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In a couple of weeks we’ll be heading into not just another big holiday weekend, but the traditional start of the summer. The Memorial Day weekend is one those national holidays that brings out the crowds to many popular venues throughout the Garden State. With the reopening of large portions of the Jersey Shore following the devastation that was Hurricane Sandy, no doubt many people will be celebrating.

But as we in the legal profession know — especially firms like ours that defend individuals charged with drunken driving — the holidays are also a time when state police and local law enforcement professionals amp up their anti-DWI road patrols and roadside sobriety checkpoints. This why areas throughout the state will likely have enhanced drunk driving enforcement in place as Memorial Day draws closer, with campaigns like the “Click It or Ticket,” and other DWI-DUI awareness efforts.

As skilled New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, we know that even for a first-time drunken driving offense it is better to fight than knuckle under and plead guilty. The reason is that even a one-time DWI conviction can result in some stiff fines and other penalties. This doesn’t even factor in the effect that an earlier conviction will have should a driver find himself charged again with DWI within a short period of time.
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It’s a fair bet that anyone who has received a drunken driving summons following an arrest for impaired driving did not begin that particular day thinking that she would be charged with a DWI offense. But, these kinds of traffic-related offenses occur every day, day and night, all across the Garden State. As New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyers, I and my legal staff see dozens of potential clients every month with similar stories.

Providing a defense for drunken driving charges is what we do. As a former municipal prosecutor, I understand the approach that most prosecuting attorneys use to attain convictions. From the perspective of an outsider — such as a driver accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or impaired motor vehicle operation due to prescription meds — it may seem that defending oneself is monumental task. We can only say that this is not necessarily so.

Of course, the police who arrest a driver and the prosecutors who try the case against a DWI or drug DUI defendant may appear to be monolithic authorities who couldn’t possibly be successfully defeated, but this ignores the strength of the law which gives a defendant the right to challenge her accusers and present evidence in her defense. One thing to remember in the case of a DWI-DUI charge is never to assume that the situation is hopeless.
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By now, most people understand that drinking and driving is about as low as one can go on the scale of social acceptability. Yet it happens every day; another otherwise law-abiding citizen is stopped by police for a simple traffic infraction and subsequently arrested for operating her vehicle while intoxicated. These motorists are not always the social misfits that many officials make this group out to be; many are friends, neighbors and business acquaintances.

This is not to say that some drivers aren’t habitual DWI offenders, it’s just that many people charged with DWI or drug DUI are first-time offenders who may not have otherwise expected to be arrested and then lumped into the same category as the typical impaired motorist. As New Jersey drunken driving defense attorneys, I and my team of skilled legal professionals have decades of combined experience helping those individuals accused of driving under the influence of beer, wine or hard liquor.

As professional trial lawyers in the field of DWI defense, we are shocked at the number of people who apparently accept the inevitability of a DWI conviction without once calling a qualified drunk driving attorney for even some basic advice. This is a sad commentary, since we know that there are many facets to drunk driving law, most of which the average person has no inkling.
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In this modern age of inter-linked electronic databases, public safety and private surveillance cameras, as well as those not-so-modern two-way radios and walky-talkies it still amazes us that some individuals feel they can avoid being caught by the police following a civil or criminal incident simply by leaving the scene of an accident or other event. As recent tragic events here on the East Coast have illustrated, no matter who you are or what you may have done, there is little chance of escaping the long arm of the law.

Of course, as New Jersey criminal and civil trial attorneys whose job it is to represent people accused of a wide range of offenses — even relatively minor ones such as drunken driving or marijuana possession — we are well aware that the law is designed to protect innocent people from unjust arrest or erroneous accusations. The fact of the matter is that here in the United States, our system of law is predicated on the understanding that anyone accused of an offense is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

As drunk driving defense lawyers assisting motorists here in the Garden State, we stand by the rights provided by the U.S. Constitution and we use these laws and those of the State of New Jersey to defend drivers charged with driving while intoxicated, operating a motor vehicle while impaired by prescription medications or other, possibly illegal drugs; not to mention breath test refusal and other alcohol-related violations.
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Of course, it’s easy to suggest after the fact that a defendant should or shouldn’t have done this or that prior to or during a DWI arrest. And to suggest that anyone reading this right now will later be going out to willfully drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs would simply be unfair. However, in this world of “would-a, should-a, could-a,” we might be remiss if we didn’t say that getting caught up in a traffic accident — even a minor fender-bender — while impaired by drugs or alcohol could possibly complicate a person’s defense.

As New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense attorneys, I and my staff of experienced trial lawyers are constantly approached by potential clients looking for help after being accused of driving while intoxicated. The answers are not always simple, but the causes for drunken driving arrests can usually be traced to one of many seemingly minor moving violations that open the door to a full-blown DWI arrest.

Now, we can think of dozens of examples of Jersey motorists who have added a reckless driving or vehicular assault charge to what is already a potentially costly drunken driving offense. As we’ve said many times before, there is no reason to complicate one’s life — much less one’s defense against a drunk driving accusation — by getting into a car accident while possibly inebriated at the time. And trust us, even one or two drinks prior to a traffic stop may be all it takes to get slapped with a drunk driving summons in this state.
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Being charged with drunken driving is no laughing matter, but heaping other offenses on top of a DWI really not desirable. Quite frankly, it is in most people’s best interests to take their fight to a court of law, rather than express anger — physically or verbally — toward the arresting officer. Of course, nobody is perfect and human nature can get the best of anyone during a tense and stressful situation such as a drunk driving arrest.

