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July 30, 2011

DWI Legal Defense Update: Do You Really Think You’re Safe with a BAC Below 0.08 Percent?

First off, and we’ve said it here countless times, whether a motorist is arrested and charged with DWI in Atlantic, Essex, Hudson or Bergen County, the consequences of a drunken driving conviction are the same across the Garden State and a conviction can be very damaging to an individual’s personal relationships, business career and standing in his or her community. With that said, it’s important to mention that being charged with DWI and being convicted for drunken driving are two separate things.

Drunk driving penalties aside, no one wants to have a DWI or drug DUI on their record. And while most people would choose to fight an impaired driving charge in court, the ones who go it alone take a big gamble without representation. In fact, there are instances where a motorist may not think that he or she has much to worry about because their breath test results were under the so-called legal limit of 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content (BAC), yet the prosecution may have the upper hand.

As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, we know drunk driving law and see it in action on a daily basis. Being familiar with the various jurisdictions across the state can also be an advantage, although the law is the same regardless of the county in which one is arrested. We also handle drug DUI cases, which can include impaired driving while on prescription medication, as well as marijuana possession in a vehicle and other kinds of DUI, such as those cases related to use of controlled dangerous substances (CDS).
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July 28, 2011

US Supreme Court: Breathalyzer Results Not Valid Evidence Without Operator Testimony to Back It Up

by Jonathan F. Marshall

In cases where a motorist has been arrested for drunken driving, one of the more significant pieces of evidence for the state is the resulting blood-alcohol content (BAC) measurement from the breathalyzer or Alcotest device employed by police agencies all across the Garden State. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that this machine on its own cannot convict a motorist of driving while intoxicated.

As New Jersey drunken driving defense lawyers, I and my staff of experienced DWI attorneys have decades of experience representing driver accused of DWI and drug DUI. Regardless of whether you live in Ocean, Monmouth, Sussex, or Bergen County, when a police officer detects evidence of alcohol consumption by a driver, the resulting DWI arrest and drunken driving summons can set the stage for events that can change a person’s lifestyle, career and even their personal relationships.

Just last month, the U.S. Supreme Court made a ruling that may be of some help to those accused of drunken driving, especially if their BAC level was measured on a breathalyzer machine. According to news articles, the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision (Bullcoming v. New Mexico) made it clear that any results from an Alcotest machine or other breath testing device must be backed up by the operator’s testimony in court, or the results cannot be used as evidence against the defendant.

In this case, Donald Bullcoming was arrested on suspicion of DWI following a traffic accident with another vehicle. A state forensics laboratory tested the driver’s blood and determined that it his BAC was well over the legal limit. Taking his case to trial, Bullcoming’s conviction came without the testimony of the state technician who ran the BAC test. That individual was apparently not available due to being on unpaid leave. In lieu of testimony, state prosecutors introduced the technician’s written report combined with testimony from another technician familiar with the lab’s testing procedures.
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July 26, 2011

NJ Drunk Driving News: Allegedly Drunken Boater Arrested for BUI After Slamming Powerboat into Gazebo

by Jonathan F. Marshall

With summer fully underway, it’s not uncommon to hear of more drinking and driving arrests on Garden State roadways. And, with these warm and sunny days, boaters are out in droves enjoying the refreshing sea air and inland waterways. What is also a given during the summertime months is an increase in drunken boating enforcement.

Known as BUI (or boating under the influence), local and state law enforcement and public safety officers are on the prowl for skippers of watercraft who may be operating their boats while impaired by alcohol, prescription medication or other, sometimes illicit drugs (also referred to as controlled dangerous substances or CDS). As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, my firm is well versed in the various state laws and legal statutes related to driving a car or boat while intoxicated.

The same standards used in the enforcement of drunk driving laws for automobile drivers apply to that of boaters. Every captain of a watercraft should consider the implications of boating while intoxicated, just as every motorist needs to take into account the potential consequences of driving a car while impaired by beer, wine, hard liquor or doctor-prescribed medication (drug DUI), even marijuana and cocaine.

Whether you are in Atlantic, Ocean or Cape May, driving drunk on a New Jersey road or piloting your fishing or pleasure boat while intoxicated; either way you could be cited for DWI. A boater whose blood-alcohol content (BAC) is over the legal limit of 0.08 percent can be arrested and charged with BUI. And the same applies to drug DUI and breath test refusal when on the water.
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July 22, 2011

Bergen County DWI Arrest News: Police Charge Drunken Driver after Motorist Hits Pedestrian at Meadowlands

by Jonathan F. Marshall

It appears that many of the stories we find in the news these days involve accused drunken drivers who have become involved in a car or truck accident as a result of their alleged alcohol consumption or use of prescription medication (drug DUI). A smaller percentage of accidents also involve individuals accused of illegal drug use, such as marijuana or cocaine (otherwise known as controlled dangerous substances, or CDS for short).

