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September 28, 2012

New Jersey State Trooper Hurt in Car Chase with Drunken Driver in Toms River, NJ

We won’t even suggest that this could be a scenario for most people who may be arrested for drunk driving here in the Garden State, but suffice it to say that if one is planning to seal a car, it might not be a wise idea to steal the car in which one is driving while intoxicated. As we said, this is hardly the typical kind of DWI-DUI traffic situation that most drunk driving defense lawyers encounter on a daily basis. To say the least, our clients are more likely to be coming home from dinner with their spouse when a police officer pulls them over in their own vehicle.

That said, we will add that as New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, a percentage of clients believe that they were not drunk at the time of the arrest or issuance of a DWI or drug DUI summons. This may or may not hold up in court, but the fact remains that many motorists here in New Jersey may not fully realize that they are legally impaired as they get behind the wheel of their car or truck.

This goes the same for people who may have had a couple of beers, a glass of wine or a dose of doctor-prescribed medication prior to driving home from a friend’s house or a quiet dinner at an upscale restaurant. Even those individuals who might be taking medicinal marijuana, the chances of being arrested for drug DUI or operation of a motor vehicle while impaired by a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) can be quite high. If a patrolman observes a motorist initiate a maneuver that results in a traffic infraction, then the odds are very great that the driver will be exposed to the scrutiny of that law enforcement professional.
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September 24, 2012

Loose Pets In-vehicle Equivalent to Driving Drunk? Proposed NJ Legislation Aims at Fido’s Deadly Distractions

by Jonathan F. Marshall

We rarely if ever go off-topic, but the latest move in the fight against distracted driving accidents will likely garner the attention of many people around the Garden State. The issue is how and where one’s pet is situated in the family sedan, SUV or minivan. How does this even apply to driving while intoxicated? Well, just the proposed fines for having a free-roaming pet in your car may be reminiscent of the various fines, fees and other monetary penalties for those convicted of driving under the influence.

As New Jersey drunken driving defense lawyers, I and my colleagues have decades of experience in helping motorists who have been accused of DWI or drug DUI. In addition to campaigns against drunk driving, what we have seen over the past few years is more and more focus on distracted driving. As has been previously stated, distractions to the driver, according to police agencies and safety experts, can be almost as bad, if not worse, than operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or prescription medications.

Hands-on cellphone use, especially texting, while driving a car or truck has been a primary focus of recent legislation across the nation, but experts apparently agree that most any type of distraction within the passenger compartment of a moving vehicle is a potential source of trouble in terms of causing serious traffic accidents, serious bodily injury and even death. Never mind the usual disruptions of the radio, screaming children, chatty relatives or just plain old preoccupation with problems at work, school or interpersonal relationships, now pets are the target of the safety lobby.
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September 21, 2012

No Criminal Trial for Former Municipal Employee Who Struck New Jersey Teenager While Allegedly Drunk

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Defending motorists accused of DWI in the Garden State is one job best left to skilled legal professionals who are well-versed in New Jersey’s drunken driving laws and statutes. And, for anyone who wonders how best to beat a drunk driving summons in Jersey, the short answer would have to be not to get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle if you’ve had anything to drink. Sage advice, considering the total number of police arrests for operating a car or truck while under the influence of alcohol.

With dozens upon dozens of DWI summonses issued every week, it’s a fair bet that a percentage of those may not hold water in court. As New Jersey drunken driving defense lawyers, I and my colleagues have literally decades of courtroom experience when it comes to defending drivers against charges of driving under the influence of alcohol or impaired driving as a result of prescription drug use (drug DUI). Our office also handles drivers and other individuals who have been arrested for marijuana possession or use in a car.

While it’s sometimes very easy to be caught unaware by a police officer who may see a motorist driving in an erratic fashion, more trouble could be around the corner if one couples drinking and driving with some kind of traffic accident. Add to any accident possible property damage or personal injury, much less a fatality, and one’s drunk driving defense becomes that much more complicated. All the more reason to consult with a qualified DWI defense lawyer.
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September 18, 2012

Avoiding a Marijuana DUI is Good, But Consider Possession of Weed in a Motor Vehicle

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Let’s say for argument’s sake that a Garden State resident smokes a little marijuana from time to time; this is the 21st Century you know. As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, I and my staff of legal professionals are well aware that a certain percentage of the driving population will get behind the wheel of a motor vehicle in some kind of an impaired state sometime in the coming week. While a number of these individuals may fully understand that they are drunk in the driver’s seat, others may not.

