DWI arrests in Suffolk County, on the Long Island Expressway, Sunrise Highway, the Sagtikos and Sunken Meadow parkways, Route 347, Montauk Highway and the roads of the East End, are prosecuted by the Suffolk County District Attorney's office. Jonathan Kaye is a Suffolk County DWI lawyer and former Assistant District Attorney who has defended Long Island drivers for over 30 years. He handles every case personally, and a misdemeanor DWI is a flat $1,500 legal fee.
Suffolk is the busiest DWI county in the region by a wide margin, and it is the only one where the court that hears your case depends on which town you were stopped in.
Suffolk County DWI arrests by the numbers
Police in Suffolk County made 2,838 DWI arrests in 2025, according to state criminal justice data, more than Nassau and Queens combined. Arrests fell to 1,863 in 2020, have risen every year since, and are up 52% over that span. About 11% of them, 317 arrests, were felonies.
DWI arrests in Suffolk County, 2006 to 2025
Felony and misdemeanor DWI arrests by all police agencies, by year.
View the numbers
| Year | DWI arrests |
|---|---|
| 2006 | 4,829 |
| 2007 | 4,618 |
| 2008 | 4,338 |
| 2009 | 4,319 |
| 2010 | 4,022 |
| 2011 | 4,487 |
| 2012 | 4,525 |
| 2013 | 4,102 |
| 2014 | 3,604 |
| 2015 | 3,750 |
| 2016 | 3,570 |
| 2017 | 3,277 |
| 2018 | 2,922 |
| 2019 | 2,893 |
| 2020 | 1,863 |
| 2021 | 2,257 |
| 2022 | 2,392 |
| 2023 | 2,653 |
| 2024 | 2,775 |
| 2025 | 2,838 |
Source: New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services, Adult Arrests 18 and Older by County. Felony and misdemeanor DWI arrests by all police agencies in the county, counted by the most serious charge.
For its population, Suffolk has about 186 DWI arrests per 100,000 residents, nearly twice Nassau's rate and about four times the rate in Queens:
| County | DWI arrests, 2025 | Per 100,000 residents |
|---|---|---|
| Suffolk | 2,838 | 186 |
| Nassau | 1,366 | 98 |
| Staten Island | 278 | 56 |
| Queens | 1,121 | 47 |
| Bronx | 620 | 42 |
| Brooklyn | 1,026 | 37 |
| Manhattan | 341 | 20 |
DCJS data counts arrests by all police agencies in each county. Rates use 2020 Census population and are rounded. The five boroughs are listed by their borough names.
Two court systems: which one hears your case
Where a Suffolk County DWI case is heard depends on the town where the arrest happened:
Felony DWI cases from anywhere in the county are presented to a grand jury and heard in Suffolk County Court or Supreme Court. The DA's Vehicular Crime Bureau handles crashes with serious injury or death. Arrests by the State Police on the highways follow the same rules, based on where the arrest happened. The judges, calendars and practices differ between Central Islip and the town courts, and a Suffolk County drunk driving lawyer has to know both.
After arraignment, the District Attorney must turn over the evidence under CPL 245: police reports, breath-test and calibration records, and video. That is where a former prosecutor looks for the problems. See what happens after a first DWI and how a DWI gets reduced to DWAI.
Where Suffolk DWI arrests happen
Suffolk is big, and its DWI arrests are spread across it: the Long Island Expressway, Sunrise Highway, the Northern State where it ends in Hauppauge, the Sagtikos and Sunken Meadow parkways, Route 347, Route 25 and the William Floyd Parkway. On local roads, stops cluster near the nightlife in Patchogue, Huntington village, Bay Shore and Port Jefferson, and on the East End, around the Hamptons and the North Fork wineries during the busy summer season.
Many Suffolk roads are dark, two-lane and fast, which raises its own defense questions: what the officer actually saw, whether the stop was lawful, and whether roadside tests on a narrow shoulder at night were given and scored correctly. See how field sobriety tests are challenged.
Repeat offenses and young drivers
Two groups face the steepest consequences in Suffolk. Drivers with a prior DWI within ten years face a felony: one prior makes a new DWI a class E felony, and two or more make it a class D felony with up to seven years in prison, as the Flanders case below shows. Drivers under 21 face New York's zero-tolerance rules, which can suspend a license at a BAC as low as .02, on top of the same DWI charges as anyone else at .08. See felony DWI in New York.
What a Suffolk County DWI attorney costs
Jonathan's fee for a misdemeanor DWI in Suffolk County is a flat $1,500, arraignment to resolution, in writing before any work begins, whether the case is in Central Islip or a town justice court on the East End. No hourly billing, no retainer to replenish, and no hand-off to an associate. Felony cases, trials, DMV refusal hearings and forfeiture cases are quoted individually. See exactly what the flat fee covers.
