it was not me. The police officer can either believe them or not, usually not, then the police officer will conduct additional tests, mainly field sobriety tests. How you perform on the field sobriety tests will determine whether you are going to be arrested. In addition, you will be asked to take a urine test and if it’s positive for marijuana usage, the inference, you were also smoking recently will be that much greater.

The Role of Miranda Rights in a DWAI Drug Case in the State of New York

Interviewer: Where do Miranda Rights or Miranda warnings come into play with all this?

Michael Kramer: An arrest is not invalidated for failing to advise someone of their Miranda Rights. It’s not like on television. Police do not have to advise you of your Miranda Rights in order to make a valid arrest. However, if the police intend to question you and illicit responses from you, that they want to use later on at a trial, then they have to show that they advised you of your Miranda Rights previously.

The Information Entered on a Law Enforcement Computer Endures Despite a Dismissal or an Acquittal

Interviewer: When it comes to a case that’s been dismissed or a case has been resolved somehow, there’s a final disposition where it shows that the person was innocent, is that still going to stay on their record?

Michael Kramer: Well that’s an excellent question. It has been my experience that once something is on a computer, it’s almost impossible to remove it. I am referring to the law enforcement computers. So even if you’re acquitted at trial, the incident will still probably still appear on a finger print check.

There is No Such Thing as Expungement in the State of New York

Interviewer: There is no way to get it cleared or removed?

Michael Kramer: There is no such thing as expungement in New York but I am sure that if someone were found not guilty, there are ways to petition certain courts to have court orders removal of the item from a computer. However whether all records of the incident can be removed is still an open question.