Galluzzo secures complete dismissal of DUI charges after motor vehicle accident and Breathalyzer refusal in Manhattan; complete restoration of driver’s license after DMV refusal hearing. Complete
Our client, an attorney, was arrested in Manhattan after police found her behind the wheel of an automobile that had been in an apparent motor vehicle accident in the Lower East Side. Police allege that she appeared intoxicated and she was taken to a local hospital for examination and treatment. There, she refused to take a Breathalyzer test. She was ultimately charged in New York County Criminal Court with various misdemeanor crimes including VTL 1192.2 and 1192.1, and her license was automatically suspended pending a DMV refusal hearing.
Ultimately, The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo secured a complete dismissal of the criminal charges against our client. It is hardly uncommon for clients arrested for DUI to plead guilty to charges involving license suspensions, significant fines, attendance in rehabilitation and driver safety courses, and other penalties. But here, the client suffered no such penalties at all, and the records of her criminal arrest have been dismissed and sealed.
Following the dismissal of her criminal case, the DMV sought to suspend her driver’s license on account of her having refusal to take a Breathalyzer test. Under New York state law, if a police officer has probable cause to believe that a motorist has been operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, then the motorist must submit to a breath test or else suffer consequences. Specifically, a refusal results in immediately suspension of one’s license or privilege to drive pending a DMV refusal hearing. This DMV process is separate and distinct from any criminal charges that are likely to be brought in criminal court.
A person facing suspension for refusing to submit to a breath test is entitled to hearing with an administrative judge. These refusal hearings are typically conducted via videoconference. The arresting officer may appear to give testimony about the circumstances of the arrest and refusal. The person facing suspension and his/her attorney have an opportunity to cross-examine the police officer as well, following a direct examination typically conducted by the judge. The operative questions, typically, are 1) whether the police officer had probable cause to require the breath test, 2) whether the police officer properly warned the person about the consequences of not performing the test, 3) whether that test would have been performed within a reasonable amount of time, typically less than two hours, and 4) whether the person in fact refused the test.
If police officers fail to appear, the judges can base their decisions on police arrest paperwork. Sometimes, those documents sufficiently demonstrate which warnings were given and when for a judge to conclude that a person’s license should be suspended. For failing to submit to a breath test, the penalty for first-time offenders is typically one year of license suspension.
Galluzzo carefully cross-examined the police officer in this DMV refusal hearing to elicit information that the client had been unable to submit to the breath test because of hospital staff preventing her from being seen by the police officers. Also, the request for the breath test happened almost three hours after the arrest of the client. Taking those two things together, the Court concluded that the matter should be closed without any further suspension of the client’s license. The client is now able to drive again without any financial penalties whatsoever.
If you or a loved one have been arrested in New York for driving under the influence, you should strongly consider retaining the services of the Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo. Mr. Galluzzo has obtained extraordinary results for clients and has the respect of judges and prosecutors throughout the state.