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An arrest inside the city goes to Rochester City Court on South Plymouth Avenue, and one in Greece, Henrietta or Brighton goes to that town's court. A DWI lawyer in Rochester, NY from our East Main Street office works on your license and the charge before the first date.
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Talk To The DWI Team, 24/7(585) 653-2018Serving Rochester, Greece, Irondequoit, Henrietta, Brighton, Gates, Chili, Webster, Penfield and all of Monroe County.
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Our office is at 28 East Main Street, downtown with the Hall of Justice and the City Court criminal branch. Before we give you an opinion, we read the arrest report, the breath ticket and the video from whichever agency stopped you.
*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
A reading of .08 or more usually costs you the license at arraignment. We arrive with the proof of hardship a Monroe County judge expects, starting with a letter about your work schedule.
Misdemeanor DWI cases go to the DA's Local Courts Bureau. When the evidence has a gap, we ask its assistant DA for DWAI, which is a traffic infraction and leaves no criminal conviction.
A stop with no legal basis, or a breath test given out of order, can be challenged. We ask the court to exclude every piece of evidence that grew out of it.
Monroe County has a city court, 20 town courts and two village courts. Greece sits four days a week, Gates hears trials with an assistant DA on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and we plan for the one named on your ticket.
A first DWI in New York is a misdemeanor, so a conviction follows you onto background checks, professional license renewals and insurance quotes. Inside the city line the case belongs to Rochester City Court. In the suburbs it belongs to the town where you were stopped, and Brighton Town Court alone handles about 500 DWI charges a year.
Our Rochester, NY attorneys handle DWI cases only and bring more than 30 years of combined DWI defense experience. The DWI Team is the DWI practice of Nave Law Firm, started in Syracuse in 2018 by attorney Dennis J. Nave and Sean Kelsey, the firm's Chief Executive Officer. DWI arrests in Monroe County are made by Rochester Police, Sheriff's deputies, Troop E troopers and town departments such as Greece, Gates, Brighton and Irondequoit.
The police report is one account of the night. We test it against the records.
Thousands of New York drivers charged with DWI have come to us, and a Rochester file gets the full review: the reason for the stop, the field tests, the breath instrument's logs and every form the officer filled out.
"We will be there for you during, and after, your arrest."
Your first court date usually comes within days of the arrest. That is where the judge decides whether you can keep driving while the case goes on, so the time to call is before it.
Before You Talk To Anyone
Anything you said at the roadside or in the station is likely in the paperwork already. Save the rest of the story for your lawyer, and keep the night off social media.
Above .08, plan on a suspension at arraignment, in City Court or a town court alike. We request a hardship privilege at that first appearance so you can still get to work, classes or medical care.
Many Rochester jobs depend on a car, from hospital shifts and university schedules to commutes out to suburban offices and plants. Nurses, teachers and drivers with a CDL may have to report a charge, so your job shapes the defense from the first call.
The Monroe County District Attorney's Office at 47 South Fitzhugh Street splits DWI work in two. Its Local Courts Bureau handles misdemeanors in the city, town and village courts, and its Vehicular Crimes Bureau handles felony DWI.
Before your date in City Court, a town court or the Public Safety Building, take these steps.
Many people search for a DUI lawyer, and every Monroe County ticket says DWI. The offenses all sit in Vehicle and Traffic Law section 1192, and the test result and your record decide which one applies.
A reading of .08 or more, a misdemeanor the first time. Under VTL 1193 the fine is $500 to $1,000, jail can reach one year, and the license is revoked for at least six months, with an interlock. Standard DWI offenses →
A reading of .18 or more. Fines run from $1,000 to $2,500 and the revocation lasts at least a year. A child fifteen or younger in the car makes it a felony under Leandra's Law. Aggravated DWI →
A traffic infraction carrying a $300 to $500 fine and up to fifteen days in jail. A large share of Monroe County DWI cases end as DWAI. DWAI →
Refusing the test sends you to a DMV hearing under VTL 1194, which the DMV holds remotely by video for now. A loss there means a revocation of a year or more and a $500 civil penalty. Chemical test refusal →
A prior DWI conviction within ten years, a child passenger or a crash with serious injury can make it a felony, prosecuted by the DA's Vehicular Crimes Bureau in Monroe County Court. Felony DWI →
After a court orders an interlock, driving a car without one, tampering with it or getting someone else to blow into it is a new offense. Interlock offenses →
A .08 reading usually means a suspension at the first appearance and a revocation on conviction. A refusal finding at the DMV adds a revocation of its own, a year at minimum.
