Have you ever driven down Route 59 in Spring Valley late at night and spotted those flashing blue and red lights in your rearview mirror? Your heart probably skipped a beat, right? I know exactly what happens next – not just as a defense attorney, but because I’ve been on the other side of that interaction. And I can tell you that it could be Spring Valley DWI stop.
As a former 22-year state trooper, I’ve conducted hundreds of traffic stops just like the one you might have experienced. Today, I want to give you an insider’s perspective on what really happens during a DWI stop in Spring Valley and what it means for professionals who hold state professional licenses and what facing criminal charges could mean surrounding their livelihood. Spring Valley is the bustling diverse small metropolis that spans only about 2 square miles of Rockland County. It is the second most populous community in Rockland and falls within segments of the towns of Ramapo and Clarkstown.
First, let’s briefly probe the motivation and officer mindset. There are a myriad of reasons officers become focused on DWI arrests and their motivation might not be what you might think. Officers, and particularly troopers, are typically rated on their number of arrests. DWI arrests are a priority enforcement area in some agencies, such as the state police, who are largely tasked with a traffic related focus for its uniformed officers.
The agency prioritizes traffic-related enforcement for its uniform troopers. Managers and supervisors view it favorably. Indeed, station supervisors do not want to be considered as overseeing a stationhouse of slugs; rather, they want their enforcement numbers to reflect a robust, motivated team. At oe point, troopers would receive a commendation based on achieving a certain number of DWI arrests within a month or given period. The DWI arrest number is not a mandate, such as what would be associated with a quota, but the more arrests you get – and in particular with DWIs – the higher the likelihood of a commendation or hierarchical in-agency recognition.
Conversely, if an officer has what is considered a low count on DWIs, as compared with others in the station, or has received a warning or admonishment from a supervisor concerning the dearth of his impaired-driving related arrests, she or he becomes more focused or motivated on an weekend evening or night shift to secure such an arrest.
This is the reason and rationale behind when a motorist is at a loss to explain why the officer inexplicably arrested him 1 block from his residence or after he had already pulled into his driveway and where the police pull in behind him. Most officers are simply not concerned about the motorist having made it home without incident; they need that impaired driving or DWI arrest for their own personal reasons – oftentimes to keep that supervisor of her or his back or to seek recognition from management and receive a commendation.
Officers become particularly focused on DWI enforcement on nights and weekends when bar and social activity within the region is more robust. They know that for many the work week is over, however, their inclination may be to cap the long workweek by going out for a beer or drink — to unwind often with a coworker or friend leading into the weekend.
It is important to mention that some officers are assigned to a traffic or DWI task force enforcement roles and responsibilities. That is a unit or where an individual officer is dedicated to traffic enforcement; therefore their responsibility does not typically have them responding to regular calls for assistance, such as shoplifting calls, domestics or other such crimes. They are related and dedicated, absent an emergency, to the various and sundry forms of traffic enforcement.
DWI or traffic-related enforcement is often less of an priority in city or urban police departments that experience other immediate public-safety issues. Cities that experience violence-related challenges, gang-related issues; significant property crimes such as residential burglaries or other break-ins, view traffic-related enforcement such as DWIs as lower priority.
Let’s picture a typical Friday night along Main Street in Spring Valley. You’ve just left a bar restaurant or a friend’s residence after dinner and you’re heading home. Perhaps you have had a glass of wine or two. Perhaps more.
As a former state trooper who received impaired-driver training, I can advise of this firsthand. DWI or DUI training is promulgated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or “NHTSA,” which is a federal government agency that has paired with the IACP (International Association of Chiefs of Police) to train police agencies and officers nationwide on impaired motorist detection. The training is standardized across the country and given to officers in a NHTSA Participant Manual.
Officers are trained to look for specific behaviors in motorists that are consistent with impairment. NHTSA training breaks it down into 3 Phases. Phase 1 is the Vehicle in Motion phase (where the officers observes or encounters the vehicle and it engages in a particular violation); Phase 2 is the Personal Contact phase (where the officer approaches the vehicle and uses his senses such as where he smells an alcoholic beverage or burnt marihuana blunt, etc.); Phase 3 is the Pre-Arrest Screening (where the officer has enough indicators to administer the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, or SFSTs, to the motorist.)
In Phase 1, Vehicle in Motion, there are about 30 violations, called “cues” that officers are trained to look for. These cues are contained in the NHTSA participant training manual, which officers receive and study as part of a 24 hour, 3-day NHTSA training segment. NHTSA training is standardized, meaning the police office, for example, in Albany, New York has received the same training from the NHTSA Participant Manual as an officer in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Officers are trained to look for specific motorist violations during Phase 1 that is supported by DWI – DUI arrest data and statistics, compiled over decades, of indicators suggestive of impaired driving on key days or time periods. Some of the identified traffic infractions suggestive of impairment on certain days during key time periods include:
It is worth noting that many of these “indicators” can have perfectly innocent explanations. But that is immaterial in the officer’s eyes. Maybe, for example, you were adjusting your smartphone GPS to navigate Spring Valley’s confusing one-way streets. Or as a nurse or other medical professional had just departed Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern, where after a long shift opened your glove compartment to get hand sanitizer. On so many occasions there is an innocent explanation for the alleged weave or traffic infraction. Nevertheless, said explanation will fall on deaf ears: the officer now has probable cause to make a traffic stop of your vehicle and your explanation, likely will be deemed an “admission,” to be logged into her or his notes as a corroborative explanation of what he observed.
Which will later be used against you in the event of a Hearing or trial. You have a right to remain silent. Exercise that right!
