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November 2, 2012

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

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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October 12, 2012

Professional Drivers Have Much to Lose When Charged with Drunken Driving or DUI

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Here in the Garden State the law defines impairment while operating a motor vehicle as having a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent or more, though many a motorist has been arrested and charged with drunken driving while having a lower BAC. As legal defense lawyers, our role is to represent those individuals who have been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs, also known as drug DUI. While not every person is found innocent of charges, it is our right as citizens to have our day in court and face our accusers.

When it comes to establishing hard evidence that a motorist is guilty of drunken driving, state and local police lean heavily on the results provided by devices such as the Alcotest and other breathalyzer-type machines. These devices take a sample of a suspect’s exhaled breath and make a chemical analysis of the molecules contained in that sample. Consuming even a small amount of beer, wine or hard liquor is known to dull an individual’s senses and can decrease driver reaction time behind the wheel. A breathalyzer test, or occasionally an actual blood test, are ways in which police can measure how much alcohol is circulating in a person’s bloodstream.

It goes without saying that anyone who wishes to avoid a DWI charge and possible conviction should never, under any circumstances have a drink before getting behind the wheel of a car, truck or other motor vehicle. If Murphy’s Law has anything to say about it, a driver who imbibes just a little will likely run afoul of the police sooner or later and end up facing a judge while trying to defend himself against charges of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. A qualified DWI attorney can be helpful during this process.
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October 9, 2012

Former Pro Boxer Charged with DWI, Reckless Driving Following Motorcycle Crash in Lacey, NJ

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Drunk driving is an equal opportunity offense here in the Garden State. So long as you own a car, or have the opportunity to drive one regardless of whether it is your own vehicle, an individual has one of the major elements of a drunken driving arrest. The other part would be the actual imbibing of an alcoholic beverage (or in the case of a drug DUI, taking of prescription medication or ingesting an illegal controlled dangerous substance (CDS), such as meth, weed or coke).

As New Jersey drunk driving defense attorneys, I and my staff of experienced civil and criminal defense lawyers understand the impact that a DWI or DUI conviction can have on a person. It goes without saying that more than one career, personal relationship or otherwise unblemished reputation has been ruined by a single charge of driving under the influence of alcohol of doctor-prescribed medicine, much less an actual conviction. Aside from steep monetary fines, penalties and surcharges, loss of driving privileges and occasionally jail time can be attached to a conviction for driving while intoxicated.

Although most typical motorists are not in the public eye, those individuals who are have a much higher profile and can suffer even more from the public humiliation of being arrested for a DWI incident. Whether convicted or not, these people may feel their reputations tarnished and public persona diminished to some degree. Whatever the cause of a traffic stop, if a person has been drinking the police may decide to arrest him or her, no matter how well known or loved by the public.
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October 6, 2012

One More Reason How a New Jersey Drunk Driving Conviction Can Complicate One’s Life

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Anyone who follows the local news in the Garden State is not a stranger to the literally dozens of DWI arrests that occur every week across the state. As defense attorneys who specialize in drunken driving and drug DUI cases, we know how an otherwise law-abiding citizen can be caught up in a DWI following a night out with friends or after a romantic evening at a nice restaurant. Nobody expects, or welcomes, a drunk driving summons, much less a night spent in a county or municipal jail, but unfortunately it happens all the time.

If one considers the many and varied scenarios that can ultimately lead to a court appearance for driving while intoxicated, there is always a chance that a drive may be pulled over for violating even the most minor traffic law and then find himself being tested for blood-alcohol content (BAC) or drug use. If decades anti-drunken driving campaigns have taught us anything, it is that the courts, law enforcement and the public at large have next to no tolerance for any driver who operates his or her vehicle while impaired due to alcohol, prescription drugs or illegal substances like marijuana and cocaine.

Under current state law, a person convicted of their first drunk driving offense MAY be required by the court to have an ignition interlock device (IID) installed on their vehicle in order to prevent a driver from starting his or her car if their BAC is over 0.05 percent. However, if that first DWI conviction was based on a proven BAC of 0.15 percent or more, then the law mandates installation of an IID during the period of license suspension as well as 6-12 months following restoration of their driving privileges. On a second or third conviction for a drunken driving offense the same applies, except that the device must remain installed from one to three years following restoration of that individual’s driver’s license.
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September 30, 2012

Understanding What Leads to a Typical Drunk Driving Arrest Might Help Some Motorists Avoid Trouble

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Nobody needs the sugar-coated version of DWI defense. When it comes to being arrested for driving drunk, many motorists are either taken by surprise or become resentful of the whole process and how demeaning it can be to a grown adult. But remember, driving while intoxicated is a serious offense, and here in New Jersey there are stiff penalties and even jail time waiting for those who are convicted. Naturally, it depends on the facts of the case and whether or not this was a first offense, but by the time the hearing begins, the damage to one’s reputation may already be done.

Ruined relationships, marital problems, and damaged careers are just a few of the non-legal effects that a drunken driving arrest, much less a full-blown DWI conviction can have on a person, especially an individual who formerly may have been a highly respected member of his or her community or profession. If avoiding the expensive monetary penalties and fees associated with a drunken driving conviction isn’t enough to dissuade people from having a beer or glass of wine before getting behind the wheel, certainly the social and professional embarrassment can be a strong motivator.

Remember that here in the Garden State many motorists are caught unaware that they were legally drunk at the time of a traffic stop. According to some experts, it doesn’t take much alcohol to cause physical and mental impairment that could affect a driver’s ability to safely operate a motor vehicle. As such, it doesn’t take much alcohol consumption, at least for some people, to reach or exceed the legal limit (specifically 0.08 percent blood-alcohol concentration) and become prime candidates for a DWI arrest.
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