Regardless of whether a motorist lives or works in Sussex, Monmouth, Ocean or Passaic County, the aftermath of a potential DWI or drug DUI conviction can haunt a person for years following the initial incident. For this very reason it is always a good idea to retain the services of a competent and qualified drunken driving defense lawyer, if only to determine what your options might be following a DWI arrest.

For those picked up by police for drunk driving as a first offense, it may seem too easy to accept the penalties and plead guilty, while under the false impression that only one DWI conviction will not cause too much upheaval in one’s life. Or those people who believe this is the best approach to a DWI-DUI arrest or summons, we couldn’t disagree more.

To start, accepting a guilty plea for a first-time drunken driving offense may seem to be the easiest way to go — and believe us, it is for the prosecuting attorney handling the case — this is not going to make one’s life easier. The penalties for a first offense may be slightly less than a second or third DWI offense, but the impact to one’s auto insurance rates as well as the potential damage to one’s personal and business reputations could be catastrophic.
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July 19, 2011

Following Fatal Garden State Crash, Brick Township PR Official is Charged with DWI

by Jonathan F. Marshall

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times; a drunk driving defense is only complicated when the DWI arrest is associated with a traffic accident. It makes little difference whether one lives in Bergen, Middlesex, Mercer or Atlantic County, when you throw in an injury or fatality along with a drunken driving accident the job of the DWI defense attorney is made that much more difficult.

Still, despite our suggestions to avoid driving while intoxicated, dozens of motorists every week are arrested here in the Garden State for operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or prescription medication (drug DUI); some of the individuals also become involved in what can only be termed DWI-related traffic accidents; some of which are fatal crashes, while others may entail only minor injuries.

Of course, as stated previously, killing another individual while allegedly under the influence of beer, wine or hard liquor is not a situation anyone wishes to be in. But it does happen, and with greater frequency than many people might guess. Not long ago, a Brick Twp. employee was charged with driving while intoxicated when he allegedly caused a traffic accident that left a teenager dead.

Based on news reports, 53-year-old Patrick Doyle of Ocean County was reportedly headed south along a stretch of Jordan Rd. when he attempted to pass a second vehicle on the two-lane road just after 10pm in the evening. In the process of the maneuver, police reports indicated that Doyle’s vehicle entered the northbound lane, at which point the man’s car allegedly struck the youngster who was on his skateboard near the shoulder of the roadway.
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July 16, 2011

DUI Legal Defense Update: Jersey Law Enforcement Agencies Step Up Anti-BUI Drunken Boating Patrols

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As New Jersey drunken driving defense attorneys we won’t argue that mixing alcohol with boating can lead to disaster, but at the same time it is certain that many people who are arrested for drunken boating (boat DUI or “BUI”) may have been falsely charged. Of course, if this is the situation then a person must take their case to court. Why? Because BUI has the same implications and potential penalties as driving a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Drunken boating offenses, like that of drunk driving, are enforced by state and local police agencies. During enhanced BUI enforcement periods, anti-drunk-boating patrols can be manned by a combination of local police, New Jersey State Police and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). Just like the campaign that recently concluded, named “Operation Dry Water,” the USCG and New Jersey State Police teamed up to seek out boat operators whose blood-alcohol content (BAC) levels exceeded the national legal limit of 0.08 percent.

As many people already know, 0.08 percent is the identical value that can put a four-wheeled motorist on a course for a DWI conviction. In fact, according recent stats from the USCG, BUI is the main causal factor when it comes to fatal boating accidents — based on those figures, say news articles on the subject, 17 percent of private watercraft deaths can be traced directly back to some kind of alcohol consumption or drug use prior to the fatal accident.
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July 13, 2011

July 4th Holiday in Ocean County Nets Lacey Twp. Police with 6 Drunken Driving Arrests

by Jonathan F. Marshall

The 4th of July holiday is always a popular time for family and friends to visit the Jersey Shore and enjoy parties and reunions. At times like these, it is inevitable for beer, wine, mixed drinks and hard liquor to be available. As New Jersey drunk driving defense attorneys, I and my colleagues always recommend that people attending such activities have a plan for getting home, or to the next party.

A designated driver is usually a good choice to ensure a sober ride home, not only for one’s safety and peace of mind, but also to avoid situations like the ones we read about in the news almost every day during the summer. This time of year, not only do residents of the Garden State know that you can find a party almost anywhere, but the New Jersey State Police and local municipal patrolmen know that a percentage of drivers on the road are going to be legally drunk.

Keeping tabs on the public roads, it’s not uncommon to see an increase in the number of anti-DWI police patrols looking for potentially drunken drivers. According to news articles, the Lacey Township Police Department arrested half a dozen motorists for driving under the influence during the holiday weekend. What may have been somewhat surprising was that there were not more summonses issued to motorists who may have been operating their vehicle while impaired by alcohol or prescription drugs (drug DUI).

