New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog

February 3, 2013

Facing a Judge Following a DWI Arrest. What New Jersey Motorists May Expect

Most people already understand that being arrested for drunk driving here in the Garden State is hardly a walk in the park. Besides the legal issues, just the mere fact that one has been picked up for drinking and driving can cause problems professionally, as well as personally. Once all the embarrassment has passed, then there’s the worry about penalties if one is convicted of DWI or drug DUI.

As DWI defense attorneys, the legal experts at the law offices of Jonathan F. Marshall understand the pitfalls of self-representation when a drunken driving charge is looming. At the very least, it’s wise to consult with an experienced trial lawyer who knows the ins and outs of New Jersey’s DWI law. Considering the potentially expensive and long-lasting effects of a drunken driving conviction, retaining a qualified legal professional to represent you can be a good way to fight a DWI-DUI charge from the get-go.

Seriously, one should always consider the possible downside to losing a drunk driving case. Most anyone who has been accused of drunk driving knows what’s at stake. If found guilty, a defendant can be looking at a wide range of penalties — anywhere from $250 to $1,000 in monetary fines and even possible incarceration (which can range from “just” two days in jail all the way up to six months). Of course, when it comes to a DWI charge, the main factor in determining sentencing is whether or not the offense was a first-, second-, or third-time offense (for anyone who may be wondering, we have seen individuals who have exceeded three DWI offenses in their lifetime).
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January 31, 2013

Morris County Car Crash Results in Drunken Driving Charges for Newark, NJ, Driver

by Jonathan F. Marshall

First, some basics: A charge of impaired driving due to alcohol consumption here in the Garden State is based on New Jersey drunken driving laws as reflected in N.J.S. 39: 4-50. Known generally as “drunk driving,” this is referred to variously as driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI), and involves operating a motor vehicle while impaired or intoxicated by beer, wine, hard liquor or another type of alcoholic beverage.

As New Jersey drunken driving defense attorneys, I and my legal staff have dozens of years of collective experience representing motorists accused of DWI, DUI, drug DUI and breath test refusal, among other traffic-related violations. As motor vehicle violations go, whether here in New Jersey or any number of other states across the nation, DWI is considered one of the more serious violations with which a motorist can be charged.

Here in Jersey, the fines and penalties associated with a drunken driving conviction can be quite stiff, financially, and in some cases the mere accusation of drinking and driving (much less and actual conviction) can cause serious complications to relationships within one’s social and business circles.
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January 29, 2013

Ocean County Car Crash at Gas Station Leads to Drunk Driving Arrest by Toms River Police

by Jonathan F. Marshall

If we’ve mentioned it once, we’ve likely said many dozens of times: a driver only complicates matters involved with a drunken driving charge if there is a traffic accident associated with said DWI. Regardless of whether on lives in Passaic, Essex, Bergen or Ocean County, the police and the courts are hardly impressed by a motorist who was allegedly impaired by alcohol (DWI) or drugs (DUI) when he or she was involved in a car, truck or motorcycle wreck.

At the very least, and hopefully for all involved, there were no injuries or fatalities, but there is almost always some kind of property damage with any roadway collision, be it a single-vehicle crash or a multi-car accident. Adding drinking and driving to the litany of potential charges is just icing on the cake, so to speak, for the local prosecutor. Accidents can and do happen, but if the police find evidence of alcohol or drug use by the motorist allegedly responsible for the wreck, a DWI-DUI defense can get a bit more complicated.

Despite admonitions from various parties and safety experts, people continue to get behind the wheel in some state of intoxication. Whether one is legally drunk at the time of a traffic stop or following an automobile accident likely will make a difference in the final outcome of a drunken driving case, but having any amount of alcohol or drugs in one’s bloodstream following a traffic incident can be enough for police to issue a DWI or drug DUI summons.
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January 26, 2013

Jersey Residents Arrested for Drunk Driving, DUI and Marijuana Possession in Morris and Union Counties

by Jonathan F. Marshall

For anyone who has never been charged with drunk driving there are many aspects of a DWI arrest that can be surprising and even shocking for “first-timers.” As New Jersey drunken driving defense lawyers, I and my colleagues understand the fear and concern that goes along with a first-time DWI or drug DUI arrest. In fact, even before a driver is pulled over for a traffic violation, it is very possible that the officer in charge was already making mental notes about a motorist’s driving behavior.