Plan your ride home in Suffolk
Nobody plans to get a DWI. Almost every DWI arrest starts with someone who felt fine to drive, and alcohol affects judgment before anything else. In Suffolk, where distances are long and late-night options are few, the plan has to be made before the first drink.
- Do not count on a late train or a cab. LIRR service thins out late at night, especially east of Ronkonkoma, and rides can be hard to find on the East End.
- Pick a designated driver or book the ride in advance. Decide before you leave the house, not at closing time.
- Remember the morning after. If you were drinking late, you may still be over the limit on the drive to work.
- Do not sleep it off behind the wheel. In New York, sitting in the driver's seat with the engine running can be enough to be charged, even when parked.
If alcohol is part of the story: local help in Suffolk
A DWI arrest does not mean someone has a drinking problem. But if you or someone close to you has been worried about drinking, this is a good moment to look into it, and taking that step on your own can also be something your lawyer presents on your behalf.
Suffolk County DWI cases in the news
These are real, public Suffolk cases, written up in full with the charges, what they mean under New York law, and how each one ended or where it stands. They show how a DWI escalates, not what will happen in any other case.
7 1/3 to 22 years for the DWI crash that killed an off-duty Nassau officer
With a .20 BAC, the driver ran a red light at about 70 mph on Route 347 at 6 a.m. and hit Officer Patricia Espinosa on her way to work. He pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and forfeited his truck.
Read the full case →4 to 12 years for a Father's Day crash that killed a teenage passenger
An 18-year-old drove six teenagers from the beach, took a curve at 74 mph in a 30 zone and hit a tree. A 19-year-old passenger was killed. His BAC was exactly .08. He pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide and Leandra's Law.
Read the full case →Aggravated vehicular assault indictment after a head-on DWI crash
Prosecutors say the driver crossed the double yellow line on Quogue Riverhead Road at high speed, sideswiped one car and hit another head-on, seriously injuring two people. He was indicted on aggravated vehicular assault. The case is pending.
Read the full case →Jury convicts a driver of his fifth DWI; maximum sentence of 2 1/3 to 7 years
A clerk called 911, police watched the car run a stop sign and cross the center line, and the driver tried to get out on the passenger side. His .17 BAC and prior record made it a class D felony. The jury convicted, and he received the maximum.
Read the full case →From Suffolk County District Attorney releases and news reports. A charge is an accusation, not proof of guilt. Every person is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
More across the city and Long Island on our DWI cases in the news page.
Suffolk County DWI questions, answered
Where is a Suffolk County DWI case heard?
It depends on the town. Misdemeanor DWI arrests in Babylon, Brookhaven, Huntington, Islip and Smithtown go to Suffolk County District Court at the Cohalan Court Complex, 400 Carleton Avenue in Central Islip. Arrests in the five East End towns, Riverhead, Southampton, East Hampton, Southold and Shelter Island, go to that town's justice court. Felonies anywhere in the county go to County Court or Supreme Court after an indictment.
I was arrested in the Hamptons but live in the city. Do I have to come back for every date?
The case stays in the town justice court where it started. In many misdemeanor cases a lawyer can appear for you on some dates, but you must be present when the judge requires it, including for a plea or a trial. Ask about this at the start.
Is a second DWI in Suffolk a felony?
Yes, if the first DWI conviction was within the previous ten years. One prior makes a new DWI a class E felony, with up to four years in prison. Two or more priors within ten years make it a class D felony, with up to seven years.
Can Suffolk County take my car after a DWI?
It can. Suffolk prosecutors can bring a civil forfeiture case against the vehicle in a DWI case, separate from the criminal charge. In the St. James case below, the driver forfeited his truck as part of the plea. Bring any seizure paperwork to your first meeting with a lawyer.
What happens if I refused the breath test in Suffolk?
A refusal leads to a separate DMV hearing. If the refusal is upheld, the license is revoked for at least one year and there is a $500 civil penalty, regardless of how the criminal case ends. The refusal can also be used as evidence at trial.
How much does a Suffolk County DWI lawyer cost?
Jonathan Kaye charges a flat $1,500 legal fee for a misdemeanor DWI in Suffolk County, arraignment to resolution, agreed in writing up front. Court fines, surcharges, DMV fees, program costs and any forfeiture case are separate.
Arrested near Suffolk?
Jonathan defends DWI cases across Long Island and all five boroughs, including cases that start in Suffolk and end in a Nassau or Queens court.