New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog

A three-car wreck on Dukes Parkway in Hillsborough was allegedly caused by a local drunk driver in late August. Officers from the Hillsborough Police Department arrived at the scene shortly following the accident to find three damaged vehicles and several injured passengers. As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, one of my first questions to any client accused of causing an accident as a result of drunk driving is, "Were there any injuries?" While an injury accident may complicate a driving while intoxicated defense, my office has vast experience with cases just like this one.

The driver charged in this particular incident is a 26-year-old woman from the Hillsborough area. According to reports, Erin Markakis was allegedly intoxicated when she failed to maintain her lane on Dukes Parkway West. The Lexus that she was driving hit a Toyota head-on, which then plowed into a nearby BMW. The accident happened during rush hour between Route 206 and Roycefield Road in Hillsborough.

According to the Somerset County prosecutor, and Hillsborough police chief, Markakis was driving eastbound on Dukes Parkway West in a 2002 Lexus RX300, while another driver, Emilyfee Yap, also a resident of Hillsborough, was heading west on same road in a 2001 Toyota Highlander. Behind the Toyota was a third vehicle driven by Penny Sweeney.

Apparently unable to maintain her lane, Markakis crossed the centerline of the road and struck the RX300 head-on, which then was pushed backward and off the north side of Dukes Parkway into a 2005 BMW X3 driven by Sweeney.

The collision was serious enough to trap Markakis in her vehicle, and also caused her to sustain serious injuries. Emergency personnel treated her and she was subsequently flown to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in a New Jersey State Police Medevac helicopter.

Yap and two of her children, a daughter age 12 and a son age 3, were injured in the collision along with a 6-year-old relative. Yap and the young boy, the most seriously injured of the three, were also flown via MonOc Medevac helicopter to RWJUH. The other two children were taken via ambulance.

Sweeney sustained injury and was treated and released at Somerset Medical Center. While this accident was being investigated jointly by the Hillsborough Police Traffic Safety Unit and the Somerset County Collision Analysis Reconstruction (C.A.R.) Team, police have charged Markakis with driving while intoxicated.

Hillsborough woman charged with DWI in three-car crash on Dukes Parkway injuring several Medevaced from scene, NJ.com, August 19, 2009

Drivers traveling near Lawrence Township in Mercer County this Friday evening should be aware that a drunk driving sobriety roadblock will be operating along Brunswick Pike until the early morning hours of Saturday, August 29. This DWI checkpoint is part of a state and nationwide campaign to identify and arrest individuals operating motor vehicles while under the influence of alcohol.

The initiative, known as "Over the Limit, Under Arrest," is targeting the roadways of New Jersey in an effort to pick up motorists driving with an illegal amount of alcohol in their system. The entire nationwide campaign is running from August 21 to September 7, through the Labor Day holiday.

As part of this campaign, the Lawrence Township Police Department has received funding through the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety. Law enforcement officers will be setting up a checkpoint on Brunswick Pike just south of Franklin Corner Road starting around 9:30 p.m. on Friday, August 28. The DWI roadblock will be in operation until 4 a.m. Saturday.

Drivers stopped at this and other roadblocks throughout the state will be evaluated by a police officer, who may decide to conduct a standardized field sobriety test. If the patrolman has reason to believe a driver is intoxicated, that officer may then request that the motorist undergo a Breathalyzer test to ascertain the individual's blood alcohol content (BAC).

Our law firm endeavors to alert drivers to the existence of checkpoints such as the one in Lawrence because of the possible incidence of drunk driving in or around that particular locale. New Jersey law states that police and other law enforcement agencies can only set up sobriety roadblocks in areas that have a statistically high percentage of drunk driving arrests.

As a New Jersey drunk driving attorney, I always tell people who have been arrested for DWI or issued a summons for drunk driving or breath test refusal to retain the services of an experienced drunk driving defense lawyer. There is no reason not to protect yourself when you step into the courtroom on a charge of driving while intoxicated.

