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There has been a bit of concern in some quarters about the future of a stricter legal limit for driving while intoxicated (DWI) in New Jersey, as well as other states across the country. Ever since the recommendation from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the blogosphere has been buzzing with scenarios of doubled, tripled or quadrupled instances of drunken driving arrests, DWI cases and corresponding convictions.

As New Jersey drunk driving defense attorneys, my staff is also affected by changes in the law, though our main goal is still to provide skilled legal representation to those motorists accused of DWI or drug DUI. But the issue of a tightening of the state’s blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) limit as it applies to the legal definition of drunk driving is still of great interest to us and others in our field of practice.

So, the question remains, could a lower DWI standard be in the works any time soon? And how would that change affect drunk driving enforcement as well as other aspects of DWI and DUI legal defense. Well, the short answer, if we are to believe earlier news articles, is not for some time. In fact, some have suggested that a revised BAC of 0.05 percent, which tightens up the current standard by nearly 40 percent, could be decades in the making for us in the Garden State.
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This being the Garden State it is not unusual to read about dozens of drunk driving arrests and drug-related DUI cases emanating any particular portion of the state. Certainly, Essex County is only one of a dozen or so jurisdictions that see concentrations of heavy DWI patrols and roadside sobriety checkpoint activities from time to time. As skilled DWI-DUI defense lawyers, the attorneys are the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall are familiar with the potential volume of drunken driving cases moving through our state’s court system every month.

When considering cause and effect, it can be stated with a fair amount of certainty that an increase in anti-DWI and drug-DUI enforcement can have a direct impact on the number of drunken driving arrests in any one area, and as a result, more drunken driving cases in municipal courtrooms throughout these areas. We take no joy in the increased incidence of drunken driving, regardless of the reasons, but we are aware that a percentage of DWI arrests are based on weak or insufficient evidence.

In towns and cities all around New Jersey, the summertime driving season brings with it the promise of increased drunk driving patrols and other traffic safety enforcement efforts. Being DWI defense attorneys, I and my staff of experienced DWI lawyers fully understand how some drunk driving arrests may either be unwarranted or faulty in some way, shape or form. This is why we also recommend that any driver accused of DWI or drug DUI should, at the very least, consult a qualified DWI lawyer to better understand his or her options going forward.
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For those who may wonder why traffic enforcement seems higher in certain parts of the Garden State than others, the answer may be reflected in the simple statistics associated with drunk driving-related roadway collisions, perhaps especially those associated with fatal DWI crashes. According to a news article we recently ran across, Ocean County, NJ, ranks close to the top of all New Jersey counties in terms of deadly drunken driving accidents.

As New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyers, we are all too aware of the frequency of DWI and drug DUI arrests across our state. And although our job is to represent those individuals who have been accused of driving while under the influence of beer, wine, hard liquor, prescription and illegal drugs, we understand the dangers of driving while impaired by alcohol or controlled dangerous substances (CDS).

The report that we saw earlier this summer noted that the roads over in Ocean County have consistently seen some of the worst car accidents for almost any area in the Garden State. Because of this dubious distinction, county officials have reportedly been striving to remedy what the statistics seem to indicate. For example, through the first week of June, county accident data showed that 29 total fatalities had been recorded since the beginning of 2013.
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In the course of driving throughout the Garden State, there’s a good chance that a percentage of motorists have seen roadside traffic stops from time to time. Whether those police stops are conducted at night or during the daytime; on the parkway or in the city, every week there are numerous New Jersey and out-of-state drivers who are stopped by state troopers or municipal cops for what may appear to be a rather minor traffic violation, but which ends up costing those people hundreds or thousands of dollars.

We’re talking, of course, about those traffic stops that develop into an alcohol or drug-related arrest. While not every police stop ends in an arrest for DWI or a summons for drug DUI, many New Jersey motorists in counties such as Bergen, Ocean and Monmouth discover the hard way that drinking and driving can land them in a courtroom to explain themselves before a judge.

This is where my law firm comes into play. As DWI defense attorneys and experienced trial lawyers, my legal staff understands this state’s drunken driving laws. We also understand the way in which otherwise law-abiding individuals can find themselves in the back of a police cruiser on the way to the local police department for a breath test and possible charges. Regardless of the final determination — be it impaired driving due to beer, wine or liquor; or some controlled dangerous substance (CDS) such as marijuana, cocaine or meth – the costs can be high.
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On numerous occasions every week in this state it is not uncommon to see a motorist accused of DWI walk into a courtroom with either insufficient representation or none at all. When it comes to drunk driving charges, any accused individual should carefully weigh his or her options as they face the potentially costly consequences of a DWI or drug DUI conviction.

As drunk driving trial attorneys, the legal experts at the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall have many decades of cumulative courtroom experience defending individuals accused of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated by alcohol or impaired by some kind of controlled substance. Whether the DWI-DUI charges stem from alcohol, prescription medication or illegal drug use, having a qualified drunk driving lawyer at one’s side is always preferable to entering a courtroom alone and ill-prepared.

