As I discussed this weekend in The New York Times, in the wake of several highly publicized DWI fatalities in New York, the law is rapidly changing.

Administratively, the New York City Police Department and the City’s five District Attorneys have agreed to a new procedure to expedite the process of obtaining warrants for blood samples in cases where serious bodily injury or death has resulted, DWI is suspected, and a breath test has been refused.  According to Paul J. Browne, NYPD spokesman, the current warrant application process takes approximately seven hours.

In addition, “Leandra’s Law” has been signed by Governor Patterson.  This new law:

1.  Makes it a felony to drive while having a blood alcohol content of .08 percent or higher with a child 15 years old or younger in the car;  and

2.  Requires first time DWI offenders to install an ignition interlock device.

The Bill is named in honor of Leandra Rosado, an 11 year old girl who was killed after the car she was driving in flipped over on the Henry Hudson Parkway by a driver alleged to be intoxicated.

Although the driver who killed Leandra was charged with Vehicular Manslaughter and Driving While Intoxicated, critics argued that a new crime was needed to specifically address the circumstance of Driving While Intoxicated with a child in the car. The law was also fueled by the case of Diane Schuler, a Long Island woman who killed eight people, including her 2-year-old daughter and three young nieces in July in Long Island after driving for several miles in the wrong direction on a highway.

Ms. Schuler, who also died, had a blood alcohol content of 0.19 percent, and had marijuana in her system.