LAWRENCE: Police to crack down on drunken drivers, CentralJersey.com, August 19, 2009

A recent accident at a roadway construction site in North Bergen was allegedly caused by a drunk driver who injured a construction worker at the site and also hurt a pregnant woman in another vehicle. As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, my office has represented numerous clients involved in similar accidents over the years. As an experienced attorney and former municipal prosecutor, I know how to defend such cases. In this instance, the driver was charged by police with several offenses including driving while intoxicated.

Reports indicate that while construction workers were changing a signal arrow board outside of the construction area near 91st Street, Angelo Lopez of Belleville, NJ, who was driving north on Tonnelle Avenue, appeared to try and go around a green 1995 Honda, but hit the car instead. According to witnesses, the 35-year-old driver was reportedly weaving in and out of traffic in his 2004 Audi sedan prior to the accident at the construction site.

Lopez allegedly hit the Honda, driven by an 8-month pregnant woman, forcing the woman's car off the roadway and into one of the construction workers, causing the man to be forced to the ground, police said. The worker was treated for minor injuries to his leg. Both the pregnant woman and the construction worker were taken to Palisades Medical Center.

Fortunately for Mr. Lopez, both the construction worker and the woman were not seriously injured. They each reportedly left the hospital shortly after receiving treatment for their injuries.

Worse for the suspect, police allege that the man attempted to drive away and leave the scene of the accident, but was flagged down by a Bergen police detective and held until he could be arrested and charged by patrol officers. According to new reports, Lopez admitted to drinking prior to that accident, but claimed that he was not drunk.

After taking the suspect to police headquarters, officers determined the man's blood alcohol content (BAC) to be 0.09 percent, which is over New Jersey's legal intoxication level of 0.08. In addition to being charged with driving while intoxicated, Lopez was also charged with attempting to flee the scene of an accident as well as being issued a vehicle summons for reckless driving. He was released to a responsible party at Bergen police headquarters.

Accident involves pregnant woman, HudsonReporter.com, August 22, 2009

According to news reports, nearly two dozen Morris County police departments will begin to crack down on drunk drivers starting today. The concentrated effort focused on intoxicated drivers, which runs through Labor Day, is part of an annual national campaign known as "Over the Limit, Under Arrest." As an experienced New Jersey DWI defense attorney, I can say with a fair degree of certainty that a percentage of the arrests made during this initiative will involve drivers who do not deserve a drunk driving conviction on their record.

In Morris County, 21 individual police departments will be participating, including Butler, Chester Township, Jefferson, Lincoln Park, Madison, Mendham, Mount Olive, Netcong, Pequannock, Randolph, Riverdale, Rockaway, Washington Township and eight others.

As part of this national effort, which has continued annually since 1999, the Division of Highway Traffic Safety provides federally-funded grants in the amount of $6,000 to each participating police agency for the two-week program.

Municipalities in Morris County, as well as cities and towns across the state, will be conducting drunk driving sobriety checkpoints and so-called "saturation patrols." According to news reports, more than 200 law enforcement agencies from around New Jersey and also the State Police will be mobilizing to catch individuals operating motor vehicles while under the influence of alcohol (DWI) or drugs (DUI).

Reportedly, the campaign will uses high-visibility police patrols and public education materials, such as banners, posters and mobile display signs to counter drunk driving during the busy, end-of-summer travel season.

Reports state that 165 people were killed on New Jersey highways as a direct result of alcohol-related crashes in 2008. This is 28 percent of the total 591 traffic fatalities reported in the state during all of last year.

21 Morris police departments to crack down on DWI starting tomorrow, DailyRecord.com, August 20, 2009

Drivers in Monmouth and Essex Counties, along with many other parts of New Jersey, will see numerous Drunk driving patrols over the coming weeks. DWI sobriety checkpoints throughout the Garden State will also be evident during the days leading up to the coming Labor Day holiday weekend. These checkpoints, also known as sobriety roadblocks, are commonly used by law enforcement as one way to decrease the number of alcohol-related auto accidents and deaths on the state's highways and surface streets.

