Bureaus > Vehicular Crimes Unit > Policies and Law > Albany County DWI Policy

Albany County DWI Policy

1. Every defendant must get an alcohol/substance abuse evaluation prior to being able to plea out their case.
2. Where defendant refuses to submit to a chemical test, and there is no crash involved, then the defendant must plea to misdemeanor DWI, with treatment (if determined necessary by evaluation), mandatory fine, Victim Impact Panel (VIP), DMV Drinker Driver Program (DDP), and Waiver of Appeal (WOA).
3. Where defendant's blood alcohol content is .14 or lower, and there is no crash involved, then the defendant may receive an Ability Impaired (AI), with treatment (if determined necessary by evaluation), mandatory fine, VIP, DDP, and WOA.
4. Where defendant’s blood alcohol content is .15 to .19, and there is no crash involved, then the defendant must plea to misdemeanor DWI, with treatment (if determined necessary by evaluation), mandatory fine, VIP, DDP, and WOA.
5. Where defendant’s blood alcohol content is .20 or higher, and there is no crash involved, then the defendant must plea to misdemeanor Aggravated DWI, with 3 years probation, $1,000 fine, treatment, installation and maintenance of a functioning ignition interlock device (IID) in any vehicle owned or operated by the defendant during the term of probation, VIP, DDP, if eligible, WOA.
6. If defendant has no prior alcohol related history, but was involved in a Property Damage Automobile Accident (PDAA), (first, make sure there were no injuries—ie: contact other driver and/or defendant’s passenger to verify), then defendant must get alcohol evaluation, plea to the DWI or Aggravated DWI, with treatment (if determined necessary by evaluation), restitution for any uninsured expenses, mandatory fine, VIP, DDP, and WOA.
7. If defendant has no prior alcohol related history, but was involved in a Personal Injury Automobile Accident (PIAA), where someone other than the defendant received minor injuries, (first contact victim to verify injuries are minor), then defendant must get alcohol evaluation, plea to the DWI (or Aggravated if .18 or above), with treatment, restitution for any uninsured expenses, mandatory fine, 3 years probation, VIP, DDP, and WOA
8. If the defendant has a prior alcohol related conviction, but is presently not a felony DWI, then the defendant must plea to a misdemeanor DWI or Aggravated DWI (see #3 and 4 above for sentence), PLUS successfully complete treatment.
9. If the defendant has been charged with a VTL 1192.4 or VTL 1192.4-a charge, the defendant MUST plea to the charge, with the sentence for the conviction left to the discretion of the ADA (taking into consideration any aggravating factors: priors, crash, injuries, etc.).
10. If a defendant is charged with a violation of VTL 1198, the defendant must plea to that charge in addition to any VTL 1192 plea (as per this policy)
11. All felony DWIs should be sent up to county court for review.
12. Leandra's Law cases will not be reduced to misdemeanors.
13. For all cases where there is a victim you must notify our Crime Victims Unit.