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As with many drunk driving scenarios, the beginning of the ordeal for any motorist is usually when he notices a police car behind him with lights on and siren blasting. Unnerving as that initial moment may be for most, for those individuals who may have had a drink or two prior to the police stop the worst is yet to come. Never mind the embarrassment, the fear of being found guilty of drunken driving can result in a very awkward experience on the roadside.

As New Jersey trial lawyers experienced in defending motorists accused of intoxicated driving or drug DUI from taking some kind of prescription medication, we understand the trepidation that most anyone would feel after being called out by a New Jersey State trooper or municipal patrolman. We also know that if a person does not actively seek legal assistance to fight a drunk driving charge, the potential penalties for losing one’s case can be costly.

The skilled attorneys at our Monmouth County law firm are dedicated to providing a vigorous defense on behalf of our clients. In general, when considering whether or not one might retain counsel for a DWI-DUI or breath test refusal charge, it is important to ask a few questions. Top among these would be whether or not a prosecutor can prove you, as the driver, were intoxicated.
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Here at the law offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, we have several former DWI prosecutors on our legal team. As such, I can say that we all have a healthy respect for the efforts and sacrifices made every day by city and county police officers and state troopers all across the Garden State. But that being said, as drunk driving defense attorneys we must, as part of our job, view any and all evidence used by the prosecution with a critical eye; questioning all sources of evidence that might be used against our clients in a court of law — even the professional observations, judgments and actions of those officers whom we respect.

The reason for this is simple. As drunken driving defense lawyers, we have an obligation to our clients, as well as to the law itself, to pursue the truth wherever it might lead. Many motorists in the state are charged with DWI, drug DUI, CDS possession, and other motor vehicle violations without strong evidence to support the state’s claim. While many drunken driving cases do result in a conviction and penalties for the defendant, still others end with the case being thrown out on technical grounds or from insufficient supporting evidence.

As hard as we work to protect the rights of those individual who are accused of operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or prescription medication, we find it disturbing whenever we hear of a patrolman or other law enforcement official who is arrested for breaking the very laws that he or she is sworn to uphold as part of their official duties. Hypocrisy is hardly a redeeming characteristic.
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Reading about drunk driving arrests here and there in the news is obviously one way of gauging the number of intoxicated driving incidents that occur throughout the Garden State. But until one actually sees the extensive number of active and pending DWI court cases on the docket at courthouses throughout New Jersey it is difficult to imagine the sheer volume of DWI-related traffic offenses that gain the attention of our legal system on a weekly, monthly or yearly basis.

Of course, as experienced drunken driving defense attorneys, I and my staff of skilled trial lawyers live this story every day. We can easily comprehend the huge burden that DWI and drug DUI cases exert on our court system. Yet we also believe that every individual who is charged with an offense, be it civil or criminal, deserves his day in court should he choose to go that route. And why not? Every one accused of a crime, civil infraction or other statutory offense should seriously consider exercising his right to have his case be heard in a court of law.

It is for this reason that we always encourage motorists who feel they have been unjustly accused of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, doctor-prescribed medications or even illicit drugs, to take their case to court and fight for their rights under the law. Still, it is sobering for the public, if we may chose that term, to read articles like the one we ran into a short while back. The news item in question pointed out that Bergen County alone has a serious backlog of more than 500 drunk driving and DUI cases out of about 1,000 pending adjudication.
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There is a good chance that as a motorist here in the Garden State, you or someone you know may have either seen or been subject to one of the many drunken driving roadblocks that pop up here and there across the state every month. For those who are unfamiliar with these “tools of the trade,” understand that they are designed to catch motorists who may be intoxicated behind the wheel by being located in areas know to have a statistically high incidence of DWI.

As New Jersey drunk driving lawyers, we seem to get numerous questions from potential clients regarding the legitimacy of these roadblocks, or DWI checkpoints as they are also referred. When asked by prospective clients, we must tell them that, yes, the constitutionality of these police roadblocks was addressed (back in 1979) by none other than the U.S. Supreme Court (Delaware v. Prouse).

In the aforementioned case, it was decided that it was unconstitutional to stop and detain a motorist without articulable suspicion that he or she is either unlicensed, his or her car is unregistered, or the vehicle or its occupant(s) is otherwise subject to seizure for a violation of law. This seemed like a win for those opposed to sobriety checkpoints, however the issue was again addressed here in New Jersey (State v. Kirk) in the 1980s.
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As Garden State DWI defense attorneys, my aim and that of my team of skilled trial lawyers is to provide legal assistance to motorists who are unjustly accused of driving under the influence of beer, wine, hard liquor, doctor-prescribed medications or even illicit drugs. Whether the charge is simple in-car possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), such as meth, weed or coke, of if the evidence suggests that a driver was illegally operating his or her automobile while impaired by alcohol, we are trained professionals who have many decades of collective experience in this area of the law.

Although it can be argued that the police have a much different take on driving while intoxicated, we understand that errors in judgment do happen from time to time, and not every drunken driving charge will be easily disproved, if at all. In the same way, however, it could be said that along with the extremely large volume of drunk driving arrests and subsequent court cases, that there will inevitably be injustices waiting to happen based on bad evidence or poor procedures on police department’s part.

