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April 3, 2011

Jersey Legal Defense Update: A Look at Kids and Underage Drunken Driving Charges

It’s no secret that the state of New Jersey has heavy penalties for motorists convicted of driving drunk on public roads. What many people don’t know, however, is that state law also has penalties for teenagers and other minors who arecaught driving under the influence of alcohol, or even possession of beer, wine or hard liquor.

As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, I and my colleagues know how serious it can be for anyone under 21 years old who is convicted of intoxicated driving. By law, a person must 21 or older to consume, buy or even be in possession of an alcoholic beverage. This includes any drink containing alcohol. Basically, underage drinking is strictly illegal here in the Garden State.

Both the police and our court system have little tolerance for underage drinking and possession of alcohol, much less underage driving. This why the legal consequences are fairly severe when it comes to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

Even if a young person is not arrested for DWI, just being convicted of drinking alcohol as a minor can have an impact on that individual’s future driving privileges when he or she is eligible to begin operating a motor vehicle. As drunk driving defense attorneys for Monmouth, Ocean, Bergen and most other counties around the state, we understand the downside that underage DWI, consumption or possession of alcohol can have later in life.

Here in New Jersey, if a person under 21 years old is arrested for buying or drinking a can of beer or liquor of any kind in a business that is licensed to sell alcohol, that underage individual could receive a fine of $500, not to mention lose his of her driver’s license in the process — for up to six months. Parents of minors who are not yet driving need to think about this for a moment; even though a minor is not yet a licensed driver, any potential license suspension will begin as soon as that child is eligible to receive his driver’s license.
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April 1, 2011

New Jersey News: Legislators Fume over Smartphone Apps Identifying Drunken Driving Checkpoints, Sobriety Roadblocks

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Forget word of mouth, iPhones and Blackberrys are bringing more and more information to everyone’s fingertips. In the office, at home and in the car, smartphones do more than dial your lawyer after a drunk driving arrest. In fact, these devices have raised the rancor of some lawmakers around the country due to a peculiar type of app that millions of people seem to be taking advantage of.

As New Jersey DWI attorneys, we know that the state is legally bound to publish the times and locations of pending sobriety roadblocks, also known as drunk driving checkpoints. Even so, the Apple iPhone and other smart devices support programs that will also tell a driver when and where they might be stopped and ticketed for driving under the influence. But these methods are being criticized.

According to recent news reports, several U.S. senators have requested companies such as Google, Research in Motion and Apple to deep-six applications that help motorists avoid DWI-DUI checkpoints as well as speed traps. These applications — or apps, as they are better known — go by names like Trapster, iRadar and PhantomAlert. In fact, there are even other apps that reportedly tell drivers where red light cameras are situated and whether or not a driver is heading into a school zone.

March 31, 2011

Monmouth County DWI Defense Update: Tips on Fighting a DWI Arrest in New Jersey — Part 2

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Picking up on our discussion previously regarding fighting a drunk driving charge, we’ve already talked about the possible causes of failing one or more of the standardized field sobriety tests that most police officers administer to allegedly drunk drivers in order to gauge their level of so-called drunkenness.

As a New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense lawyer, I and my colleagues know the procedures that law enforcement departments train their officers to follow when arresting a motorist for driving under the influence of alcohol, prescription medication or illegal drugs. These tests are designed to evaluate a person’s level of inebriation, but they can also result in false assumptions.

In fact, an individual doesn’t need to be drunk to fail a field sobriety test, or FST. Many people who have had nothing alcoholic to drink can still struggle to pass FSTs under a variety of conditions. The takeaway here is that even if you ever struggled and possibly failed the FSTs, it can still be attributed to the setting and circumstances of the test, and not always because a person is intoxicated.

March 28, 2011

Bergen County Drunken Driving Defense Update: Tips on Fighting a DWI Arrest in New Jersey — Part 1

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Don’t believe for one second that being “arrested” for drunk driving in Bergen, Monmouth, Ocean or any other county in the Garden State will automatically lead to a conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol. The fact is a lot can happen between a DWI-related traffic stop and any sentencing for an intoxicated driving summons.

As experienced New Jersey drunk driving defense attorneys, I and my colleagues know that the situation is not always that dire. Over and over, our staff is asked by potential clients about the true practicality of fighting an intoxicated driving charge. A typical response? Pleading guilty to a drunken driving charge is certainly not the way to win.

Municipal prosecutors in charge of DWI cases will typically point to a number of factors in an effort to “prove” in court that an individual was operating a motor vehicle in an impaired state. These include: 1) the odor of alcohol on the driver’s breath; 2) police observations that the subject was driving in an “erratic” manner; 3) the suspect “appeared” disheveled or carried himself as if he was intoxicated by liquor; 4) demonstrated poor performance of the standard field sobriety tests; and finally, 5) was deemed legally intoxicated based on the blood-alcohol content (BAC) results from a breath or blood test.