This is important to realize, since some individuals who are accused of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of beer, wine or hard liquor may not consider all the possible evidence they may be faced with during their drunken driving hearing. Getting together with a qualified DWI defense attorney is critical when attempting to assess one’s options going into a DWI or drug DUI trial.

Not only will an officer be asked by the prosecuting attorney regarding a driver’s vehicle operation before the traffic stop, but any information that a motorist offers up or provides during a roadside interview will likely be used as evidence when pursuing a guilty verdict in the courtroom. What many drivers don’t realize is even those “minor” or inconsequential comments that one makes during a police stop can be used by the prosecution to make its case against a defendant.
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January 22, 2013

Sussex County Drunk Driving News: Out-of-State Driver Arrested in Sparta Twp for DWI Accident

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Following any arrest associated with driving under the influence, it is never a bad idea to contact a qualified legal professional to understand your particular case and to better know your rights under the law. Particularly if one is charged with DWI, drug DUI, impaired driving of any kind, breath test refusal, and any other related moving violations, it would be wise to retain an experienced drunken driving defense lawyer.

We mention this because there is a percentage of the driving population that never calls an attorney after receiving a summons for driving while intoxicated. Why? It’s hard to say, since every person’s situation is different. But what one must ask themselves in such instances is, “Would I be better off without legal representation when facing serious charges of DWI or DUI?”

Frankly, if a motorist who is slapped with a DWI charge chooses not to retain counsel, there is a rather high likelihood that he or she might find themselves on the receiving end of a guilty verdict from a local or county court. Few people realize that it is not uncommon for a driver accused of DWI to still be convicted of drunken driving even though his blood-alcohol content (BAC) was recorded at below the legal limit (0.08 percent). The ace-in-the-hole for the state can often be what lawyers refer to as observed intoxication.
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January 19, 2013

A Look at New Jersey’s Many and Varied Penalties for Marijuana-related Offenses

by Jonathan F. Marshall

With the recent passage of ballot initiatives in the states of Washington and Colorado legalizing marijuana for recreational use, it’s a fair bet that more than a few individuals in the Garden State probably feel the same way as voters in those states; marijuana is more and more becoming an accepted form of relaxation, not unlike the use of alcohol has been for decades across the United States. As New Jersey DWI-DUI defense attorneys, we know that just believing something is benign, harmless or just plain “okay” is not a sufficient defense in a court of law.

Law is the key here. Even if states do begin to loosen up their legal restrictions on the use of cannabis, weed, hash or whatever one chooses to call it, legal use of marijuana on a national scale make take longer. And, while the significance of these two separate state referendums should not be underestimated, experts tend to agree that this was just the first major victory for the marijuana legalization advocates in what will likely be a long battle. The sticking point is that marijuana is still illegal under federal law, which overrules these states’ rights.

So we’ve established that marijuana may have a future as a legal substance, but here in New Jersey, as in most every other state, it is still a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) in the eyes of the government, and state and local law enforcement. Regardless of its status as one of the most commonly used drugs, at least that we have seen in our work as drug DUI defense lawyers, marijuana remains an illegal substance that can really cause a driver problems if convicted of driving while impaired by the substance.
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January 16, 2013

U.S. Senator Rand Paul’s Son Charged with Underage Drinking on Airliner; US Airways Denies Involvement

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Sure, we were all young once… and who of us didn’t make at least one questionable decision in their early years? Kids are kids, for Pete’s sake; and if you’re going to make a misstep sometime in your life, childhood or thereabouts is probably the best time to do it, right? Most childhood antics can get a kid in trouble, but buying or pilfering alcohol and then drinking it as a minor, well, that tends to get mom and dad’s attention… really fast!

All kidding aside, having one’s minor child arrested for underage drinking, or worse, underage DWI is a serious issue that needs immediate attention, preferably with the assistance of an experienced and knowledgeable drunk driving defense attorney with proficiency in the area of handling underage drinking and alcohol possession cases. As a former municipal prosecutor, I have had the opportunity to work both sides of the aisle when it comes to DWI and drug DUI trial law.

