Can I be convicted of a DUI if I was not the one who was driving?

She was (1) at the scene, (2) admitted driving, and (3) blew a .18, which in NY is an aggravated DUI. She can be convicted because (1) at the scene, (2) admitted driving, and (3) blew a .18. She "could have been" driving with a .18 poorly, which would have caused her to miss a turn and crash. Further, she is under 21 which is really, really bad in NY State. It is not hard to believe that she never drinks and drank and drove this one time, as good people do bad things and make errors in judgment. I see this all the time. To answer your question not only can she be convicted, the prosecution has an excellent case. She was more than twice the legal limit, crashed, and confessed. A NYS DUI is a very serious charge and the surrounding circumstances make this a very serious matter for her. She is facing a criminal conviction, losing her license until she is 21 (actually, she can consider it lost at this point, which is the least of her problems), 3 years DUI probation (which is no picnic), and potentially losing her scholarship. That said, there is a way out as she needs to fight for a non-criminal disposition. Have her call us if you want high quality representation, but just understand this is a very costly defense.

They will need to have more than just her admission that she was driving. They cannot prove the case without proof of operation.

Yes. She can be convicted.

I don't know exactly where this happened, but different prosecutors handle these things differently. Normally, there must be more than the simple admission by an alleged Defendant to convict them of a crime. However, corroboration can be as simple as she was intoxicated and was found near the vehicle AND she admitted to being the driver. However, her attorney (and she should have a very good and experienced attorney handle this for her) can rebut that alleged confession of operation of the vehicle, which is an integral element of the so-called crime of DWI. If she refutes her admission, there must usually be a pre-trial hearing on the admissability of the statement she made to the police of operation of the motor vehicle before it can be introduced at the time of trial. You asked if she can be convicted? The answer is Yes. Is it likely? That depends upon whether her attorney can bring in the person who left the party with her and whether he admits to driving, and/or whether there are other witnesses that place that person leaving the party with her. The whole idea is to undermine the confession of driving to offset the admission of it at the time of trial. Good luck.

It is a question of proof, the facts which are unclear from police point of view. The bottom line is that operation of the vehicle is an element of DUI.