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January 28, 2012

New Jersey Drunken Driving Defense Update: Driver’s License Suspension Possible following DWI or DUI Conviction

It’s not surprising, with all the anti-drunken driving campaigns that target potentially impaired Garden State motorists every year, that New Jersey law enforcement agencies and our court system hold little love for drivers convicted of DWI or drug DUI. While use of illicit drugs, such as cocaine and marijuana, by some drivers is seen by police officers on a weekly basis, impaired driving as a result of alcohol consumption is likely much more common by the average citizen.

As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, I and my staff of experienced drunken driving attorneys understand how quickly a driver can find him or herself on the receiving end of a DWI or DUI summons. When that day comes, it’s a good idea to consult with a qualified DWI attorney to better understand one’s options.

Naturally, it’s a given that being convicted of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or otherwise impaired by alcohol, prescription drugs or other illegal substances (also know as controlled dangerous substances (CDS), will likely include some serious sanctions — namely heavy fines and other monetary penalties. But in addition to these financially costly penalties, the courts also have the ability, in many cases, to include a license suspension as part of the list of penalties the defendant will have to bear.

From the standpoint of fees, in general, anyone who is convicted of drunken driving in New Jersey can face fines upward of $1,000 for a single instance and penalties (including surcharges to a driver’s insurance premiums) of possibly $4,000 to $5,000 or more over the course of three years. This includes numerous fees for the DWI Enforcement Fund, MVC Restoration Charge, potential out-patient counseling, Safe Neighborhood Fund, Violent Crime Compensation Board Fund, not to mention court costs.
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January 25, 2012

Middlesex County DWI Update: A Look at Penalties following a New Jersey Drunken Driving Conviction

by Jonathan F. Marshall

We recently discussed the seriousness of a teenager’s conviction for underage DWI. While every parent faced with this type of situation should be rightly concerned, there are other areas of drunken driving defense law that one should also be cognizant of, such as the penalties and fines that adults can face following an arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs (drug DUI).

As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, I can say that a conviction for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence — either by controlled dangerous substances (CDS) or alcohol — can carry with it some rather severe penalties. Anyone who is arrested for, charged with or accused of a DWI or drug DUI offense should seriously consider seeking the counsel of a qualified legal expert in the area of drunk driving law. An aggressive defense is important to pursue considering the harsh penalties and fines that New Jersey courts tend to levy on those convicted of drunken driving.

For individuals who are convicted of, or who plead guilty to, DWI or drug DUI charges, depending on the particular circumstances a defendant can face jail time, heavy fines, loss of their driver’s license, and the addition of future premium surcharges on their car insurance policy. Of course, penalties following a drunk driving or DUI conviction are dependant on whether that particular conviction is the individual’s first, second or subsequent DWI-DUI offense.
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January 22, 2012

Passaic County DWI Legal News: Three New Jersey Teens Injured in West Milford Drunken Driving Accident

by Jonathan F. Marshall

While I and my legal staff are experienced in the defense of motorists accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, we fully understand the dangers of operating a motor vehicle while in an impaired state. Whether one lives in Morris, Ocean, Atlantic or Monmouth County, the law treats every potential offender with the same statutes, fines and penalties. As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, my firm knows that when it comes to underage drinking and driving, the situation can be just as serious, and sometimes more so, than if the defendant was an adult.

Here in the Garden State, the law provides for a “zero-tolerance” policy where underage drinking and driving is concerned. As set forth in N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.14, it is against the law for an individual under the age of 21 years to have ANY alcohol in their system while driving a motor vehicle. On the upside, if one can call it that, the law stipulates more relaxed monetary penalties and suspension periods for a young person convicted of underage DWI; these penalties are certainly less severe for an underage offender than those that apply to a driver of legal drinking age convicted of driving while intoxicated.

