Eric Sachs, New York (Long Island) DWI Lawyer Interview

 

He has agreed to let me interview him today and I am going to get right into the questions.

Q : My first question for him today is What made you choose to handle DWI cases and what motivates you to be a criminal defense lawyer?

 

Eric: Well I have been a public servant most of my life. From the time that I was a kid, moving up to the time that I was the assistant district attorney. And then the time to become a criminal defense attorney. And I realized that there things that you need to do that are the right thing to do for people and people need help. They don't want to be preyed upon. They want to have somebody that knows the law and can help them with whatever problem they seem to have. DUI's DWI's have become such a major issue now a days that I find that people moreso than anything, the innocent people, the people that are not criminals. It's a mistake that you can make. Like a speeding ticket or anything else. It's a mistake but it can be a very costly mistake. And it can vastly and grossly effect your life.

 

Q : How many cases do you think that you have handled in what time period?

 

Eric: Over the past 26 years I would say I have handled probably close to 300 or more DUI Cases.

 

Q : Quite a few. Is there any particular defendant circumstance that you get more first time offenders or men or women or older people or younger?

 

Eric: Well we handle, obviously handle the whole gammet of cases. The most that we seem to have seem to be men more than women and probably in their 30's to 50's. And a majority of them are first time offenders . And because they are first time offenders, the person who made the mistake, it is critical that those cases are handled correctly. Because for the rest of their lives any prior blemish on their record could be a big big problem.

 

Q : Do you tend to see that more of your clients have high blood alcohol levels or a lot of them come close to that .08 limit?

 

Eric: I think we see nowadays more close to the limit. A lot that are probably a little bit below the limit and some that will maybe go up to a .13. Obviously there are those that are higher and in New York State we have .18 is an aggravated driving while intoxicated. But because the atmosphere on Long Island, and the police officers are pulling people over for anything that they think can be a DWI a lot of people are coming in now with a low reading.

 

Q : Okay. Do you see a lot of the cases due to the alcohol or drugs? Which one is more , I mean if it is drugs which one is harder or easier to defend?

 

Eric: Still the majority are alcohol related. I do see a lot of drug, a lot more drug related accusations coming in now. Even people that are unfortunate enough that they need regular medication. If you are on prescription medication, as soon as the police officers here you are on medication, even though it is legal, it's prescribed, it doesn't say that you can't operate even heavy machinery, those people are accused of driving under the influence by drugs.

 

Q : So even if I said I took Tylenol for my headache..

 

Eric: Well Tylenol is not so much the issue as people who are taking Oxycontin. People who are taking a small amount of Zanex. People who are on Aturol. People who have ADD taking Aderol a prescription medication. Even though a lot of these prescription medications do not impair you, will not impair you by virtue of the fact that you have it       or you have told them that it is in your system or for some reason they have gotten a blood test and it shows up even as a trace the government will prosecute you for driving while intoxicated by use of drugs.

 

Q : What do you say, I mean you have already spoken about this, but what would you say is unique about the DUI laws Nassau county or the other counties you service in New York.

 

Eric: Nassau county is very unique. As a district attorney campaign that was elected, based upon her war and that is what she calls it. It is a war against drunk drivers. Because of her position, the surrounding counties are also pressured to prosecute cases that they may not feel as strongly need to be prosecuted. In Nassau county just about every traffic offense seems to have a DWI tinged to it. Police officer seems to think that every traffic accident seems to have a DWI relation to it. Even though it's not. So most of the people who are innocent, not only who are not guilty are innocent who have not done anything wrong but have a traffic ticket or traffic infraction. Maybe have been on the telephone or was texting or you know took any kind of maneuver to avoid a pothole, the first thought that goes through the governments mind is, the police officers mind, is you must be intoxicated. They will pull you over and the police officers here and the government does not look to see what they can investigate, they only look to see what they can prosecute you for that.

 

Q : So what would be your best tip, if I am here and driving around and I see the lights flash behind me you know maybe I have been drinking a little bit. What should I do, what shouldn't I do is there anything I should do?

 

Eric: Absolutely. What you should do is obviously pull over be polite to the police officer. But there are several reasons not to take any test that is hard to say never take the test. Obviously commercial driving licenses are a special issue. If you do not take a test and you refuse or you are accused of refusing the test. Meaning that what they refer to as the field sobriety tests roadside. Taking any kind of breath test or blood test, you will have a license ramification for that. But besides the license ramification there is almost nothing I would do to tell you to take that test. I would deal with license revocation because the tests that are made are not fair test. They are made for you to fail them. If you do everything properly the test is called inconclusive. SO there is nothing you can really say or do. If the police officer is determined that you are intoxicated they are going to arrest you. And unless you have some special reason that you need to take it I would advise everybody first to talk to an attorney before you take it. You have the right to talk to an attorney before you take the test. But most of the time I would tell everybody to be polite, and politely refuse to take those tests.