Once you’re pulled over near Memorial Park or along Main Street, if the officer suspects impairment, they’ll ask you to step out of the vehicle to perform standardized field sobriety tests. I’ve administered those tests on so many occasions. As an Instructor in field sobriety tests, I now critique the manner with which officers administer SFSTs as a DWI DUI defense attorney. As a fundamental premise, SFSTs are the Phase 3 Pre-Arrest Screening tools that officers administer to further gauge whether probable cause exists to arrest a person for an impaired driving charge.
I examine the manner with which the officer instructs or administers the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, or “SFSTs.” As well as the “clues” the officer said he or she noticed (i.e., what you allegedly performed wrong) and how the officer “scores” your overall performance on the SFSTs.
As a current instructor in NHTSA Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs,) I’ve received more training than the average police officer. Accordingly, I know when the officer has either administered or scored the SFSTs incorrectly.
Here’s what most Spring Valley and Rockland County residents don’t realize: the Field sobriety tests can be incredibly difficult to pass — even when you’re completely sober. They are challenging and designed to gauge one’s psycho motor skills. In reality those tests can be challenging but are particularly difficult when you are impaired.
As the rare attorney who is a former breathalyzer operator and granted a NYS permit to operate a breathalyzer instrument, I can advise firsthand that the deck is often stacked against you. As a fundamental principal, the motorist does not know the scoring criteria. So, when the officer detects, for example, a clue such as where you raised your arms during the “Walk-and-Turn” test, which is the second of three SFSTS, you were not informed beforehand – noting it is not required to alert you as part as the administration of the test — that the arm raising action represents something you should not do and will scored as a “clue” associated with impairment. Nor that it is only relevant is you raise your arm 6” or more.
It akin to entering a poker game and not knowing the rules…. Another point: the officer has had several practice sessions when he first attempted the tests, typically in a controlled setting, such as a classroom. You get one shot – after just being asked to exit a vehicle when you have been pulled over and are nervous and scared – and that is one attempt often times in an area with traffic or vehicles driving by.
Consider the “Walk and Turn” test on the uneven sidewalks of Spring Valley. You’re asked to walk heel-to-toe in a straight line – something most people rarely practice – while being evaluated on so many points of failure. Did you know that starting to perform the test too soon counts against you? Or that raising raising your arms slightly for balance is considered a clue?
If you’re like most people, you probably think the breathalyzer is the end-all, be-all of DWI or DUI evidence. After all, it’s a machine, right? It can’t be wrong.
Well, as someone who operated these instruments, I can tell you they’re far from perfect. Breathalyzers used by Spring Valley police, as in all breathalyzers in Rockland County and New York State, require regular annual calibration and maintenance. They can be affected by everything from the radio frequency of police equipment to certain medical conditions.
I remember a case near the Spring Valley Transit Center where a nurse with diabetes had elevated readings due to ketones on her breath – not alcohol. Without an attorney who understood both the science and the procedures, she might have lost her nursing license over faulty technology.
If you’re a teacher at Spring Valley High School, a nurse at nearby Nyack Hospital, or any other licensed professional, the stakes go far beyond just legal penalties.
Let me share a story that really drives this home. I once represented a nurse who was stopped on Main Street in Spring Valley after working a double shift. Her eyes were bloodshot and fatigued from exhaustion, not impairment, but she still faced a DWI charge that threatened her career.
What many attorneys don’t understand is that for licensed professionals, the Criminal case is often the least of their worries. The real battle can emerge with your professional licensing board.
As a former state trooper who now defends professionals in these situations, I’ve developed strategies that address both fronts simultaneously. We not only fought the criminal charges but also prepared a strategic response to the Office of Professional Discipline that saved her professional license.
The Spring Valley Justice Court has its particular way of handling DWI cases. Unlike some neighboring villages, Spring Valley has specific protocols for first-time offenders that can make a significant difference in the outcome of your case.
When I walk into that courthouse on Main Street, I don’t just bring legal knowledge – I bring an understanding of how things really work in this specific community. Prosecutors rotate, thus, having an attorney who has worked numerous courts in Rockland County lends itself toward familiarity of not only the prosecutor, but the D.A.’s office’s hierarchical policy towards DWIs.
This local knowledge, combined with my experience from both sides of the law, creates opportunities that many attorneys might not bring to the equation.
If you find yourself being pulled over on Route 59 or anywhere else in Spring Valley, remember these key points:
A Different Kind Of Defense
When people ask what makes my approach different, I often tell them about a case involving a teacher who was stopped near the Spring Valley Marketplace. The officer claimed she failed the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, but as a NHTSA instructor myself, I noticed from the video that the test wasn’t administered correctly.
Most attorneys would have missed this detail, but my experience on both sides allowed us to challenge this evidence successfully. Instead of a criminal record that would have negatively impacted her teaching career, we secured a non-criminal resolution that protected both her freedom and her professional license.
It’s this blend of insider knowledge and legal expertise that makes all the difference, especially for professionals with everything on the line.
In my experience as a former state trooper, the system isn’t necessarily designed to give you an individualized fair shake – it’s designed to look at you as a number and pigeon hole you into a particular category and policy situation. That is why having someone who truly understands the playbook from the inside is so valuable.
If you’re facing a DWI charge in Spring Valley – especially if you’re a licensed professional – don’t leave your future to chance. Call attorney Randall Inniss of The Inniss Firm, PLLC (aka, XTROOPER Defense). We are here to get you through this unfortunate time. Call us at (845) 533-0265 for a complimentary defense strategy session that could save not just your driving privileges, but your entire professional future.
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