When considering underage DWI convictions, penalties can include a driver’s license suspension period of as little as 30 days compared to that of an adult DWI conviction of 90 days, at a minimum. Please keep in mind that although the penalties are reduced, it is usually wise to consult a qualified drunken driving defense attorney prior to showing up in court with one’s child accused of underage DWI.
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January 20, 2012

Bergen County DWI News: Midland Park Police Officer Charged with Drunk Driving following DUI Demo

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Having worked both sides of the aisle — previously as a municipal prosecutor and now as a defense attorney — I understand the methods and strategies that the state’s attorneys employ to attain drunken driving convictions in court. As New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, I and my colleagues represent all manner of clients, many of whom have been accused of driving while intoxicated, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of prescription medications (drug DUI) and even illicit drugs, such as cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.

One thing we know, as drunk driving defense attorneys, is that a DWI arrest (much less an actual conviction for impaired driving) can greatly affect one’s future employment, social standing, and family/marital relationships. While we understand that a drunk driving arrest is not desirable by any means, we also know that this does happen to many people, from all walks of life, and nearly every profession.

Surprisingly, even police officers can end up being arrested for drunken driving. From my years as a prosecuting attorney, I have a great respect for the hard work and dangers faced by our law enforcement officer every day. On the other hand, as a DWI defense attorney, I understand how easy it is for motorists to be accused of drunken driving here in the Garden State. What I cannot abide is when patrolmen and other officers of the court flout the very laws they are sworn to uphold and enforce.

January 18, 2012

Passaic County DWI News: New Jersey Man Arrested for DUI, Marijuana Possession following Hit-and-Run

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Causing a traffic accident is bad enough when alcohol or prescription drugs (

January 16, 2012

Monmouth, NJ, Drunk Driving Update: New Jersey Marijuana Use or Possession Charges can be Serious

by Jonathan F. Marshall

For anyone who has ever been stopped by police here in the Garden State for drunken driving, impaired driving due to prescription medication (aka drug DUI), or operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), you know that the potential consequences could be harsh and have long lasting effects.

Of course, alcohol use is one of the most common “legal” pastimes in Bergen, Middlesex, Ocean and Hudson counties, however other illegal substances, such as cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, are also being used by drivers on public roads. Of those illicit drugs, marijuana is without a doubt one of the more common illegal substances encountered by state and local police across New Jersey.

Arrests of drivers from all walks of life by New Jersey law enforcement officers for marijuana-related offenses are commonplace, which is not surprising in the least considering that an estimated 35 billion dollars’ worth of marijuana is cultivated in the United States each year. In fact, with medicinal marijuana becoming more prevalent, there is a good chance that more people than ever before probably know someone who uses marijuana legally or illegally from time to time.

Even so, persons who are arrested for marijuana use or possession in Monmouth, Sussex, Passaic or Atlantic counties should take very seriously any charges levied by police. Even though marijuana may be considered to be a rather low-level drug in the grand scheme of things, the New Jersey court system treats this CDS drug no differently than any other violation of state law.
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January 13, 2012

In-car Cellphone Use…the Newest Version of Driving While Intoxicated in New Jersey?

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Back in the early- to mid-20th Century, drinking and driving was at best looked at as a potential for embarrassing run-ins with the police; or something to laugh at in a motion picture comedy. At worst, it could land a person in the “drunk tank” for a day or two so that one could sober up. Of course, no one was saying that DWI wasn’t a real problem — and many times a deadly one, at that, but it wasn’t as stigmatized as it had become in the ’80s and ’90s, and especially these days. Who knows for certain; maybe society was more accepting of the happy-go-lucky drunk, and even husbands or fathers who came come home plastered were more than likely given a pass due to the “pressures” of their work-a-day lives.

Fast forward to the 21st Century, and we have a different situation. People still drink, just as they have in the past, but tolerance for drinking and driving has more or less evaporated — at least from the standpoint of police agencies and the judicial system. Coming home to one’s family at 4am drunk is also on the outs as more and more people treat achoholism as a failing instead of a disease one cannot control.

But drunken driving isn’t the issue here, today. What we are wondering, as New Jeresy DWI defense attorneys, is how soon might we see legislation that rasies driving while distracted (DWD) at chargeable offense. Of course, that’s already happening in many states with passage of anti-texting and hand-free phone laws. Truly, with all the efforts afoot to make driving while intoxicated a thing of the past, is DWD legislation not far behind? Maybe yes, maybe no; but certainly, a possibility.