 

Q : And just to get into more detail when you say the tests, field sobriety versus preliminary breath tests, should you say no to both or just the field sobriety test.

 

Eric: I would say no to both . I would be polite. I would be cooperative. I would hand over the documents. Everything that you do in the normal course of the day shows that you are not intoxicated. It's only when you take the tests that the government has created, those tests are made to show or to try and show that you are intoxicated. Standing on one leg, doesn't really show that you can or can not operate a motor vehicle. Walking a straight line. None of these tests that they give you you had to take to get a drivers license. None of the tests that they ask you to take shows whether or not you can operate a motor vehicle. So because of that we tell everybody there is no reason to take those. But by your driving and pulling over to the side of the road, that is a normal operation. By handing your drivers license to the police officer , by handing him the registration and the insurance card. Those are all normal things that we do. That shows that you can understand, you can multitask and you can operate a motor vehicle. The fact that you can or cannot stand on one leg does not mean you can or can not drive a motor vehicle properly.

 

Q : So what kinds of help can you provide to DWI defendants? Can you reduce their time in jail or reduce their fines or classes? What kinds of things can you do?

 

Eric: Well many times we can do all of those. Depending upon the circumstances. A lot of times by the time someone contacts me they have already taken those tests. They have already made their statements, they have said and done different things. But by having the knowledge in the DUI Field of what goes into a driving while intoxicated case, what the government looks for and how to defend these cases, we are very successful in reducing jail time sometimes to no time at all. To licenses revocations, if the case gets reduced then your license ramifications will be lessened. So there is a lot of things that go into the proper defense of a DWI case. Other than just showing up in court and pleading somebody guilty. So there is a lot that we can do. And the sooner they call an attorney the better it is for them.

 

Q : Yeah it is good to know. You have already answered the next question what success have you had. You mentioned that pretty often it is successful in getting some kind of help. Well what would you say the pros and cons are of hiring a lawyer to defend you versus representing yourself or a public defender

 

Eric: Well I believe Abraham Lincoln said it also, you should never represent yourself. Even a lawyer shouldn't represent himself. So anybody who goes to court charged with any kind of crime, let alone a driving while intoxicated case, they should have a lawyer. Not only should they have a lawyer they should have lawyer who deals with DWI's. Again there are a lot of things outside the court that will affect them. Their employment, if they have special licenses such as a stock broker or a pilot's license or a commercial drivers license. Those will be affected. Their employment in and of itself. There are certain reporting requirements that people need to make. And it continues on outside the court.

 

Q : So what have you learned about people's behavior and their reaction to being arrested and prosecuted for DWI? What insights do you get into the human side of the process?

 

Eric: Interestingly enough most people are concerned with their drivers license rather than are they going to go to jail?

 

Really?

 

Eric: And people should understand that driving while intoxicated people do go to jail for these. And again a lot of that comes from what they have said and what they have done during the arrest process. Again an aggravated driving while intoxicated in New York comes from an blood alcohol reading of .18% or more. Without furnishing that reading to the government, that can't be charged. But people should be very concerned. I think the majority of the people are concerned that they have been arrested. I don't think they treat this lightly which is good. That is important. But they have to understand that it is a crime.

 

Eric: Right

 

Eric: It's not just a traffic ticket. You are going to be going to court. It is a crime. Although the majority of the people, especially first time offenders will not be going to jail. It doesn't mean you can't. But they should treat it very seriously and make sure that they do everything that their attorney tells them to do. And they should obviously seek an attorney as quick as possible.

 

Q : You were saying that the loss of license seems to be the most impactful or most upsetting thing to people.

 

Eric: Right on Long Island, public transportation is an issue. So without having your license it is very difficult if not somewhat impossible to get to and from work, school, doctors appointments.  But New York State has compensated for that by saying, most people are eligible for conditional licenses that will allow you to get to and from work to and from school, to doctors appointments. But again you have to know if you are eligible if you are not eligible. And that is where an attorney comes in to play. But without having a license, most people are terrified of that more than anything else.

 

Q : Okay. That's important to know. Is there a particular story that you keep hearing from your clients over and over and over?