Understanding that a teenager or minor child who is charged with underage drinking, and especially DWI, is nothing to fool around with is the first step to dealing with the incident. We all know that kids get into trouble from time to time; but parents who want the best for their children know intrinsically that a youngster who is caught with alcohol or who has been arrested for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence is complicating his adult life usually with little or no knowledge of the future consequences.
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January 13, 2013

Choosing a New Jersey DWI-DUI Attorney is Critical When Your Future is On the Line

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Finding an attorney one can trust to fight a charge of drunken driving can be more than somewhat of a concern, especially since most motorists are not predisposed to retaining a DWI-DUI defense lawyer “just in case.” This isn’t to say that any choice should be made in haste when, one day, a person finds themselves holding a summons for driving while intoxicated. While time is of the essence once a DWI charge has been levied, the choice of attorney can have a major impact on the course and possible results of one’s drunk driving case.

As experienced New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense lawyers, we know that there are a wide variety of legal advocates available these days to assist motorists with any number of traffic violations, from speeding and other lesser infractions to driving under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs and breath test refusal charges (not to mention instances where individuals have been accused of impairment due to marijuana use, or possession of weed in a motor vehicle). Any one of these may require an experienced professional, but a drunken driving charge, with all of its potentially serious implications, is not something on which one should gamble his or her future.

As skilled trial lawyers, I and my colleagues are well aware that it is next to impossible for most individuals who have been accused of DWI to become experts in the field of drunk driving law virtually overnight. However, it is still important that anyone charged with a violation as significant as a DUI to study up on who they will choose to represent them in a court of law. We know there are a lot of choices out there, but we also know our track record when it comes to representing drivers accused of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
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January 9, 2013

Jersey Drunk Driving Update: State Patrol Officer Fired After Allegedly Faking Dozens of DWI Cases

by Jonathan F. Marshall

No one is perfect, though we all hope that certain professionals are as close to representing a particular ideal as is humanly possible. That said, we would never suggest that the actions of any one individual would necessarily represent the thoughts, actions or mindset of an entire group of people or a particular organization. However, it is instructive from time to time to understand that certain behaviors do exist, even in those within organizations dedicated to maintaining the public good or the personal safety of American citizens.

As New Jersey DWI-DUI defense lawyers, my firm constantly works in the interests of its clients, many of whom have been accused of committing any number of traffic-related violations, not the least of which is driving while intoxicated. The mere suggestion that a law enforcement officer may have been predisposed to arresting a motorist for driving under the influence even before stopping that driver and interviewing him face-to-face would make most police officials cry foul. But, as human beings are not always perfect, one can only reason that in the history of traffic-related arrests, a certain percentage of cases, however small, may have been motivated more by a hunch than by any specific fact.

We bring this up if only because of a recent news item that may get some people thinking about the supposed motivations of some individuals in law enforcement. Again, we are not suggesting that any one officer in any particular police department is following the same course as the subject of this latest news story, but only that the possibility exists. As experienced trial lawyers and drunk driving defense attorneys, our only suggestion to those accused of DWI or drug DUI, make a point to consult with a qualified legal professional experienced in New Jersey drunk driving law BEFORE you walk into a courtroom to plead your DWI case.
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January 6, 2013

Blogger Posts National “Map” of Fatal Drinking and Driving Accidents

by Jonathan F. Marshall

With New Year’s pretty much in our collective rearview mirror it may not be totally inappropriate to look at the impact that drinking and driving has on our society, not only in terms of injuries and deaths from driving under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs, but also from the standpoint of arrests and summonses issued to motorists for DWI, drug DUI, breath test refusal and other drunk driving-related offenses. To say the least, as New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyers, my office is dedicated to assisting those individuals who believe that they have been falsely accused of operating a motor vehicle while under impaired.

Here in the Garden State, more than one motorist has been stopped by a state police trooper, municipal patrolman, county sheriff’s deputy or other law enforcement officer after having been observed executing an improper traffic maneuver or other motor vehicle offense. Such stops most often result in some kind of traffic citation, though some also turn into full-blown drunken driving arrests.

By law, an officer cannot stop a car, truck or motorcycle solely on the suspicion that the driver is impaired by beer, wine, hard liquor, prescription medication or some kind of illicit drug, such as marijuana, cocaine or methamphetamine. But following a routine traffic stop, the door swings wide open for any potential drunken driving investigation by the officer in charge.
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