As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, my office alerts motorists to these checkpoints due to the number of driving while intoxicated arrests in these areas. By law, state, county and municipal arms of law enforcement can only set up checkpoints in locations that have a statistically high incidence of people driving under the influence of alcohol.

Standard procedure at these checkpoints includes police giving field sobriety tests to drivers that appear to be intoxicated. If the officer is satisfied that an individual operating a vehicle is possibly drunk, a breath test will usually be administered to determine the blood alcohol content (BAC) of that driver.

As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, our office advises anyone who has been issued a summons for drunk driving or breath test refusal at one of these sobriety checkpoints to contact a skilled drunk driving defense lawyer.

Every lawyer on our staff is fully trained and qualified in the operation of the Alcotest breath test device, which is used extensively across the state of New Jersey. Our attorneys also possess an in-depth knowledge of standardized field sobriety testing, as defined by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Hardly any other New Jersey law firm can make this claim of all their attorneys, which is why we can help you with your latest DWI summons.

Drunken-driving crackdown to begin on Aug. 21, GMNews.com, August 20, 2009

If there is one thing I remind people arrested for DWI and other drunk driving violations, don't make things worse by pulling another person in on your mistake. Of course, an adult is fully capable of deciding if he wants to ride with someone who is obviously intoxicated, but a child, well that's a different story. As a New Jersey drunk driving lawyer, I and my staff of experienced DWI attorneys have represented clients charged with a wide range of offenses in addition to driving under the influence of alcohol, or prescription or illegal drug DUI.

A recent news article is an example of the trouble that a driver can get into when not considering the safety of his or her passengers. Apparently a 22-year-old Plainfield man was arrested for driving while intoxicated after crashing his vehicle in the driveway of a Dunellen home late in the evening of August 3.

According to police, Stanley Brown of 127 Prospect Avenue was arrested by borough police after he allegedly crashed a 1994 Nissan Maxima along the driveway as he was trying to leave the locale around 11 p.m. Officers were called to the scene by concerned neighbors, who told officers that the man had fled the vehicle and was in the backyard of the house.

According to reports, the police found a five-year-old boy sitting on the back seat of the car, but not in a child-restraint seat. The child was identified as the son of Brown's girlfriend. Officers then searched and found the man in the backyard, where they also detected the odor of alcohol on his breath.

After having the man take a series of field sobriety tests, which he allegedly failed, police administered a breathalyzer test and found the man's blood alcohol content (BAC) to be 0.19 percent -- double the legal limit in New Jersey. Brown was then arrested and transported to the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick.

Police said that child's condition was evaluated by the Dunellen First Aid Squad and was determined to be unhurt. The boy was returned to the custody of his mother, and Brown was also charged with child endangerment.

Continue reading "Plainfield Man Arrested for Drunk Driving in Middlesex County, Charged with Child Endangerment" »

South Orange -- An Essex County, New Jersey, resident was stopped by police around 1:30 a.m. on August 7 when and officer saw a car apparently speeding on Sloan Street, after which it poorly negotiated a left turn onto South Orange Avenue. After making the traffic stop, other officers arrived at the scene where they detected the scent of alcohol on the driver's breath indicating that the man was probably drunk. A passenger in the front seat also appeared to be intoxicated. Police administered a field sobriety test to the 43-year-old Maplewood resident, which he failed. The man became upset following the test. Police arrested him for DWI, took him into custody and impounded his vehicle.

South Orange -- On August 8, in the early morning hours, a patrolman noticed a vehicle parked in front of 67 South Orange Avenue with the motor running, headlights burning and right-front tire completely flat. On closer inspection, the officer could see that the 28-year-old Greenbrook, NJ, resident appeared to be sleeping. The officer attempted to awaken the man, who became somewhat responsive after several minutes. Interviewing the conscious driver, the police officer could detect the odor of alcohol on the man's breath. Other officers were called to the scene and the man was removed from the vehicle and given several field sobriety tests, all of which he failed. Police arrested the man and transported him to headquarters where a test for blood alcohol content (BAC) showed a reading of 0.13 percent.