On top of the fine and state surcharge, the DMV charges a driver responsibility assessment of $250 a year for three years after a conviction or a refusal. Interlock fees and higher insurance premiums come after that.
A DWI conviction stays on a New York criminal record for good. Judges can also order the Monroe County STOP-DWI Victim Impact Panel, and only a judge, probation officer or parole officer can sign you up for it.
Where you were stopped decides the court. Rochester City Court hears arrests inside the city, each town has a justice court of its own, and felonies are tried in Monroe County Court at the Hall of Justice.
DWI cases go to the criminal branch of Rochester City Court at 150 South Plymouth Avenue, while its civil branch sits in the Hall of Justice. The criminal clerk is open weekdays from 9:00 to 5:00. Most ordinary moving tickets written in the city go to the Traffic Violations Agency on East Main Street, but a DWI is a misdemeanor and stays in City Court.
Greece Town Court at 1 Vince Tofany Boulevard holds sessions Tuesday through Friday. Brighton Town Court on Elmwood Avenue takes about 500 DWI charges a year, and Henrietta Town Court is at 455 Calkins Road. Felonies are tried in Monroe County Court, Room 545 of the Hall of Justice. Arrests farther west go to our Buffalo DWI lawyers.
The Rochester Police Department works out of the Public Safety Building at 185 Exchange Boulevard. The Monroe County Sheriff's Office patrols from zone offices on Panorama Trail, on Calkins Road and in Spencerport, and State Police Troop E has stations on Scottsville Road, in Churchville and in Penfield. Greece, Gates, Brighton, Irondequoit, Webster and Ogden run their own police. We request the records of whichever agency arrested you.
Send a picture of the ticket and tell us the test result. We try to reach your first date with the hardship paperwork done and an early list of weak points in the arrest.
Under New York's discovery law, the DA must hand over its evidence on a deadline. We review the instrument records, the patrol car and body camera video and the paperwork, and we move to suppress anything taken unlawfully.
We take the problems we found to the assistant DA and ask for a dismissal or a reduction. When the offer falls short, we prepare for trial in City Court, the town court or County Court.
DWI is the whole practice: first offenses, repeat charges, commercial drivers, drivers under 21 from the colleges in and around the city, drug impaired driving, and even a DWI on a bicycle. Working one charge every day is how we catch what a general practice misses.
What we learned from earlier Monroe County cases, including how judges ruled and what the DA offered, shapes the advice you get.
An attorney leads your case, with paralegals and advocates keeping track of court dates, the DMV hearing and records requests.
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*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
View Our Google Profile Four New York DWI cases our attorneys resolved for clients.
Felony DWI, not guilty at trial
Police found a client changing a tire well off the road with another person present, and nobody could say for certain who had been driving. He blew a .08 and was charged with two felony DWI counts. After a three day jury trial he was acquitted of every charge, kept clear of prison and had his license restored. He is a decorated veteran, and the jurors came over afterward to shake his hand.
Aggravated DWI tried, DWAI verdict
A young client charged with aggravated DWI said he was at most slightly impaired when he swerved for an animal and hit a parked car. The county would not offer DWAI, so we tried the case. Witnesses described a head injury that explained the field tests and vomiting that may have skewed the breath result, and the jury convicted only of DWAI, leaving him with no criminal record.
.18 reading questioned, DWAI plea
A client in a ditch blew a .18, which put him outside the county's DWAI reduction policy. The scene evidence did not match a .18, and he had been using chewing tobacco almost until the test. The assistant DA agreed the case had problems, and he pleaded to a single DWAI.
Policy said no reduction, DWAI anyway
A client drove a friend away from a fight at a bar and was stopped and charged with aggravated DWI at an alleged .18. That DA's office does not normally reduce aggravated DWI. We showed the prosecutor why these facts justified it, and the case ended with a DWAI covering every charge.
*Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Attorney advertising.
What people ask us after an arrest in the city or anywhere in Monroe County.
DWI cases go to the criminal branch of Rochester City Court at 150 South Plymouth Avenue, Rochester, NY 14614. The criminal clerk's office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and answers at (585) 371-3413. The court's civil branch is in the Hall of Justice at 99 Exchange Boulevard.