March 24, 2011

New Jersey Driver Arrested for DWI after Hitting Parked Car in Little Ferry

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Depending on the circumstances, a driver can occasionally be arrested for DWI yet not be physically able to provide police with a breath sample. In some cases, police will then take the suspect to a local hospital to have the person’s blood and urine sampled for evidence of drunken driving. As a New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense lawyer, I and my colleagues have seen many such instances.

A news article not long ago showed what can happen when a driver allegedly operates a vehicle under the influence of alcohol. According to the report, a later afternoon call to the local police department described a possibly intoxicated driver who had moments earlier reportedly struck a parked car on Main Street in Little Ferry, NJ, then drove off.

The driver, who was allegedly operating a grey VW, was followed by the caller to a local apartment complex. Based on police reports, officers arrived at the complex in time to observe the suspect enter one of the apartment units. After knocking, the woman answered the door. Officers apparently asked the suspect if she had just been driving the VW parked out front, to which she answered in the affirmative.

The patrolmen inquired if the woman realized that she had been in an accident, and she reportedly stated that she had. She also stated, according to police reports, that she believed she only tapped her sideview mirror. According to the news report, officers had found the VW’s front passenger-side body panel had been heavily damaged.

During the interview, officers allegedly detected the odor of alcohol on the suspect’s breath. Police also reported that the woman appeared disoriented and that she was not making sense when she answered the patrolmen’s questions. As she walked away from the front door of her apartment, police stated that she appeared to be staggering and swaying.

Inside the apartment, police asked the suspect if she would submit to a sobriety test, to which she responded that she couldn’t due to mental and physical complications. The officer apparently felt it was unwise to have the woman attempt to complete any balance tests, so they placed her under arrest and took her to the local police department where she was charged her with DWI.
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March 20, 2011

NJ Drunken Driving Update: Understanding the DWI Arrest Process in New Jersey (Part 2)

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Knowing how police departments and the judicial system handle drunken drivers is one large step in preparing for a future DWI arrest. This is not to say that learning about the steps of a drunken driving arrest and possible conviction indicates a person’s propensity to drive under the influence of alcohol. While no one expects or even welcomes being charged with DWI or drug DUI, most people are fairly unprepared when it does happen to them.

As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney and a former municipal prosecutor, I understand the law and its inner workings. Below we have included some additional information that go along with a previous blog entry. Our intent here is to perhaps help some drivers to be more prepared if and when they are stopped by a state trooper or local police officer and charged with DWI or even a drug-related DWI offense, such as marijuana possession in a vehicle.

Following a traffic stop, or at a sobriety checkpoint, if a police officer suspects a driver may be operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or prescription medication, he may use several methods to determine if that person is inebriated. One way for an office to decide if a suspect should be taken to police headquarters for a breath test is the use of one of several standardized field sobriety tests.

As one of the many tools of law enforcement, field sobriety tests can be used as evidence to prove that a driver was under the influence at the time of the arrest. They typically involve three separate tests:

1) The one leg stand test 2) The horizontal gaze nystagmus 3) The walk-and-turn test
The second of these three may be familiar to most people who have watched movies or TV shows where an officer asks the subject to follow a light or a finger with his or her eyes from one side to the other.

While administering these tests, an officer will likely be observing the suspect’s actions and making note of almost every thing the person says of does, all of which will likely be used in court as evidence to gain a drunken driving or drug DUI conviction. A patrolman may even watch how driver exits her vehicle and record that for use in court by the prosecuting attorney.
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March 16, 2011

Bergen County DWI News: New Jersey Driver Arrested for DWI Accident that Injured Park Ridge Man

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, I’d be the first to say that being arrested for alleged drunk driving following an injury accident will not gain a person any points in court. It’s a fact that the police already have a very dim view of intoxicated driving, but combining that with property damage and personal injury and the court will also be unimpressed.

Still, in our legal system a defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty, which is why I and my colleagues are ready to represent individuals charged with drunken driving and drug DUI in Bergen, Union, Middlesex and Ocean County, among others. Regardless of the reasons, when a driver makes an error by getting behind the wheel after having a drink or two, the ultimate result can often be a DWI conviction in a local courtroom.

A news article not long ago described a car accident that apparently was precipitated by an allegedly drunk driver. According to news reports, a 31-year-old Passaic County driver crossed over into opposing traffic along a stretch of Rte 46 and struck another vehicle near the Green St. intersection. The accident, which happened just after midnight on a Sunday, critically injured a 43-year-old Bergen County driver.

March 13, 2011

Judge in Atlantic County, NJ, Rules Drunken Driving Breath Test Machine Unreliable

by Jonathan F. Marshall

An Atlantic City judge recently overturned a DWI conviction when he found that only a certain type of thermometer probe should be used to determine the reliability breathalyzer devices. According to recent news reports, Superior Court Judge Max Baker’s decision could affect the results of numerous drunk driving cases in the Atlantic County area. Apparently, the New Jersey State Police, whose job it is to regulate the Alcotest breath test device, did not immediately say how many police departments in the county use the reportedly unreliable component.