Madison -- A 49-year-old Irvington resident was stopped for careless driving by local police officers late in the evening of July 31. During the traffic stop, officers noticed that she was inebriated, after which she was charged with drunk driving and later released to a family member.

Madison -- An older Chatham man was arrested in the early morning of July 28 after Madison police noticed a vehicle on Main cross over the yellow line and crash into a curb. Officers pulled the car over on Cook avenue and saw that the 76-year-old driver was noticeably intoxicated. The man was taken to police headquarters where he was charged with DWI, careless driving and failure to keep right. He was subsequently released to a friend.

Madison -- The next day, a 52-year-old Morris County man was arrested for drunk driving in the late evening. Following the traffic stop, police found drugs on the driver as well as drug paraphernalia. The man was charged with driving while intoxicated, possession of possession of a drug in a motor vehicle, possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and careless driving. The man was later released to a friend pending a court appearance.

Police Blotter: Two DWI Arrests, SouthOrange.Patch.com, August 11, 2009

Police Blotter, DailyRecord.com, August 7, 2009

A 25-year-old resident of Clark, NJ, was hit in a Westfield crosswalk by an allegedly drunk driver last week. According to reports, Gina Marotta was hit by a car driven by a Union County woman as she crossed the street outside of Lord & Taylor. As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, I have great sympathy for those injured as a result of drunk driving accidents. At the same time, I know that everyone deserves to have their say in a court of law. Driving under the influence of alcohol or even prescription drugs can cause impaired judgment and result in a DUI arrest, or worse.

The news reports regarding this incident indicate that 55-year-old Leslie Boughner hit Marotta around noon on August 5 on North Avenue as the woman was returning to her job at the Lord & Taylor department store. Police officers issued Boughner a summons for DWI and also took a blood sample to check the woman's blood-alcohol content (BAC).

According to reports, Marotta suffered a broken arm, broken leg and head injuries. Emergency responders transported her to University Hospital in Newark, where she underwent surgery at the hospital's trauma center.

At the time of the news reports, the Union County prosecutor's office had not received any contact from the Westfield police regarding the case. Usually, the prosecutor's office will be contacted by police whenever there is an incident involving hit and run cases or fatal pedestrian accidents, neither of which is the case in this instance Westfield. Depending on the victim's injuries and her recovery, not to mention the driver's blood test, it's possible that the case could be handled in municipal court.

Continue reading "Pedestrian Injured by Alleged Drunk Driver in Union County, NJ, DWI Traffic Accident" »

Having represented hundreds of NJ residents arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, I know what drivers accused of DWI are up against. As an experienced New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyer and former municipal prosecutor, I also have the background to understand how to successfully defend many driving while intoxicated cases. What I can't change is the public's opinion of convicted drunk driving offenders.

That became quite evident the other day when I noticed the results of a survey recently conducted by the American Automobile Association's Mid-Atlantic region. More than 60 percent of the respondents to the AAA Mid-Atlantic Web poll voted in favor of installing a mandatory breathalyzer ignition interlock on the vehicle of any convicted DWI offender.

This type of interlock device requires the driver to blow into a device not unlike the Alcotest breath testing machine used by the New Jersey State Police as well as other law enforcement agencies across the Garden State. If the device detects that the driver's blood-alcohol content (BAC) is above 0.05 percent the vehicle cannot be started.