 

Eric: The majority of the people are I wasn't doing anything wrong. The police officer pulled me over and he said that my speech was slurred. He said that I was speeding. He said all the traffic things. I hear the same thing over and again. I only had one drink. I only had two drinks. What people have to understand is that we live in a society now where people don't want us to drink and drive at all.

 

Eric: So where it is not illegal to drink and drive it's only a legal to have a certain percentage of alcohol in your blood at the time that you are operating. So most people need to be very careful. They should not drink and drive if they can avoid it. Have a designated driver. But a lot of times people come home with a designated driver and then go back out to the store to get milk, or cigarettes and it's I'm only driving 2 blocks or around the corner and that is when they have the encounter with the police.

 

Q : So they say a lot of accidents happen only a few miles from home. I guess is the same type of thing.

 

Eric: I have had people that crashed into the tree next door. I have had people who have come home, gone back out to the store and then were waiting at the traffic light on their way home and then somebody else rear ended them. That's how the police came to the scene and then they were arrested for the driving while intoxicated. SO unlike other crimes where people actually go in and they steal something or they actually commit a crime, some of the circumstances of DWI's are just unavoidable. You could be as careful as possible but there are still other people on the road. And there are still obstacles and we hear a lot of that. People get in court that way.

 

Q : Yeah it's important to know. Okay. Do you feel the current DWI punishments are too harsh or are they too lax and why?

 

Eric: I think the current punishments at least in New York State, are too harsh. Again we are talking with people who have committed not a crime but a mistake. And it is fair for somebody who makes a mistake to possibly lose their jobs to lose their earnings? I think that's harsh. Does everybody need to have an intoxilock to take a breathalyzer every time they get into the car just because they were coming home from their child's wedding and this is the one time they have had a problem? I don't think so.

 

Certainly repeat offenders need to be dealt with but even repeat offenders that are sick. Alcoholism is a disease. It's being sick. It's not a crime to be sick. They wouldn't put you in jail if you kept getting pneumonia or the flu. But if you can't beat your alcoholism and your addiction, they are going to put you in jail. I think that is ridiculous. I think that these people really need to be in a rehabilitation. They need how to deal with their alcoholism not to be off the streets for 6 months or a year or even more and then be released back into society still without having the help as to how to handle whatever the trigger was that made them drink in the first place. The punishment in DWI cases definitely does not fit the crime.

 

Q : Okay I guess what do you see as the future of DWI in terms of punishments and the amount of people that are offending?

 

Eric: Well the future is scary. I have read articles, I have seen people talk. The latest letters to the editor telling us that every car that comes out of Detroit, every new car should come with a breathalyzer device in it to stop us from ever driving drunk. Does that mean that they are going to eventually out governors in your car so that your car can no longer go faster than 55 miles an hour? I see our civil liberties being an issue.

 

I think our society has become a very frightened society. We have been scared to death hearing about if you drink and drive you are going to kill somebody. Everybody is being killed by drunk drivers. People are being killed by drunk drivers and people are being killed by sober drivers. So I think that society needs to take a step and we need to educate our public, we need to educate our children, our future drivers not to do these things. But throwing people in jail and making the punishment more harsh and making the breath alcohol reading lower that doesn't solve the problem. That just creates a bigger problem.

 

Q : Yeah it doesn't seem to be having an effect so far.

 

Eric: Yeah because we are not criminals we make a mistake. You go out for dinner and have a glass of wine, it was not your intention to go out and drive drunk. It was not your intention to go out and commit a crime. Unlike people who go into the store and steal something, that's their intention. But if you go out to dinner with couples, if you go out to celebrate a wedding or an anniversary or a party, it is not your intention to do wrong. You may have had, made bad judgment. You may have made a mistake, but you shouldn't be punished more severely than the person who actually goes out and intentionally commits a crime.

 

Right.

 

Q : Lastly, so what makes you and your firm unique in providing DUI defense and what statement do you want to make to all the potential clients that are watching this video and that are considering hiring you?

 

Eric: Well what makes me unique is I am a member of an organization called the National College for DUI defense. I spend a tremendous amount of time staying up on the latest technologies about what makes DUI cases. How the government researches and what test they use. So I can know as much as they know. And then using that knowledge we can look into any problems there may be with the case and we can educate our clients.

 

With that knowledge you separate yourself from attorneys who don't have the time or the desire to specialize more in this field. And with that knowledge I can use it to educate my clients, tell them what we need to do to prepare their defense and go the extra mile and take the extra time. Spend more time in court to convince the prosecution that this person actually needs a break. This is what the story is and have their cases handled accordingly.

 

Watch Eric Sachs Interview HERE >>