Accused individuals may feel that their good name or driving record is sufficient to get them out of hot water; however, without the assistance of a skilled attorney the positive outcome of a drunk driving case is far from assured. Preparation and a detailed understanding of New Jersey drunk driving law are important aspects of any good DWI defense. At the very least, we highly recommend consulting with a drunken driving attorney prior to stepping foot in a courtroom.
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It’s a no-brainer, as they say, to understand that being charged with drunken driving in connection with a traffic accident is usually a more serious situation than being stopped, say, at a sobriety checkpoint and blowing a 0.08 on a breathalyzer. This can be said for the very reason that DWI (or drug DUI) is already one of the more weighty driving offenses that a motorist can be hit with following a routine traffic stop here in the Garden State.

Adding a vehicle collision that entails property damage or physical injury to charges of driving while intoxicated or impaired due to prescription drugs or illicit substances (sometimes referred to as controlled dangerous substances, or CDS) and most any trial attorney is likely to tell you that the court doesn’t usually take such a combination of offenses lightly. In situations like this, it is all the more important to retain the services of a qualified drunk driving defense lawyer to help handle one’s case in a courtroom.

Worse yet, and certainly beyond the potentially negative consequences surrounding a “normal” DWI-DUI traffic stop, would be those circumstances involving a fatality-related DUI traffic accident. As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, I and my colleagues understand how quickly one’s fortune can change following a fatal or injury-related car or truck crash. Forget the embarrassment and socially awkward situations following an arrest or potential conviction, a person’s personal and private life can be turned upside down after a serious drunk driving accident.
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It is not uncommon for the New Jersey State Police, as well as local and municipal police departments, to carry out some rather heavy anti-drunk driving mobile patrols at various times during the year. If you are from New Jersey or find yourself driving through the Garden State on a fairly regular basis, you likely have noticed this kind of DWI enforcement presence from time to time.

As New Jersey drunken driving defense attorneys, we are in a position to provide legal services to those motorists who have been accused of operating their car, truck or motorcycle in violation of state laws pertaining to driving while intoxicated or operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS). Fortunately, here in the Garden State, DWI offenses have yet to be criminalized.
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As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, we can safely say that not every traffic stop by a state trooper or municipal patrolman will end up with an arrest or serious charges. That said, with a strong focus on curbing drunk driving across the Garden State, there are certainly a portion of those monthly police stops that do indeed result in an arrest or at least a summons to appear in court to answer for a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or impaired operation of a motor vehicle due to prescription drugs or even illicit substances like marijuana or cocaine.

In many of those DWI and drug DUI cases, as I and my staff of experienced trial lawyers understand very well, motorists are taken into custody and charged with one or more offenses pertaining to intoxicated driving. In such instances, even the most simple of driving mistakes can be a trigger for a DWI arrest. As motorists ourselves, it is easy to see how even the most law-abiding person might make an occasional improper turn or mistakenly change lanes without signaling.

Although the frequency of drunken driving arrests fluctuate from week to week, there always seem to be more than enough opportunity for a driver, who may only have had one or two drinks prior to getting behind the wheel, to be stopped for a minor infraction. Whether one is legally drunk or not, the mere appearance of being “not quite with it” or acting a little intoxicated during a traffic stop could cause a police officer to decide to make a DWI-related arrest.
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You might think that you are done with the past, but it is often the case that the past is never quite done with you. For Garden State drivers who are stopped by either a New Jersey State Police trooper or a local police officer, there is more than a grain of truth in this simple statement. As New Jersey drunken driving defense attorneys representing motorists arrested in Monmouth, Passaic, Bergen and other counties around the state, we know how a simple traffic stop can escalate into a DWI arrest or something worse.

“Worse,” of course, is a relative term; but as experienced trial lawyers we understand that defending against a drunk driving or drug DUI charge can sometimes entail other aspects altogether. Take, for instance, the story of a Somerset, NJ, woman who was pulled over ostensibly for a typical traffic infraction, yet ended up in deep trouble with the law not so much for allegedly driving under the influence of alcohol, but for possible identity theft 20 years prior.

According to news reports, 37-year-old Rocio Reyes-Chavez was stopped by Plainsboro police earlier this year when officers apparently observed the driver violating one or more local traffic laws. Once pulled over, the driver allegedly handed the officer in charge a driver’s license obtained following the theft of a Florida resident’s identity sometime in the early 1990s. At the time of the drunk driving stop, it was apparently not obvious to police that the woman was living under an assumed name.
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As DWI attorneys representing New Jersey motorists and other individuals charged with one of many drunk driving or drug DUI offenses, my legal team has decades of collective courtroom experience defending drivers accused of driving a car, truck or motorcycle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance (CDS).

Although we defend people who have been hit with a drunken or impaired driving summons, as motorists ourselves we are generally happy to know that state and local law enforcement officers work hard each day to maintain safety on Garden State roadways. However, though we commend the hard work of the law enforcement community for keeping our cities, towns and local communities safe from criminals and other more dangerous individuals, we do reserve the right to challenge the actions of some police officers and state troopers.

As a former municipal prosecuting attorney myself, I understand the extreme pressure that policemen find themselves under from one day to the next. So we are never truly surprised when we see, from time to time, the results of unjustified or groundless drunken driving arrests. From our extensive experience, I and my experienced team of DWI-DUI defense lawyers understand that a certain percentage of drunk driving arrests do not result in a DWI conviction. That’s a fact.
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