But the surprising part of the poll was that the question asked if even first-time offenders should be required to use the in-car breathalyzer. Yes, was the answer given most often by 390 participants in the July AAA poll. Here are the results:

• 238 (61 percent) voted yes
• 59 (15 percent) voted no
• 93 (24 percent) voted only for second and subsequent offenses

Although many states have instituted mandatory ignition interlocks for people convicted of repeat DWI offenses, New Jersey still leaves this up to the sole discretion of the presiding judge, even for convicted first-time offenders. Current New Jersey law allows a judge in a DWI case to impose the following sentences on those convicted of drunk driving:

-- First DUI offense: Installation of interlock device for six months to one year
-- Second DUI offense: Installation of interlock device for one to three years, or a two year suspension of registration privileges
-- Third DUI offense: Installation of interlock device for one to three years as a condition of restoring your driving privileges, or a 10 year suspension of registration privileges

Because these sentences are left up to the court, it is all the more important to retain the services of a qualified and experienced New Jersey DWI attorney. I always remind people that the penalties of a drunk driving conviction not only can be severe, but a conviction can adversely affect an individual's future.

Poll: No second chances for first-time DUI offenders, NewJerseyNewsroom.com, 30 July 2009

If you have been convicted of a drunk driving offense, you know the penalties for subsequent offenses can be quite stiff in the state of New Jersey. But as they say, "Only time will tell." And while law enforcement agencies and prosecutors across the Garden State will hold out the threat of harsher penalties for repeat DWI offenders, there is one ray of light through the dark clouds of a recent driving while intoxicated arrest. And that has to do with time.

As a New Jersey drunk driving lawyer, and a former municipal prosecutor, I remind people to check their calendar should they receive a second, third or subsequent drunken driving arrest. It all goes back to a 2008 ruling by New Jersey's intermediate appeals court. This Appellate Division of the NJ's Superior Court actually determined when a drunk driving defendant can receive a reduced sentence for a DWI conviction.

As many have read here and in the news, courts typically implement harsher sentences on those individuals who have prior convictions. In the case of DWI convictions, New Jersey law does require stiffer sentencing for repeat drunk driving offenders, versus those convicted of first-time offenses.

However, if time it on your side, you may benefit from New Jersey's 10-year "step down" rule. This portion of state law requires that courts must show leniency whenever 10 years have passed between DWI convictions. This applies to the time between first and second drunk driving DWI convictions, or between the second and third DWI convictions. Essentially, the law states that the court must treat the defendant as though he or she has one less prior conviction when it comes to determining that person's sentence for the most recent DWI.

State v. Conroy, which was decided by New Jersey's Appellate Division in 2008, involved a defendant who had three prior DWI convictions and was facing sentencing for a fourth time. The State argued that the step-down rule should only apply where the defendant has one or two prior convictions, but in cases where there were three prior convictions. The defendant argued that the step-down rule should apply to his case because his first DWI conviction was without an attorney and 10 years had already passed between his third and fourth DWI convictions.

Continue reading "New Jersey Penalties for Repeat Drunk Driving Offenses Not Always So Harsh" »

The drunk driving arrest results are finally in following the conclusion of New Jersey's two-week-long "Click It or Ticket" seatbelt and traffic safety campaign, which ended back on May 31. In that period, state law enforcement officials report that they arrested nearly 900 motorists for driving under the influence of alcohol. As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, I'm proud of the job our police officers do to improve public awareness regarding the benefits of seatbelt use. At the same time, I know that not all of those 866 drivers arrested will be convicted of driving while intoxicated.

In addition to the 800-plus drunk driving arrests last May, New Jersey police also gave out 891 citations for improper use of child restraints, wrote 6,833 tickets for speeding, and ticketed more than 40,000 motorists for seatbelt-related violations. That compares favorably, according to reports, to the 46,000 tickets given out in 2008 for similar violations.

Regarding those 866 DWI arrests, in my experience as a drunk driving defense attorney, I know that not every ticket will stand up in court. When defending individuals accused of driving while intoxicated under the influence of alcohol, there are multiple factors that can affect the validity of a prosecutor's evidence.

Take the breath test, for instance. The Alcotest device, the operation of which every attorney in my office has been fully certified, must be maintained correctly. If not, the results can turn out wrong and actually be useless during a trial. Even if the breathalyzer is working correctly, factors affecting BAC (or blood alcohol content) can vary widely. The key here is, don't automatically assume that the machine is always right. It may say you were legally drunk, but that result may not stand up to a seasoned DWI defense lawyer.

