The 20-Day Order Lets You Keep Driving after a DWI Conviction
If you wind up being convicted for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) in New York, or related offenses (DWAI, Aggravated DWI, DWAI/Drugs, Drugs and Alcohol Combined DWAI), your driver’s license will be suspended/revoked for 90 days (DWAI), six months (DWI) or more depending upon the offense and any prior convictions or other penalty enhancements. If you are eligible to enter the Impaired Driving Program (IDP, formerly the DDP or Drinking Driver Program), then you may be able to get a conditional license from the NY DMV. But it usually takes about 18 days for the fact of a license suspension by the court to be processed through the DMV. What can you do until then? Is there any way you can still drive?
The answer is to get a 20-Day Order from the court when your license is suspended. With this order, the court will “stay” or delay your license suspension or revocation for 20 days. This is to give time for the DMV to receive notice of your suspension, and give you time to apply for the IDP and a conditional license. When the criminal defense attorneys at Dupée & Monroe are representing you in a DWI or DWAI case, they will request a 20-Day Stay at the time of sentencing to help keep you driving until you can get a conditional license.
Full Driving Privileges During 20-Day Stay
A conditional license only allows you to drive for certain limited reasons, such as to and from work, school or doctor’s appointments, or to run errands during a limited period each week. But during the period of the 20-Day Stay, your driver’s license suspension is not being enforced. In other words, you have your full driving privileges during this 20-day period, the same as if your driver’s license had not been suspended at all.
Take these Steps to Keep Driving
If you are convicted of DWI, make sure your attorney asks for a 20-Day Stay of your license suspension at sentencing. This gives you 20 days to get your conditional license without losing your driving privileges. As soon as you receive the formal revocation notice from the DMV about your driver’s license suspension, head down to the DMV to apply for the IDP and a conditional license. All Orange County DMVs have enforcement units that handle conditional or restricted use licenses, so you can apply at the Newburgh, Middletown or Port Jervis office, or wherever is most convenient. You should also have an Ignition Interlock Device installed on your vehicle during the 20-Day period. This device will already be required during the term of your probation or conditional discharge.
Get Comprehensive Assistance with Your New York DWI Arrest
The criminal defense attorneys at Dupée & Monroe in Goshen are here to help with every aspect of your DWI/DWAI arrest, from seeking a dismissal or reduction in charges to defending you in court, and guiding you through any post-conviction procedures regarding your driver’s license, including a 20-Day Order and a conditional license. Call 845-294-8900 to talk to an attorney at Dupée & Monroe about how we can help.
