New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog

November 18, 2012

Drunk on New Jersey Roads with Children Onboard Could Lead to Severe Consequences

There is little that can worry a driver more than being stopped by a city or township police officer or state police trooper after having had a couple drinks prior. The fear of getting a ticket for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated by liquor, beer or wine, and even prescription medication can be overwhelming to some. Having to stand up in front of a municipal or county judge to answer for a DWI charge can be humiliating, to say the least. Never mind the financial and social cost.

And this is when nothing else bad has occurred to cause the traffic stop. As New Jersey drunken driving defense attorneys, I and my staff of qualified DWI lawyers know that being arrested for drunk driving or receiving a DUI summons is no picnic especially if the arrest coincided with a traffic accident, injury to another driver or passenger, or worst of all, an untimely death. The fact is, neither the police nor New Jersey’s court system is even mildly sympathetic to individuals who drive while intoxicated by alcohol or impaired by doctor-prescribed medication.

With hundreds of drunk driving cases passing through New Jersey courts every month, it’s no surprise that many of those will have involved a collision or some other more serious offense. Because of the seriousness of some drunken driving incidents, many states have laws on the books that penalize drivers for committing DWI-related offenses under a variety of circumstances, not the least of which is driving drunk with a minor riding inside the car with that person.
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November 13, 2012

New Jersey Drunk Driving News: Motorist Arrested for DWI after High-Speed Crash in Passaic County

by Jonathan F. Marshall

It’s one thing to be hit with a DWI summons when one may not realize he or she was drunk at the time of the arrest, but to actively break the law while potentially impaired by alcohol or prescription drugs (drug DUI) is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Most New Jersey police are already primed to pull over drivers who exhibit telltale signs of impairment. And while the law states that a patrolman cannot legally stop a vehicle simply on the hunch or intuition that the driver is intoxicated, officers have an eye for even the most minor of traffic infractions.

Once a police officer observes a chargeable traffic offense being committed by a motorist, the odds of being pulled over jump significantly. As soon as the officer is at the driver’s side of the vehicle on the roadside, all bets are off, as any signs of impairment can cause the patrolman to investigate further. Being asked to exit one’s vehicle and perform various standardized field sobriety tests can lead to an arrest if the officer in charge believes the driver to drunk. All that remains is a trip to police headquarters and a breathalyzer test to determine blood-alcohol content (BAC).

As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, I and my colleagues have decades of experience in the area of DWI and DUI law. Before stepping foot in a courtroom, or talking with anyone from the local prosecutors office, one should seriously consider talking with a qualified drunken driving defense lawyer. It may sound so basic, but many people feel that they can explain themselves to the judge. While there may be some advantage to representing oneself in court, it’s a DWI attorney’s job to understand the law, know the local procedures for DWI cases and protect the defendant’s rights.
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November 10, 2012

Motorist Arrested for DWI in Bergen County, NJ, after Car Stalls on Railroad Track

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As New Jersey drunken driving attorneys we work to assist drivers who have been accused of DWI and drug DUI in Monmouth, Ocean, Passaic and other counties throughout the Garden State. Yet, even though we will fight for an individual’s right to defend themselves against a charge of drunk driving, we would also be the first to argue that deliberately getting behind the wheel when one knows he or she has had too much to drink is the best course of action.

There are so many potential scenarios surrounding possible DWI and DUI arrests that no one situation is ever quite the same as another. That said, it is important to note that being impaired by alcohol can reduce one’s ability to operate a vehicle properly, maintain a lane, or even remember to signal when executing a turn. The fact is, New Jersey state police and local municipal officers have a keen eye for motorists who may be exhibiting “typical” signs of impaired driving. Regardless of one’s level of intoxication, being stopped by a patrolman for a routine traffic infraction could lead to a DWI summons, a drunken driving arrest, or both.

It is also important to point out that while I and my staff of experienced DWI defense lawyers are trained in the law, we also know how easily it is to be injured or killed as a result of driving while impaired by alcohol or prescription drugs. While nobody welcomes a drunken driving arrest, the events leading up to that event could result in a driver being taken off the road who might otherwise have hurt themselves. In this respect, one can appreciate the action without accepting the consequences. Still, a defendant has the right to be heard, which is the least we can expect under the law.
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November 4, 2012

Red Bank DWI News: NJ Supreme Court Rules Kyleigh’s Law to Stand for Teen Drivers

by Jonathan F. Marshall

It’s a question that has apparently been answered, at least for the time being; the New Jersey Supreme Court overwhelmingly ruled to maintain Kyleigh’s Law (otherwise known as S2314), which requires drivers under 21 years of age with a permit or probationary license to display red detachable decals on their vehicle’s front and rear license plates. The law, which went into effect back in May 2010, is intended to help police better know the age of a particular driver in order to enforce driving laws that prohibit certain novice drivers from operating a vehicle either late in the evening or with other occupants in the car.