Such is the case with people who take prescription medications and then drive. For some of these people, they may not take medicine very often; and without reading the label or doctor’s instructions, they might be legally impaired once they being heading down the road. Other people, those that may enjoy a little “recreational” toke from time to time, might not think twice about whether or not they are impaired by a controlled dangerous substance while operating a motor vehicle on a public roadway.

Nonetheless, state and local police are not very forgiving when it comes to drug DUI, with substances like weed, meth and cocaine. While many users may feel marijuana is a harmless form of nature-based relaxation, the courts might not feel the same. Over the past few years, many states have passed medicinal marijuana laws, which can also complicate matters when it comes to drug DUI defense.
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September 13, 2012

Garden State DWI Defense Update: Sobriety Roadblocks Quite Common in New Jersey, Elsewhere

by Jonathan F. Marshall

To borrow a turn of phrase, it seems that one can’t swing a cat with hitting a drunken driving checkpoint here in New Jersey. With apologies to cat lovers everywhere, the point we’d like to make is that state and local law enforcement agencies do appear to use sobriety roadblocks very frequently here in the Garden State. As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, I and my legal defense team have represented numerous clients who had the unlucky experience of being arrested for DWI or Drug DUI (including charges of marijuana possession or use) at one of the state’s many drunk driving roadblocks over the years.

Despite the fact that state and municipal police departments are legally required to publicly announce in advance any sobriety checkpoint, dozens of drivers every year end up being charged with driving while intoxicated after being flagged off the road into a roadblock of or kind or another. Once under the scrutiny of patrolmen on duty, motorists who have maybe had a drink or two prior to getting behind the wheel of their car could easily be singled out for field sobriety testing and perhaps a breathalyzer test.

If one had any doubt as to the relatively commonplace occurrence of these drunk driving netting operations, the news pages are full of examples. We ran across several not long ago. They included one such roadblock in the Cherry Hill area, another operated in the East Hampton and Sag Harbor area, as well as a third in the vicinity of Bridgeton, NJ. The results, for those people found to be impaired by alcohol, prescription drugs (drug DUI) and illegal controlled substances (CDS) are usually an arrest or summons for a future court hearing.
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September 11, 2012

Seemingly Innocent Driving Errors Can Trigger a Routine Police Stop; Lead to Potential DWI Arrest

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As we mentioned a few days ago, suspicion of drunk driving is not sufficient grounds, on its own, for a law enforcement officer to pull a motorist over. As New Jersey drunk driving defense attorneys, I and my staff know that the law requires a police officer to observe an actionable traffic offense prior to stopping a vehicle. That said, with the many and varied traffic laws on the books throughout counties like Monmouth, Bergen, Essex and Ocean, there exists a plethora of potential violations that patrolmen can look for when following a motorist on a public road.

And it should come as no surprise that individuals who are impaired by alcohol or drugs can make it rather easy for policemen to identify them on the road, much less perform an illegal traffic maneuver or other moving violation. Sometimes, all it takes is a broken taillight, cracked windshield glass or other “mechanical” defect affecting the vehicle. In these cases, a vehicle equipment violation as simple as a burned-out turn signal light (less than $5 to fix) could open the door to a DWI charge, for which a convicted could run the motorist thousands of dollars in fees, fines, court costs and mandatory insurance surcharges.

All this should be enough to warn off many people from attempting to take even a single drink before operating a motor vehicle here in the Garden State. But human nature being what it is, there will always be individuals who either feel invincible or immune from the long arm of the law. As professional legal specialists in the area of drinking and driving, we can say that few, if any, drivers get away with driving drunk for long. And we wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t for the thousands of DWI cases that pass through New Jerseys court system every year.
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September 8, 2012

Drunk Driving in the Garden State: Understanding Why Police Conduct BAC Testing

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Every now and again we are asked by clients and acquaintances alike what it is like to be arrested for drunken driving and if there are any tricks to avoiding being arrested for DWI. Quite frankly, the biggest trick — tried and true — is simply not to drink any liquor or use any drugs prior to getting behind the wheel of a motor vehicle in New Jersey. State and local law enforcement officers here in the Garden State are well known for their tenacity when performing a traffic stop that appears to be the result of drinking and driving.

This is not to say that a patrolman can just pull any motorist over on the merest suspicion that the individual has been drinking. It is a major part of our drunk driving laws that a policeman may not stop a driver simply on the assumption that the driver has consumed alcohol recently. In order for a driver to be stopped in any circumstance, the officer must witness a traffic infraction on the suspect’s part. But this can be something so minor, so inconsequential, that even failure to signal a turn or “rolling” through a stop sign without coming to a complete stop can set the stage for a police stop and a possible DWI arrest.

