New York DWI Lawyer Blog

New York State Troopers in Poughkeepsie arrested a Massachusetts man twice for a New York DWI on the same day last week. Joseph S. Kelley of Canton, Massachusetts drove up to Troop K headquarters in Millbrook in the early morning hours to request directions back to Massachusetts. Kelley was arrested on New York drunk driving charges and had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .17, more than twice New York's legal limit of .08. Mr. Kelley was then allowed to take a taxi back to a Poughkeepsie hotel to sleep before returning to Massachusetts. However, Kelley requested that the taxi driver stop at an ATM machine, then ran back to the Troop K headquarters, got his Toyota Highlander SUV, and headed north on the Taconic State Parkway.

Troopers stopped Mr. Kelley in the Town of Stanford where he was arraigned on DWI charges and sent to the Dutchess County jail by Judge Frank Weber. On the second drunk driving stop, Mr. Kelley's BAC was .14, well above the legal limit of .08. Mr. Kelley was due back in court this week to answer both DWI charges.

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Former New York State Assemblyman Ryan Karben's DWI trial began on October 25, 2008 in South Nyack Village Court. Karben was arrested in January of 2008 after allegedly crashing his Acura into a utility pole and then continuing to drive before being stopped by police. Karben purportedly told the Ramapo Police officers who arrested him that he swerved to avoid hitting a deer. When Mr. Karben failed 4 field sobriety tests, he was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor DWI.

Apparently, Mr. Karben also refused to take chemical test at the police station, which has resulted in an automatic 12 month revocation of his driver's license.

Karben's attorneys, including the well known former ADA for Rockland County, Kenneth Gribetz, are challenging the evidence against Mr. Karben in pre-trial hearings, including whether the Ramapo Police had probable cause to arrest Karben. The Field Sobriety Tests which formed the basis for the arrest were captured on a video camera from the patrol car, undoubtedly making for some very interesting evidence.

Jury selection was scheduled to start this week. We will report on the outcome at the conclusion of this New York drunk driving case.

Continue reading " Rockland County DWI Trial of Former NY Assemblyman Begins " »