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New York DWI and the Ambiguity Effect
Mind Hacking a New York DWI Plea Bargain
Much as no one likes blind dates or dark rooms, fear of the
unknown is ever present in our day to day lives. People naturally hate ambiguity,
and will avoid making choices where the outcome is unknown. This is present
with much of our decision making but even more so when it comes to dealing with
criminal charges.
Why do more than 95% of all criminal cases and even DWIs , get
resolved by plea bargaining? People would prefer to choose a known over an
unknown. Your mind is forever influenced by the ambiguity effect. Your decision
making is always affected by this bias of ambiguity or lack of information.
In DWI cases the unknowns are everything that can happen
after a trial. So what can happen after all?
1. You can be found guilty to some or even all of the
charges.
It is common for the police and the district attorney to
charge everything they can upfront. With a New York DWI we usually see multiple
DWIs and multiple tickets. If the jury comes back guilty in some DWI cases this
can mean being found guilty of common law DWI (VTL 1192.3) based upon the
police observations of your behavior, being found guilty of another DWI called
DWI "per se" based upon a specific BAC (blood alcohol concentration)
or even multiple "per se" DWIs, like aggravated DWI if you were .18
BAC or more, and additionally the .08 BAC DWI.
If there were other drugs involved you could be found guilty
of DWAI (driving while ability impaired by drugs,) and if alcohol and other
drugs were charged, additionally DWAI combo (drugs plus alcohol). So you could
be found guilty by the jury of two, three, or even four DWIs.
With a Plea bargained DWI you usually will only plead to ONE
DWI or DWAI charge. Believe me when I say the DMV in NYS, and DMV in other
states will punish your license privileges even more with more than one DWI. Each charge carries additional fines, and potentially
increases in other punishments. It's not a pretty picture.
2. The jury doesn't decide your punishment to those charges.
In some states juries weigh in on sentencing and punishment.
In New York State juries don't make the final decision on punishment, they just
decide guilt or innocence of the charges given to them. Judges set sentencing
of what the punishment is. The district attorney on a non-plea bargained
(non-negotiated) DWI case can ask the judge for any legal sentence.
What is any legal sentence in a New York State DWI case?
Each DWI or DWAI misdemeanor charge can carry a sentence of
up to one year in the county jail or three years of probation or a combination
of jail plus probation. In a New York DWI felony case this is ratcheted up to dramatically
to one and half to four years in state prison or five years of probation or a
combination of prison plus probation. They can also ask for increased fines,
additional conditions of release, and additional obligations to the court. This
can range from mandatory and monitored drug/alcohol treatment to many hours of community
service.
These are the main two reasons that a New York negotiated DWI
plea bargain can alleviate fear and bring some certainty to a scary process. In
the next blog post we will discuss bringing creativity to sentencing and negotiating plea deals.
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