As a New Jersey drunken driving defense lawyer, I and my colleagues are well versed in the law pertaining to drunk driving as well as drug DUI arrests. Each of our attorneys is also qualified in the operation and maintenance of the Alcotest machine cited in this news report.

Superior Court judge’s ruling could negate DWI arrests throughout the county, according to other area defense attorneys and municipal prosecutors. According to court records, the ruling come from an appeal by Emilio Rivera who was pulled over on New Year’s Eve, 2009, along the Garden State Parkway.

Rivera was arrested for drunk driving and taken into custody. Police eventually administered the Alcotest at the Bass River Barracks. The man’s case was initially heard in Galloway Township, were he was convicted on evidence presented by the prosecutor’s office. However, his attorney appealed on a number of issues, including the manufacturer of the temperature probe and the room where the defendant was tested for blood-alcohol content (BAC).

A key to the man’s appeal was the fact that in the New Jersey Supreme Court’s previous ruling stating that the Alcotest device could replace the Breathlyzer throughout the state, it named only one company as the approved manufacturer for the thermometer probe. Specifically, the Ertco-Hart digital measuring system is the one specified, however it has come to light that some police departments use a probe made by the Control Company.

Apparently, testimony from another case concerning the two probes showed that Control was the choice of probe mainly because it is cheaper — about $300 compared to $2,000 for the Ertco-Hart model, which also requires yearly recalibrations that can cost upward of $700. According to the news report, Control’s probe is replaced rather than recalibrated.
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March 9, 2011

NJ Drug DUI Defense Update: Understanding the Difference between Drug DUI and DWI Charges

by Jonathan F. Marshall

I’ve said it here before, and most people understand that DWI arrests can occur almost anywhere, and almost any time. No matter where you live in the Garden State, be it Morris, Hudson, Mercer or Atlantic County, state police troopers and other local law enforcement officers have but little tolerance when it comes to drunken driving on the part of area residents, not to mention out-of-state drivers.

This lack of tolerance covers a range of offenses such as alcohol-related DWI and drug-related DUI, the latter of which includes prescription drugs and marijuana, not to mention seriously illegal drugs like cocaine and heroine. This last group comes under the heading of controlled dangerous substances, better known as CDS.

Being a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, I offer a vast amount of experience in the defense of motorists accused of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated by beer, wine or other alcoholic beverages or impaired due to the affects of CDS-type drugs. It commonly accepted that police routinely will charge a driver with drunken driving when he or she is suspected of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). These drugs can include but are not limited to narcotic, hallucinogenic and/or habit-forming substances.

To understand the process of charging a driver with drug DUI, it is also important to know that New Jersey law prohibits operating a motor vehicle by a person who is impaired by marijuana, cocaine, or other narcotics. This group also includes prescription medication such as morphine. For legal purposes, the standard of proof used to establish a narcotic-based DWI charge was established about five years ago in State v. Bealor. Moreover, State v. DiCarlo defines the term “narcotic” for the specific purpose of establishing a basis for driving while intoxicated charges here in the Garden State.
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March 7, 2011

Morris County, NJ, Drunk Driving News: Police Charge Drivers with DWI and Marijuana Possession

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, I represent numerous clients accused of drunken driving. These individuals may or may not have been operating their vehicles under the influence of alcohol, prescription drugs, or illegal substances such as cocaine, heroine or marijuana. Although their individual circumstances may vary, the way in which they were stopped by police and arrested for driving while intoxicated are generally similar.

Looking at the local police blotters, we typically find examples of DWI and drug DUI arrests all across the state. From Essex to Monmouth County and Passaic to Ocean County, dozens of motorists are pulled over and issued summonses every week. Sobriety checkpoints, or DWI roadblocks as they are sometimes called, are also a source of drunken driving arrests here in the Garden State. For a look at the kinds of arrests made throughout New Jersey, the following items are typical.

Denville Local police stopped a 35-year-old female driver after she was observed driving the wrong way along a stretch of Rte 46 early on a Thursday morning. The driver, a resident of Kearny, NJ, was pulled over and apparently exhibited signs of intoxication. The officers arrested the driver and charged her with drunk driving, careless and reckless, as well as driving on the wrong side of the highway. She was subsequently released to a responsible party.

Jefferson A local man was stopped by police after they observed the individual allegedly driving in a reckless manner in a snow-covered parking area at Stanlick School. During the stop, which occurred on Saturday, the 18-year-old driver was charged with driving under the influence and also possession of less that 50 grams of marijuana. Another man in the vehicle, an 18-year-old local resident, was also charged with possession of pot (less than 50g) and possession of paraphernalia. Both men were released pending court appearances.

A 23-year-old Sussex man was stopped for speeding by police along a stretch of Rte 15 on a Thursday. After pulling the motorist’s vehicle over, officers apparently detected signs of inebriation and arrested him for drunken driving. He was subsequently released an appearance date in municipal court.
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