As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, I and my staff understand the that tempers can run high during a traffic stop, especially if the accused motorist believes he was in the right. Having had a glass of wine or a beer prior to the police stop can lead to a possible arrest for driving while intoxicated, so it is best to try and keep one’s head during such instances. But there are even worse situations in which a driver might find himself.

We were reminded of this by a news article a while back in which a driver was accused of multiple traffic offenses, driving under the influence being one of them. But in this particular case, the motorist also allegedly hit an officer’s patrol car prior to the arrest. Now, we don’t have to tell most people that being involved in a traffic accident while allegedly drunk behind the wheel is not the world’s best scenario when it comes to defending a DWI charge.
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It’s safe to say that for many motorists being pulled over due to one or another kind of moving violation will rarely lead to an actual arrest, yet there is a group of drivers who may not be as lucky when it comes their turn to be face to face with the law. Sometimes, the simplest of driving errors — such as making an improper turn, failing to signal when changing lanes or rolling through a stop sign — can actually result in an arrest.

While a number of scenarios could be attached to such an event, being a little tipsy or appearing somewhat intoxicated in front of the policeman in charge will most probably get a motorist in trouble with the law. Whether one is stopped by a state trooper, a city cop, or local municipal patrolman, the opportunity to receive a DWI summons, or worse, end up being arrested and held overnight in jail may be the result of just one drink too many followed by a drive home.

Whatever the initial cause of a drunk driving or drug DUI arrest, the end result — be it the monetary penalties or the potential loss of driving privileges — can come as a shock to most otherwise law-abiding citizens. It’s no secret that here in the Garden State an arrest for DWI-DUI can have a serious financial impact on many people, not to mention the possible social or professional embarrassment. It’s a fair bet that these days being convicted of drunken driving may ruin more than one’s reputation; marriages, careers and standing in the community can all be victims of a guilty verdict in a DWI case.
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One of the many questions that we get from prospective clients — those individuals who have been charged with driving while intoxicated on New Jersey roadways — is whether or not they can have their case heard by a jury. As experienced trial attorneys, I and my colleagues have a great deal of collective experience representing defendants who have been accused of a criminal act or civil offense. Fortunately, or maybe unfortunately, the average drunken driving case does not rise to the level of a criminal offense.

Here in the Garden State, charges of DWI or DUI do not typically call for a jury trial as do more serious offenses. That said, it should also be stated that being convicted for driving while intoxicated or impaired operation of a motor vehicle due to prescription medication (or even illegal substances) can be costly for most any defendant. So even though a DWI-DUI arrest may not merit a trial by jury, there is no reason not to take the event seriously, if only to protect one’s own pocketbook.

In cases where a Garden State motorist has been charged with driving under the influence, the prosecutor’s office in charge of the case still have the burden of proving that the defendant is guilty of the charges beyond any reasonable doubt; this is the highest standard of proof required in our legal system. As a former municipal prosecutor myself, I know that the state will usually bring forward every piece of viable evidence in order to prove a driver guilty of DWI.
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With one of the most densely populated states in the Union, New Jersey sees more than its fair share of drunken driving, drug DUI and underage DWI arrests every week. Most of the people who are stopped by a state patrolman, municipal cop or county police officer are understandably nervous over the episode, especially if it is their first traffic stop or if they are accused of driving while intoxicated. One thing that anyone caught in this type of a scenario is not to give up hope and remember that it is not a foregone conclusion that a DWI charge will automatically result in a drunk driving conviction and related penalties.

When choosing any attorney to help you defend yourself against a charge of driving under the influence, it is important to keep in mind that dozens of people face similar charges every week in this state. At the law offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, our experienced trial lawyers know DWI law and understand how state or local prosecutors approach these types of traffic offenses.

If there is one thing very common to those individuals accused of drunken driving, it would be the doubt as to whether or not it is worth the time, effort and cost of fighting a DWI summons, drug DUI charge, breath test refusal accusation or other alcohol or drug-related traffic offense. To this we must say, that there are numerous good reasons to take your case to court.
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Living, working and driving in the Garden State means that any motorist can become the focus of attention from a state patrol officer or a municipal policeman. The odds are, at some point in one’s driving career, any number of people from counties like Ocean, Middlesex, Monmouth, Bergan and Passaic will end up being stopped by a mobile police patrol for a driving infraction. Moving violations are one of the primary ways in which some New Jersey motorists end up being charged with DWI.

Whether one is arrested on the grounds of driving while intoxicated by beer, wine or hard liquor, or if the charges involve impairment through the use of either doctor-prescribed pharmaceuticals or an illegal substance such as marijuana, consulting a qualified drunk driving defense attorney should be the first thought. This is so true these days because of the heavy fines and statutory assessments imposed on a driver convicted of DWI or drug DUI.

As New Jersey DWI trial lawyers, I and my colleagues have decades’ worth of experience in representing those individuals who find themselves on the wrong side of the law following a drunken driving arrest. Many times, a New Jersey motorist has been driving his or her vehicle out-of-state when they are stopped for a minor traffic offense, but if they have had a drink or two, the police may take them into custody and charge them with DWI. For these New Jersey residents who have, penalties drunk driving can sometimes be more severe than in our own state, depending of course on the circumstances surrounding the arrest and the driver’s previous record.
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