We see all manner of drunk driving cases moving through our court system, in a variety of courtrooms throughout the Garden State. While New Jersey is not unique when it comes to the variety of DWI scenarios, we always find it interesting to review the different approaches that many motorists use to get themselves in trouble with local and state police. Here are just a few examples from Ocean County, NJ.
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During most any traffic stop that appears to the officer in charge to involve drinking and driving, the motorist will likely be asked to perform a one or more of the standardized field sobriety tests (FSTs) as prescribed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). For those unfamiliar with these tests, they are comprised of a number of simple physical tasks — such as walking a straight line heel-to-toe or standing on one leg for 30 seconds — which police use to gauge a person’s level of impairment from drugs or alcohol.

Historically, law enforcement agencies have used these tests coupled with other observed symptoms of drunkenness — such as weaving in one’s lane — and the officer’s professional opinion to determine guilt and justify the arrest of a motorist for driving while intoxicated. Here in New Jersey, as well as the rest of the country, a patrolman must correctly administer the FSTs as approved by the NHTSA in a standardized manner in order to obtain a validated indicator of impairment and establish probable cause for a DWI-DUI arrest.

As common as the FSTs are in the daily duties of police officers all across the Garden State, they nonetheless represent one of the more controversial aspects of a drunk driving stop. In an effort to lend more credibility to these tests, the NHTSA developed a model training system for police officers and published numerous training manuals regarding the use and administration of FSTs. Even though the results of these test may be held up by the prosecution as proof of inebriation on the part of a driver, even experts in the field of DWI don’t agree on the effectiveness of FSTs.
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With all the TV courtroom dramas that have come and gone, we certainly wouldn’t fault anyone for thinking that there might be a chance to negotiate a plea bargain on a drunken driving offense. And while a skilled criminal attorney can make the difference between a heavy sentence and a relatively light one, when it comes to DWI and drug DUI offenses, “copping a plea” is not in the cards.

Unless one is in the legal profession or very familiar with our state’s court system, most people rarely have the legal background to know what is or isn’t possible when it comes to defending against drunk driving charges. Although the general public may not be aware of all the ins and outs of New Jersey law, it is a fair bet that many have heard of the concept of plea bargaining.

In general, the term “plea bargaining” refers to a negotiated dismissal or downgrade of a charge or charges against an individual defendant. While relatively common in criminal trials, plea bargaining is strictly unavailable in cases concerning drunken driving. In fact, based on our state’s DWI laws, plea bargaining is actually against the law where intoxicated driving is concerned.
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As professional litigators, I and my skilled legal staff here at the law offices of Jonathan F. Marshall have been practicing law collectively for nearly a century. Because of this extensive experience in and out of the courtroom, I and my team understand New Jersey’s DWI-DUI statutes and we know how the law affects the outcome of drunken driving cases from Passaic and Bergen County to Atlantic, Ocean and Cape May County. When asked, we usually tell prospective clients that fighting a drunk driving charge is usually a wise course of action.

Having represented hundreds of defendants, many of whom have been charged with offenses such as DWI, drug DUI, impaired motor vehicle operation and breath test refusal, we know which cases are going to be tough to win and which may even be thrown out on technicalities. Having a qualified legal professional on your side can not only be reassuring, but it can help you avoid the most severe of DWI penalties should the court rule against you.

One of the more serious charges for a driver who is caught drinking and driving has to do with minor children in the vehicle at the time of the traffic stop. Just as operating a motor vehicle within 1,000 feet of a school zone while drunk, can result in much greater penalties following a possible conviction, having kids with you while DWI-DUI is similarly a bad combination.
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Drunk driving arrests are hardly uncommon here in the Garden State, with our large population and plenty of vehicles on the road. But while intoxicated driving maybe a year-round occurrence throughout the state, the incidences of impaired motor vehicle operation can become especially frequent when the weather starts to warm up and the summer tourist season begins anew. With numerous family get-togethers, company picnics, and out-of-towners streaming into beach and resort areas, police all around the state are on alert for potentially inebriated motorists.

Whether one lives, works or travels through Monmouth County, or Ocean, Atlantic or Cape May, a wide variety of alcohol- and prescription drug-related arrests can be seen nearly any day of the week in the various police blotter pages published by local news outlets. As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, my legal team has seen its share of courtroom scenarios involving all manner of drunk driving, breath-test refusal and drug DUI cases.

Regardless of the circumstances, from alcohol-related car and truck accidents to drug-impaired motorists taken into custody and charged with DUI, our court system is witness to a constant stream of DWI-DUI cases, many of which are thrown out due to lack of proper evidence or incorrect police procedures. For these last two reasons alone it is never a bad idea to consult with an experienced trial lawyer skilled in DWI-DUI litigation. Certainly, understanding one’s legal rights and weighing the possible options is usually to a person’s advantage.
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It’s in the news a lot these days. Drivers nodding off behind the wheel, highway accidents blamed on bad drug interactions, motorist who even find themselves “sleep-driving” after taking over-the-counter sleeping medications. As New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyers, I and my colleagues have seen the cases that run the gamut from simple intoxicated driving arrests to drivers charged with vehicular homicide following multi-car pileups attributed to substance abuse. There is no lack of tragedy on our roadways.

While we may represent individuals who have been accused of DWI-DUI, we in no way espouse drinking and driving, nor taking any drug or prescription meds that one knows will impair his or her operation of a motor vehicle. The facts are clear on this; an impaired driver is simply more prone to being caught up in a traffic mishap than one who is cold-sober or not on any medication.

Yet there are those instances where a motorist may have had no idea that the medicine his physician prescribed would interfere with his ability to drive a car or truck safely. A subtle as some of the effects are, sometimes being stopped for a traffic infraction by a police officer may be the first indication of impairment due to that drug or treatment.
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