As New Jersey drunk driving attorneys, we understand the need for safety on our streets, put we also understand how writing additional driving restrictions into our state law can raise questions of whether every piece of legal regulation actually makes our roadways safer. In this case, S2314 was criticized by many people as being counter-productive, if only because the required stickers could allow sexual predators to single-out youngsters on the road.

While news articles at the time of the Court’s opinion indicated that only one instance of a teenager being targeted by a sexual predator had actually occurred, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) did its own study and found that, in general, the law was not that popular and had not increased compliance by young motorists with the Garden State’s laws affecting driving permit holders and those with provisional (now probationary) licenses.
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November 2, 2012

Garden State Drunk Driving Arrest Update: With the Thanksgiving Holiday Coming, Anti-DWI Enforcement is Imminent

by Jonathan F. Marshall

It’s fair to say that during portions of the calendar year there are more than an average number of DWI, drug DUI and other alcohol-related driver arrests that occur, especially when the holidays are concerned. Just as the various annual “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” anti-drunken driving campaigns net state and municipal enforcement agencies with a good number of drunk driving summonses, it doesn’t take long for motorists to be caught operating under the influence as the winter holidays approach.

Labor Day and Memorial Day certainly bring out a large number of drunk driving patrols across the Garden State, including the ubiquitous DWI roadblocks (or drunken driving checkpoints) that pop up every weekend to catch unsuspecting drivers who may have had a glass of wine or bottle of beer with friends. Federal funding of these efforts is one major way in which these large-scale drunk driving efforts manage to keep local patrolmen and state police troopers on the lookout for potential drunk drivers.

So, with Thanksgiving a few weeks away, and the Christmas and New Year’s holidays not long after that, it’s important to remind everyone to be especially careful when celebrating this coming holiday season. Whether one live or works in Sussex, Passaic, Monmouth or Ocean County, you have no doubt noticed an increased police presence during holiday weekends. New Jersey expressways, tollways and surface streets can be the scene of many a routine traffic stop-turned-DWI arrest.
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October 29, 2012

New Jersey Assemblyman Alleges Washington Twp. Police Officer of Abused Authority in DWI Arrest

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Having represented hundreds of motorists throughout the Garden State who have been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs (drug DUI), my firm understands that not every driver arrested for drunk driving is convicted for same. As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, we know that it takes certain evidence and testimony to result in a drunken driving conviction. This is why we always recommend that anyone who is arrested for or issued a summons regarding driving while intoxicated should, at the very least, consult with a qualified DUI lawyer prior to stepping into a court of law.

On numerous occasions, we have explained how police, prosecutors and other state officials must be held to the same or better standard when it comes to the laws and statutes of our state. And as news reports show, there are more than a few instances every year where a patrolman, police official, jurist or other officer of the court is arrested for violating one of the numerous laws he or she is sworn to uphold. Being treated differently than the average citizen in cases involving drunk driving or other serious traffic offenses is a luxury nobody should have over the general population.

With the stiff fines and other punitive measures associated with a DWI or drug DUI conviction, every person found guilty should face the same penalties regardless of social rank or government office. Understanding as we do the difficult circumstances to which a convicted drunken driving defendant will be subject is reason enough to call for equal treatment under the law, as well as equal protection.
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October 26, 2012

Ignition Interlock Devices Becoming a Common Requirement for New Jersey Motorists Convicted of DWI

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As we’ve stated previously, those who follow the news, here in New Jersey, know that drunk driving arrests are pretty much a part of the automotive landscape. Considering the various scenarios that can result in a motorist being arrested, charged and tried for operating their car or truck while under the influence of alcohol or doctor-prescribed medication (drug DUI), we as DWI defense lawyers understand how seemingly law-abiding citizens can find themselves in a courtroom trying to explain how they never realized they were drunk in the first place. It’s not an easy road.

For every driver who is stopped for an apparently minor traffic violation there is always the chance that he or she may be served with a summons for drunken driving. These encounters with state and local police are just a precursor to that inevitable appearance before a municipal or county judge. To expect leniency is piling hope upon hope, which rarely works in the real world of DWI law. If nothing else, the years of anti-DWI messages and physical enforcement should tell anyone accused of driving while intoxicated that the police and the courts hold a very dim view of individual whom they believe are DWI offenders.