Based on reports, the following traffic stops were made, all of which ended up as DWI-related offenses, in addition to the initial offense. As most people know by now, a police officer must have a valid reason to stop an individual in order to eventually arrest a driver for driving while intoxicated. A DWI arrest usually precipitates from a routine traffic stop for some seemingly minor offense, such as improper turn, burned out tail lamp or failure to maintain one’s lane.

Police reports indicate that a 20-year-old Ocean County driver was stopped following a report of a vehicle being hit along a stretch of Haines St. in Lacey. The driver was charged with drunken driving as well as operating a motor vehicle under a suspended driver’s license, driving with no valid insurance coverage, and operating a vehicle that had no valid registration.
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July 10, 2011

Camden County, NJ, DUI-DWI Defense News: Winslow Twp. Police Tally Drunken Driving Arrests

by Jonathan F. Marshall

No one should be too surprised to learn that the Click It or Ticket traffic safety campaign here in the Garden State caught more than the occasional unbelted motorist. As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, I and my colleagues know that the seat belt use law can result in police officers catching potentially drunken drivers as well.

In addition to the state’s use of sobriety roadblocks and drunk driving checkpoints in the late evening and early morning hours, the latest seat belt enforcement campaign is likely to result in numerous intoxicated driving arrests and possibly a number of convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol. Of course, those individuals who take the wheel while impaired, either knowingly or unknowingly, by the effects of prescription drugs can also be arrested for driving under the influence (drug DUI) just as easily.

A while back, the township of Winslow, NJ, announced the results of their part in the national safety belt enforcement effort, sponsored New Jersey’s Division of Highway Traffic Safety, and which lasted from late May through early June of this year. The statistics bear out the relative success of the campaign. In Winslow Township alone, police officers gave out more than 400 traffic summonses.

Of those tickets, almost one-third were for primary seat belt violations, which may come as a surprise given the marketing that went into this effort. In addition, 32 tickets were issued for excessive speed and another 30 were fore driving on a suspended license. Nine drivers were arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (DWI) and six people were taken into custody for drug-related offenses, such as marijuana possession.
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July 7, 2011

Bergen County News: Saddle Brook Police Department begin Enhanced Summer Drunken Driving Enforcement

by Jonathan F. Marshall

For anyone who hasn’t already noticed an increased police presence on New Jersey roadways this summer, it’s that time again for stepped up drunken driving enforcement throughout the Garden State. What this means is that towns like Saddle Brook, NJ, will have their police officers working diligently to pickup motorists suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, doctor-prescribed medications and even illicit drugs like marijuana and cocaine.

As drunken driving defense lawyers representing Garden State residents against charges of impaired driving, breath test refusal and possession of controlled dangerous substances in their vehicle, I and my colleagues understand the many and varied ways that a driver can be stopped and arrested for DWI and drug DUI. With the warm weather upon us and college students home for summer break, it’s a foregone conclusion that drunken driving arrests will be on the increase throughout New Jersey counties, such as Mercer, Hudson, Essex and Ocean.

According to news articles, police departments in many towns and municipalities will be steeping up their anti-drunken driving patrols. Actually, these latest push is tied to the so-called “101 Days of Summer” DWI campaign in which increased police patrols (sometimes known as saturation patrols) will be used in an attempt to counteract the swelling of New Jersey’s summertime population.

Police departments across the state will be carrying out similar efforts to the one detailed in a news article about the Saddle Brook Police Department’s latest endeavor to catch and prosecute drunk drivers. As a former municipal prosecutor myself, I understand the strategies used by law enforcement and prosecuting attorneys to effect arrests as well as DWI convictions.
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July 4, 2011

Police Blotter: Monmouth County, NJ, Drunken Driving and CDS-related Arrests in Middletown

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As New Jersey drunken driving and drug DUI attorneys, my legal staff has a great deal of experience defending residents of Bergen, Middlesex, Sussex and Passaic County against charges of DWI and drug DUI, not to mention marijuana possession and related offenses. While the circumstances of each drunk driving case vary to a great extent, the consequences and potential penalties are usually more predictable.

Being DWI defense lawyers, we can say unequivocally that a drunken driving or drug-related DUI arrest, much less a conviction, can cause serious problems for many people in terms of their careers, personal relationships and standing in their neighborhood or local community.

The following news items from around Monmouth County are just several of the dozens of arrests that take place every day across the Garden State. They illustrate the variety of drunk driving and prescription medication DUI reports that police officer files on a daily basis. The resulting penalties for those individuals who are found guilty in a court of law can be costly in financial terms as well as changes that they cause to a person’s livelihood and lifestyle.

In the early hours of a Sunday morning, a local police officer pulled a vehicle over along a stretch of Oak Hill Rd. after he observed the car had a headlamp, taillamp or marker lamp violation. Upon interviewing the 20-year-old local driver at the roadside, the patrolman apparently detected evidence of intoxication and/or alcohol consumption by the motorist. The man was subsequently arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. The suspect was taken into custody, transported to the local police department and processed. He was reportedly released pending a later court appearance.
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