New York's First Scarlet Letter?

Driver Asks for DWI Tag Penalty

By Maureen Fan. STAFF WRITER

A Cedarhurst man has volunteered to become apparently the first drunk driver in New York to wear the "Scarlet Letter" - by attaching a fluorescent sign to his car saying "Convicted DWI."

Peter Wright, 32 - who has at least five previous drunk driving convictions - was caught driving with a blood alcohol level of twice the legal limit when he ran a red light in Rockville Centre in April. He would have faced up to 4 years in prison if the case had gone to trial.

Instead, Wright pleaded guilty yesterday to driving while intoxicated. In return, Nassau County Court Judge Marc Mogil promised to sentence him on Aug. 4 to one year of inpatient drug treatment instead of jail, and to impose - "as requested" - the fluorescent, removable sign. After his release from treatment, Wright is to have his license revoked for two years, and then to use the sign whenever he drives during the remainder of a five-year probation period.

The Court of Appeals recently struck down Mogil's imposition of the controversial sign as a special condition of probation for another repeat drunk driver. In a split decision, the state's highest court said the humiliation the sign would cause made it too punitive to qualify as rehabiliation - a key purpose of probation.

This time, however, Mogil's arrangement includes the drunk driver's consent. Indeed, the language of the agreement indicates Wright requested the punishment. His attorney, James Daly, declined to comment. Still, it remained unclear among some legal experts whether Mogil's sentencing was appropriate. "We're concerned. It may not be a lawful sentence. We're reviewing it," said Ed Grilli, a spokesman for Nassau District Attorney Denis Dillon. "In any event, we believe that this person should be sentenced to the maximum . . . This is an individual who has been given treatment and jail time and has continued to drive drunk."

Wright was caught driving through a red light on Sunrise Highway at 2:48 a.m. April 27. Police noticed the smell of alcohol, slurred speech and poor balance and gave him a Breathalyzer test that registered .21. The legal limit is .10. Wright's five previous convictions date back to 1983.

Matthew Muraskin of Nassau's Legal Aid Society, which represented the previous drunk driver Mogil had ordered to use the sign, said yesterday that the signs were not authorized by law. "You may think it's a great idea and all parties may agree to it but it still cannot be done, according to the Court of Appeals decision," Muraskin said. But if Wright consents to the condition and does not appeal the case, the matter may be moot.

Yesterday's agreement reads, "with the full and complete understanding that the Court of Appeals has recently ruled that this court may not IMPOSE the above condition as a specific condition of probation without defendant's consent . . . Peter Wright . . . hereby agrees, with the SPECIFIC REQUEST AND CONSENT OF HIS COUNSEL" to voluntarily attach the signs to his license plates.

Copyright 1996, Newsday Inc.