The New York DWI case against Justin Donohue was initially filed in 2006, but it has yet to reach a final resolution in the court system.

The case was dismissed last fall by a Brunswick Town Justice. The dismissal came because the case had been delayed too many times. The final decision came after a prosecutor failed to show up at a trial. However, that prosecutor says he had been informed the trial was adjourned, and he would like to have the case reinstated. 

The dismissal of Donohue's case also came at a time when his mother, Mary Donohue, was serving as the lieutenant governor to George Pataki. She is no longer serving in that position, and some are wondering whether the dismissal and later reinstatement has to do with the association between the defendant and the powerful political bodies in the state. 

A ruling on whether the case will be reinstated is expected in the coming weeks. The judge will have to determine whether there was misconduct or just miscommunication in the nearly one dozen postponements of the case that occurred prior to the final attempt at trial that was set for March of 2009.

Donohue, 18 at the time of his arrest, was charged with DWI after he lost control of his vehicle on November 22, 2006. He was charged with traveling at an unreasonable speed in addition to DWI for his .16% BAC. All defendants have the right to a speedy trial, including those involved in DWI cases, which can lead to dismissals if delays do occur. 

It is uncommon to have a dismissed case reinstated this far into the future. If a trial date is set, it will likely be almost four years after the arrest occurred. The outcome of the trail cannot help but be influenced by this huge delay, in which time Donohue has grown from a teen to an adult and apologized for the incident.