Actress Lindsey Lohan’s 50-year-old mother, Dina Lohan, has been arrested for DWI in New York after blood alcohol testing allegedly showed hers to be over twice the .08 percent legal limit. Media sources indicate that Lohan claimed to have been injured during the course of her arrest, but recanted this allegation after emergency personnel are said to have evaluated her and found no such injuries. She has been scheduled for a Sept. 24 appearance at the Nassau County 1st District Court.
New York State Police claim to have contacted Dina Lohan after observing her vehicle traveling 77 miles per hour in an area with a speed limit of 55. Since her BAC is said to be so much higher than the legal limit, officers have charged her with aggravated driving while intoxicated.
Aggravated DWI is a serious offense that may carry more stringent penalties than a more routine DWI charge. While the potential consequences for being convicted of DWI charges range from license suspension to a jail sentence, many DWI judges and prosecutors exercise significant discretion in sentencing depending upon the defendant’s individual circumstances. In some cases, DWI first offense may be treated similarly to misdemeanor DWI, while DWI second offense could be much more difficult to manage. In general, aggravated DWI charges are treated more prejudicially regardless of how many prior DWI convictions a defendant has on their record.
Orchestrating a successful DWI conviction often requires prosecutors to conclusively prove the defendant’s intoxication at the time of their vehicular operation. In so doing, they may solicit evidence from police breath tests and other examinations. In such circumstances, an experienced DWI attorney may be able to advocate before the prosecution on their client’s behalf to either mount a DWI defense or, if necessary, work to have the charges reduced.
Source: NBC News, “Dina Lohan arrested for drunk driving in Long Island”, Maria Elena Fernandez, September 13, 2013
