Censure For Driving Under Influence Of Cocaine

An attorney convicted of driving while under the influence of cocaine has been publicly censured for the offense by the New York Appellate Division for the Second Judicial Department.

On October 3, 2013, before the Honorable Derrick Robinson, District Court, County of Suffolk, First District, the respondent pleaded guilty to the charge of driving while ability impaired by drugs, under Vehicle and Traffic Law § 1192(4), an unclassified misdemeanor. In his plea allocution, the respondent admitted that he operated a motor vehicle in an impaired condition, after ingesting cocaine. The respondent was sentenced on February 19, 2014, to three years of probation, a $500 fine, a $395 surcharge, and revocation of his driver license for six months. Based upon the foregoing, charge two of the petition alleges that the respondent engaged in conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness as a lawyer, in violation of rule 8.4(h) of the Rules of Professional Conduct.

 No suspension because

In determining an appropriate measure of discipline to impose, this Court has considered the following factors in mitigation: the isolated nature of the misconduct, the respondent’s voluntary efforts at rehabilitation, his sincere statements of remorse, the testimony of the character witnesses as to the respondent’s integrity and reputation for excellence, and his unblemished disciplinary record.

What is notable here is the profound difference in disciplinary consequence between a felony and misdemeanor conviction in New York.

Lawyers are regularly disbarred for felony DUI but a misdemeanor gives the court discretion to impose a mild sanction, as here. (Mike Frisch)