As a former prosecutor myself, I know how the state or municipality goes about prosecuting drunk driving defendants. They may bring up certain points to try and prove that you were driving your vehicle under the influence of alcohol. A prosecutor may say that officers detected an "odor" of alcohol on your breath, that you were driving somewhat erratically, or that you exhibited a "disheveled" appearance or acted as if you were intoxicated. They may even state that you exhibited poor field sobriety test (FST) performance. You have to understand that these are all ways in which a prosecutor attempts to sway the court to find you guilty of DWI.

But what a prosecutor will rarely if ever mention is that these types of "evidence" are very ambiguous and subject to a range of interpretation. Not to mention, these previous statements and observations made by the prosecution are often quite unreliable and result in faulty assumptions.

Continue reading "New Jersey "Click It" Traffic Safety Campaign Nets 866 Drunk Drivers across the State" »

Sometimes embarrassment seems to be the biggest part of receiving a drunk driving summons. As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, many of the individuals I represent feel humiliated after being arrested for driving while intoxicated, but I always remind them that a drunken driving conviction itself is no laughing matter.

Being branded with a first-time conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol not only hits your wallet but also your lifestyle. In the worst case scenario, it can also jeopardize your social standing and even cost you your job. Believe me, get over the embarrassment of a drunk driving summons and contact a qualified DWI defense lawyer, fast.

It doesn't take much to merit an arrest for DWI. Recently, a Cranford man was arrested by police on drunk driving charges at a Garwood convenience store. According to reports, this individual drove his car haphazardly through the store's parking area and struck one of the vehicles parked there. Not an Earth-shattering event, but enough to get the attention of one of the store's employees.

That store cleck called the Garwood Police Department, which dispatched a squad car to assess the situation. Shortly after 8am, an officer arrived and found a damaged vehicle in the parking lot, after which the officer determined that William Parisio, 21, was the driver of the 1999 Subaru Forester that hit the parked vehicle. According to reports, the man was taken into custody and transported to the Garwood Police station where he was given a breathalyzer test, which he failed. He was charged with drunk driving and released pending a later court date.

Continue reading "Union County, NJ, Man Charged with DWI after Minor Parking Lot Fender-bender" »

As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, my firm has defended many people accused of being drunk at the time of an accident. When injuries or fatalities are involved, the local police take a dim view of anyone with the mere appearance of intoxication, much less full blown drunkenness. A recent news story about a Hudson County resident illustrates how serious a drunk driving charge can be when coupled with injured victims. To make things worse for this New Jersey man, he was out of state when the incident occurred.

According to news stories, 43-year-old Ediberto Viana of North Bergen Township, NJ, lost control of his sport utility vehicle in Manhattan and drove onto the sidewalk bordering Bergenline Avenue and 57th Street on July 19. The vehicle hit a total of seven pedestrians, one of which was pinned under the vehicle until emergency crews could remove the injured from the scene.

Those hurt in the accident ranged in age from 13 to 65 years old. The most seriously injured person, a 44-year-old man, was taken to Jersey City Medical Center with compound fractures of the leg, officials said. The other victims reportedly included two sisters (13 and 15 years old), a 16-year-old girl, a 63-year-old man and a 65-year-old man and another victim of unknown age.

Police arriving at the scene determined that Viana was intoxicated at the time. According to reports, the man's blood alcohol content (BAC) was measured at 0.22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit (0.08) in New Jersey and other states. Because of this, Viana was charged with DWI, as well as seven counts of assault by auto. Because of the extent of the injuries caused by Viana, the court set bail at $150,000, cash only, at the request fo the prosecutor's office. Charges could be upgraded depending on how the critically-injured victim fares in the hospital.

Continue reading "Police Say New Jersey Man was Drunk when He Hit Seven Pedestrians in Big Apple" »