Greece Town Court is at 1 Vince Tofany Boulevard, Rochester, NY 14612, phone (585) 227-3110. Each of its four judges sits on a different day: Tuesday and Wednesday at 5:00 p.m., Thursday at 10:00 a.m. and Friday at 9:00 a.m. Your ticket names the date and time. The court hears misdemeanors such as DWI and arraigns felony charges.
Henrietta Town Court is at 455 Calkins Road, Rochester, NY 14623, and the clerk's number is (585) 359-2640. The court says its session times vary and asks people to email court@henriettany.gov with scheduling questions. It handles every misdemeanor and traffic case from the Town of Henrietta, including DWI.
The town says Brighton Town Court handles more than 10,000 cases a year, about 500 of them DWI charges. It is at 2300 Elmwood Avenue in the Town Hall's public safety wing, phone (585) 784-5152. Brighton requires a court appearance on any misdemeanor, so a DWI cannot be resolved by mail.
Gates Town Court, 1605 Buffalo Road, holds trials and dispositions with an assistant district attorney present on Wednesdays at 3:30 p.m. and Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. Tuesday at 4:00 p.m. is traffic court, and there is no court on Friday. The clerk answers at (585) 426-0410.
The Monroe County District Attorney's Office, 47 South Fitzhugh Street, (585) 753-4500. Its Local Courts Bureau prosecutes misdemeanors, including most DWI cases, in Rochester City Court and the town and village courts. Its Vehicular Crimes Bureau prosecutes felony DWI, vehicular assault and vehicular homicide.
Since March 31, 2025, Monroe County has used a Centralized Arraignment Part at the City Public Safety Building in place of separate arraignments in each town, village and city court. It holds arraignments at 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. on weekdays and at 7:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays, and assistant DAs staff it. Someone released at the scene with an appearance ticket goes to the court on the ticket.
Usually, yes, if the test showed .08 or more, because New York law requires the court to suspend the license while the case is open, starting at arraignment. A refusal also brings a suspension. You can ask for a hardship privilege to drive to work, school or medical care, and you need more than your own word to get one. Many people later qualify for a pre-conviction conditional license.
The court suspends your license at arraignment, and the DMV schedules a chemical test refusal hearing, separate from the criminal case. The DMV is holding every safety hearing remotely by video for now. If the DMV does not hold the hearing within fifteen days of arraignment, you can drive until it does. A loss means a revocation of at least a year and a $500 civil penalty.
Often, within New York's rules on DWI plea bargaining. VTL 1192(10) requires a plea to stay an alcohol or drug driving offense unless the DA finds the charge unwarranted and the judge states the reason on the record, so DWAI is the usual result. Anyone who goes from DWI to DWAI must also finish the Impaired Driver Program. Problems with the stop, the test or the paperwork are what move the offer.
A second DWI conviction within ten years is a class E felony DWI, as is a DWI with a passenger fifteen or younger under Leandra's Law. The DA's Vehicular Crimes Bureau prosecutes it, and the case is tried in Monroe County Court, 99 Exchange Boulevard, 5th Floor, Room 545. Veterans may be referred to the Monroe County Veterans Treatment Court, which held its first session in January 2008.
A first misdemeanor DWI carries up to one year in jail. A class E felony DWI carries up to four years in state prison, and a third DWI conviction within ten years, a class D felony, carries up to seven. DWAI, the usual reduced charge, carries fifteen days at most.
A first DWI is a criminal charge, and a conviction means a permanent criminal record, a revocation and an interlock. A lawyer can challenge the stop and the test, ask for a hardship privilege at arraignment, and negotiate with the Local Courts Bureau. Our article on first offense DWI charges covers the penalties in detail.
The fee depends on the charge, the court and whether there was a refusal, and you get the number during the free consultation. Under our Best Price Promise, if a DWI-focused attorney quotes the same services for less before you hire anyone, we match it, beat it or give you a $50 gift card.
Yes. Most states use DUI, and New York calls the same offense DWI, driving while intoxicated, under VTL 1192. A Rochester DUI attorney and a Rochester DWI lawyer handle the same charge, and an out-of-state driver charged here faces the New York version.
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(585) 653-2018Looking for a DWI lawyer in Rochester? Ask each one how they would handle your stop, your test result and the DMV hearing. Then ask us.
