June 17- 19, 2005
Am New York
“Drunk Drivers”
Beware
Proposal would give repeat DWI offenders
special plates
By: Chuck Bennett
AmNew York Writer
State lawmakers proposed a law yesterday to brand
repeat drunk drivers with distinctive license plates,
a move some hailed as a potential lifesaver and
others deemed a modern day “Scarlet Letter.”
“Repeat DWI offenses are unacceptable,”
Sen. Nick Spano (R- Westchester), coauthor of the
bill told amNew York. “This is a stigma that
they deserve.”
Spano wants New Yorkers convicted of driving while
intoxicated three times in five years, or five times
in ten years, to have a specialized license plate
identifying them as drunk drivers.
The plates will use a series of letters or numbers
set by the police - not an obvious “Scarlet
Letter”- but Spano said he expects the public
to quickly learn the code.
"What it is attempting to do is to get at the hardcore
drunk driver, the repeat offender,” Donna
Kopec, executive director of New York Mothers Against
Drunk Driving, told amNew York. “It’s
really just so police know that the driver has a
potential to be drunk and perhaps needs to be stopped
and checked.”
Already other states have adopted similar measures.
Repeat drunk drivers in Ohio have bright orange
plates and in Iowa, police can legally pull over
convicted drunk drivers without cause.
Paul Petrus Jr., a criminal defense attorney, said,
“It is reminiscent of the Scarlet Letter,”
referring to Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel about
a colonial adulteress forced to wear a red “A”
on her dress.
Michael Fineman, a criminal defense attorney who
used to work on the Drunk Driving Task Force at
the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office said,
“ It sounds like Megan’s Law for drunk
drivers,” referring to the mandatory registration
of sex offenders. “It does seem unfair on one hand, but if you’re
a repeat offender, you have a problem” he
told amNew York.
In a statement, the New York City liberties Union
said parts of the bills are “misguided and
poorly drafted” because innocent family members
of drunk drivers will be impacted.
Spano told amNew York that his bill is likely to
pass the State but may face a challenge in the Assembly.
Spokeswomen for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver
and Gov. Pataki said the bill will be considered.
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