According to the news outlets around the country, driving while distracted will be a hot topic in the coming years. Just as DWI and drug DUI, many traffic safety advocates and law makers are looking very carefully at the impact that cellphones have had and will have on the frequency and severity of automobile accidents.
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January 8, 2012

Mercer County Legal Defense News: NJ Appeals Court Rules Probable Cause Not Required for Sobriety Testing

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As many people already understand, when it comes to being arrested for drunken driving in the Garden State, an officer typically will have stopped the accused on the basis of a moving violation or some other traffic or motor vehicle offense. As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, we get questions all of the time from potential clients regarding what is or isn’t a legitimate drunken driving stop. Technically, there really aren’t (or shouldn’t be) traffic stops based solely on an officer’s suspicion that a driver is intoxicated behind the wheel.

Instead, New Jersey law requires that a police officer must have a valid reason for pulling a motorist over to the side of the road and initiating a traffic stop. But here things might seem to get a little murky. While an officer is not allowed to stop someone just on suspicion of impaired driving — a hunch, one might call it — that same officer can stop the very same driver for not maintaining his or her lane, making an illegal turn or perhaps observing that the motorist’s vehicle has a burnt-out tail lamp.

Once stopped for a legitimate traffic offense, the door is opened to other potential charges after the officer has a chance to observe the driver, passengers and vehicle interior up close. After that, it’s now the patrolman’s task to decide of the driver made those errors because of inattention, negligent action or impaired mental and physical capabilities, among other possible causes.
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January 6, 2012

New Jersey Woman Survives Minor Car Accident only to be Killed by Alleged Drunk Driver

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Though we’ve said it many times here, it always bears repeating: climbing into a car or truck while possible intoxicated by alcohol or some other substance is a potentially dangerous activity. As a New Jersey drunken driving defense attorney and former municipal prosecutor, I understand the consequences of operating a motor vehicle while impaired. Certainly being stopped by police is a bad situation if one is found to be drunk at the time, but causing an accident — especially a fatal car crash — is something nobody wishes for.

This said, it should be obvious that injuring or killing another person as a result of an alleged drunk driving traffic will not sit well with the police or the court of the municipality in which the offense occurred. The complications of such an event mean that the defendant should seriously consider enlisting the services of a qualified and experienced DWI defense attorney.

Newspapers and the internet are filled with stories of motorists involved in bad situations not always of their own making, but nonetheless human nature being what it is, there will likely always be traffic accidents caused in some way, shape or form by alcohol use; not to mention impaiment by prescription medication or illegal drug use. As motorists ourselves, we cannot escape that reality, but we can remind people to be cautious, enlist the services of a designated driver, or take a cab or bus when one is intoxicated and unable to drive competently.
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January 3, 2012

NJ Drunken Driving News: Former Union City, New Jersey, Mayor Pleads Guilty to DWI

by Jonathan F. Marshall

According to news reports, the repair records for the Hoboken police department’s breathalyzer device came under scrutiny following revelations revealed during the drunken driving case against the former mayor of Union City. Based on news reports, former Union City mayor, Raul Garcia, had been arrested on charges of drunken driving following a car crash back in September when a breath-testing device showed a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of 0.16 percent.

Understanding that the defined legal limit for intoxicated driving is a BAC of 0.08 percent, having twice that concentration of alcohol in one’s bloodstream is hard to ignore. As New Jersey drunken driving defense lawyers, my firm has handled cases very similar to this one, certainly in terms of a motorist having a single-vehicle accident and then being accused by police of being under the influence of alcohol, prescription drugs (drug DUI), or an illegal substance, such as marijuana or cocaine.

The facts are very important in these kinds of cases; especially the test results from a breathalyzer device, such as the Alcotest machine. Just as important to one’s defense is the manner in which the police maintain that equipment. In certain circumstances, poor maintenance or faulty design can drastically affect the outcome of a DWI case, not the least of which is challenging the veracity of the data produced by these machines.
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