Whether one is charged with impairment based on consuming alcohol, prescription drugs or even illegal substances such as cocaine, meth or marijuana, the course should be clear; walking into a courtroom unprepared is not a strategy for success. At the very minimum, one should consult with a qualified DWI/DUI defense attorney to better understand the situation and options going forward.
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October 22, 2012

Hunterdon, Bergen and Ocean County Drunken Driving Arrests Illustrate the Variety of DWI Arrests

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Being stopped for drunken driving is not something that most individuals imagine will happen to them, but every week across the Garden State dozens of motorists find themselves in the unenviable position of being written up for DWI or drug DUI. As New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyers, I and my colleagues are well aware of the potential humiliation and negative career impact that a drunken driving arrest entails, and this doesn’t even address the punitive monetary fines and surcharges that come following a DWI/DUI conviction.

For those who have already been stopped and issued a summons for driving while impaired by beer, wine, hard liquor or prescription medication, you know that the police and our court system are not very sympathetic to drivers who appear to be intoxicated behind the wheel. Being charged with DWI, or drug DUI, especially when found to be under the influence of controlled dangerous substances (CDS), is not something one should consider fighting alone. At the very least, it is advisable to consult with a qualified legal professional about the details of your case before stepping into a courtroom.

Being charged with operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, prescription drugs or even marijuana or cocaine, is serious enough to merit careful steps going forward. While no DWI arrest is quite the same as the next, the results can be very similar; from fines and court fees totaling hundreds of dollars, to thousands of dollars in auto insurance policy surcharges over the course of several years, pleading guilty or being found guilty of drunken driving is just the beginning of a long road.
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October 17, 2012

Being Caught with Marijuana is No Joke, Especially if a Drug DUI Charge is Involved

by Jonathan F. Marshall

There’s no mistaking the fact that whatever you call it, weed, cannabis, hash or whatever, marijuana is clearly the most common illegal substance in use here in the Garden State. This drug is very often the cause of many arrests in cities such as Newark, Jersey City and Patterson and the subject of illegal drug charges defended by many criminal defense attorneys. Oddly, marijuana is also becoming legalized as a medicinal drug in many portions of the U.S. Nevertheless, recreational use is not legal and can get people in serious trouble with the law.

As one of the most common drugs of choice, with billions of dollars of the plant being grown in nearly every corner of the country, marijuana can get one arrested even if you aren’t smoking it. If a police officer pulls a driver over after observing a traffic offense, even a minor one, the opportunity exists for that patrolman to question the driver and other occupants of the vehicle. Here in the Garden State, it is illegal to operate a motor vehicle while in possession of marijuana, not to mention being impaired as a result of smoking or otherwise ingesting the drug.

As New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense lawyers, our legal team has more than four decades of experience defending motorists against various types of charges including possession and distribution. In fact, there are numerous potential offenses involving weed and its possession, sale and use. These include: manufacturing and distribution, possession, use or sale in a school zone, possession of drug paraphernalia, operation of a marijuana grow house, possession in a passenger car or other motor vehicle, and others.
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October 15, 2012

New Jersey DWI Police Blotter: Multiple DWI Arrests in Burlington and Hunterdon Counties

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Not all is sweetness and light here in the Garden State, at least as far as those who are regularly arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated on our city streets and rural roadways. Although numerous motorists go about their routines in relative bliss, not knowing if a police officer may be observing their every move, others who may have had a drink at lunch or a beer after work with coworkers can be in for a rude surprise if they make even the most innocuous traffic violation.

As New Jersey drunken driving defense lawyers, I and my staff of experienced DWI attorneys understand what those accused of DWI or drug DUI can be up against in the courtroom. As a former municipal prosecutor myself, I know the tactics and strategies that can be used against a defendant who has received a summons for driving under the influence of alcohol or arrested for driving while impaired due to doctor-prescribed medication.

Fortunately, for many people, being pulled over for some kind of traffic infraction does not always lead to an arrest, but for others a simple mistake — such as failure to yield, improper turn or lack of signaling a lane change — can each result in being stopped by a state police officer or municipal patrolman. Whatever the initial cause, a DWI arrest can be financially shocking and/or a social embarrassment; never mind the negative a conviction can have on one’s personal relationships or job prospects down the road.
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