When it comes to DWI offenses, there is not much that a DWI attorney can do as far as the person’s license being revoked. If a Criminal Court intends to suspend a driver's license as a result of the DWI case, the driver can make the argument that the suspension of the license would be an “extreme hardship”.  There are certain circumstances that classify a person for an extreme hardship temporary license.  A person would have to work with a special New York DWI lawyer, since there are specific circumstances in New York that determine if someone qualifies.

 

In New York, "extreme hardship" is defined as a number of things, and different circumstances have priority for consideration of a temporary license. Such examples of hardships would include having to go from home to a place of medical treatment (for the person, or a person in the household), or the inability of the person to obtain alternative means of travel to and from work. Also, extreme hardship licenses can be granted if the person is a student enrolled in an accredited school, college or university and their only means of transportation to and from school is driving.

 

While the court judge has no set guidelines to follow when determining is a certain DWI case should be granted these temporary licenses, since each DWI case will have special circumstances, there are some general considerations when evaluating a hardship application. First, they look at the person’s presence or absence in their household.  In addition to that, they also look for the household’s ability to provide transportation to the person facing the DWI offenses.  Furthermore, the judge will look at where the person works, and consider possible means of transportation to and from work. 

Not only that, but they look to the DWI case, and see how the person could afford public transportation, or if family or friends are available for transportation.  Any other factors are left up to each individual judge and DWI case to determine what would qualify the person for the license.  If the DWI offenses are not too serious, it is likely that a court judge could be somewhat lenient, but this goes without saying. 

 

Of course any individual situation will have to be evaluated in the context of the entire set of circumstances by a criminal defense lawyer, but any DWI case has a chance, in many minor cases.

 

If someone is successful in obtaining a hardship privilege, they need to realize that the license is only valid for the purposes for which they were able to obtain the hardship privilege. Basically, this is where people make a “grey area” when the privileges are black and white. In other words, if the person demonstrates the hardship for getting to and from work, that will be the extent to which the privilege will extend.  The hardship privilege does not restore full driving privileges.

 

If a person has been given an adjournment for the purpose of permitting that they make an extreme hardship argument, they will need to consult with a New York DWI attorney about making this argument as well as defending the criminal case itself.