Pleading Not Guilty to ‘Ability Impaired by Marijuana’ / DWI in New York?
Question by Craig: Pleading not guilty to ‘Ability Impaired by Marijuana’ / DWI in New York?
I got pulled over at a random check point in New York, I have a Connecticut license. I was arrested for ‘Ability Impaired By Drugs’ and ‘Unlawful Possession of Marijuana’, I failed a sobriety test for reasons not stated to me. I do not believe that I told the officer that I had been smoking but am not 100% sure. It would surely be a waste of time to contest possession but I would like to plead not guilty to ‘Ability Impaired’, the urine test will show up posistive for marijuana but I do not admit to smoking that day. This is my only legal offense of any kind.
Questions:
– Will it be worth my while to plead not guilty to Ability Impaired if I utilize a public defender?
– My understanding is there is no metric by which to measure impairment by marijuana, so regardless of the test result is it plausible to argue having not ingested marijuana prior to driving and if so, what is the legal time threshold at which ingestion is considered impairment? I mean, can I admit to smoking the day before and still be legally okay to drive?
Best answer:
Answer by Ojames
Tell the truth and you will be allright
Answer by Kenneth
You can try pleading not guilty to try and reduce the charges through a plea agreement, but there is a method to determine active amounts of THC within your system, and the test will show that.
And either way, if you failed the sobriety test (they don’t have to tell you the reasons you failed at the time of the arrest) and appeared to be under the influence (bloodshot eyes, smelled of marijuana smoke, odd behavior, etc) then they will be able to convict you at trial.
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” I failed a sobriety test for reasons not stated to me.”
Never take a field sobriety test. Get a lawyer who is skilled at handling DWI cases in NY.
“…can I admit to smoking the day before and still be legally okay to drive?”
It’s illegal. Never admit to smoking it unless it’s part of a plea deal with the court. Read the fifth amendment. You don’t have to admit to anything.
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“but there is a method to determine active amounts of THC within your system, and the test will show that. ”
That method is a BLOOD TEST. You can’t get that information from urine.