As New Jersey DWI-DUI defense lawyers, we can easily say that if a driver has not been drinking, then a routine traffic stop could end with a little as a warning, or perhaps the patrolman issuing a ticket for the infraction(s). But, should a driver exhibit any of the so-called typical signs of intoxication or impairment, then it could turn out to be a long day at police headquarters for that unlucky driver. This is why, and despite sounding flip, we always advise people not to have a drink if they plan to drive anywhere. Besides the statistical danger of injury, it’s just not worth the chance of being arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
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September 6, 2012

New Jersey Driver Sentenced to Prison for Fatal Drunk Driving Auto Accident in 2011

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As human beings, none of us can truly say that we are perfect in every way. As lawyers who defend individuals in civil and criminal court, I and my colleagues have come to recognize the occasional shortcomings of many a good-intentioned person prior to being arrested for drunk driving or drug DUI. Fortunately, in our society, we have laws and courts to decide the guilt or innocence of those who have been accused of breaking the law.

Penalties that are meted out to convicted defendants in cases of operating a vehicle under the influence can be expensive, to say the least, which is why it is always a good idea to consult with an experienced legal professional before stepping foot in a courtroom. As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, my firm has years of experience in representing motorists who have been arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs, either prescription or illegal substances such as cocaine, meth or marijuana.

In some drunken driving cases, the defendant is not only accused of DWI or DUI, but may also be charged with vehicular assault or even manslaughter by a motor vehicle. These are serious and potentially jailable offenses. Such was the situation arising out of a car collision that took place in Gloucester County last year. According to news reports, a Deptford Twp. resident was involved in a fatal crash along a stretch of Rte 41 on March 19 of last year. At the time, police said that the man had an open beer with him when his pickup truck apparently side-swiped another vehicle on the road, precipitating a serious accident.
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September 5, 2012

New Jersey Man Guilty of Manslaughter after 2011 Drunken Driving Crash in Hudson County

by Jonathan F. Marshall

A driver who was taken into custody following a deadly car accident in Kearny, NJ, back in 2011 reportedly pled guilty to charges of aggravated vehicular manslaughter combined with drunk driving in a Hudson County courtroom not long ago. As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, we know that individuals accused of DWI or drug DUI can feel relatively helpless when facing serious drunken driving charges or accusations of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, prescription medications or even illicit substances, such as marijuana.

Here in the Garden State, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that motorists who find themselves arrested or on the receiving end of a DWI or DUI summons may be up against potentially stiff penalties if they are convicted of driving while intoxicated. From Bergen and Sussex counties to Ocean and Atlantic, New Jersey state and local police officers are always on the alert for drunken drivers. And while being arrested for DWI-DUI following a routine traffic stop may seem like the end of the world, one must never assume that he or she is in tough spot.

Consider the case ended this past July, when a 22-year-old resident of Manalapan, NJ, pled guilty in front of a Superior Court judge in a Jersey City courtroom. According to news reports, Ayman Khawaja admitted guilt to aggravated manslaughter, as well as DWI, in relation to the April 10, 2011, death of a 24-year-old Passaic County man. The three-vehicle accident that killed Luis Suarez took place along a stretch of the New Jersey Turnpike on a late spring evening.
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September 2, 2012

New Jersey Woman’s Body Jewelry Interferes with Morris County Drunken Driving Case

by Jonathan F. Marshall

It’s not every day that one can say that a piece of clothing or jewelry helped them get out of a tight legal spot, but that was the gist of a case against a New Jersey woman, who is now able to say her tongue stud helped her out in a Morris County courtroom earlier this year. As New Jersey drunk driving defense attorneys, I and my colleagues are dedicated to helping those Garden State motorists who have been accused of DWI, drug DUI, breath test refusal and other drunken driving-related offenses.

In the aforementioned case, the motorist’s DWI lawyer was able to use the law to his client’s advantage and reduce the potential penalties she was facing if convicted of the initial charge of driving while intoxicated. Although this may not be cause for drivers to get their own body modifications, it certainly points up the importance of having a qualified DWI defense lawyer at one’s side; surely it is an example of why it’s always a good idea to consult with a legal professional prior to walking into a courtroom to defend oneself against a DWI or drug DUI charge.

According to news articles, 29-year-old Kara Nelson was stopped by police along a stretch of Rte 46 for an apparent routine traffic offense earlier this year. Police reports indicated that Nelson was pulled over around 2am on January 14. During the traffic stop the patrolman in charge, Officer P. Ottavinia, must have noticed signs of intoxication and requested Nelson to perform a number of standardized field sobriety tests, which apparently indicated that the driver was impaired to some degree.
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