Uncategorized

October 22, 2009

Two Randolph Township Cops Lose Their Jobs in Drunk Driving Cover-up

I’ve said it here before. As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, I have little patience for any malfeasance on the part of law enforcement officers or members of the prosecutor’s office when it comes to upholding the laws that they are responsible for enforcing. Every individual accused of drunk driving or other alcohol-related offense should be treated equally without favor or discrimination. A recent news story about a couple police officers from the Randolph Township police department brought this to mind.

According to reports, former officers Shawn Boyhan and Stephen J. Kepler appeared in a Morristown courtroom on October 19 having been accused of destroying, concealing or altering official records. The two were forced to give up their jobs with the township, put on probation for one year and ordered to perform community service for trying to cover up the drunk-driving arrest of a fellow officer’s relative.

The 31-year-old Boyhan entered a conditional guilty plea, saying that after he stopped a motorist on August 21 he learned the driver was related to another Randolph police officer. Boyhan said he spoke with Kepler, 49, and decided to “unarrest” the motorist and let him go. No breath tests were conducted and no paperwork filled out.

October 19, 2009

Morris Township, New Jersey, DWI Arrests and Other Alcohol-related Violations

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Every month dozens of drunk driving and drug DUI arrests occur in Morris Township, NJ, as well as across the Garden State. Police departments and state law enforcement agencies have a very low tolerance for driving while intoxicated. As an experienced New Jersey DWI defense attorney, my firm has defended hundreds of motorists accused of driving under the influence of alcohol. Many of their DWI stories are reflected in the various news reports shown below.

Morris Township

A 35-year-old local man was stopped by police after he was observed driving his 1997 Ford erratically and at high speed along Madison Avenue around 10pm on a Saturday evening. Upon pulling the driver over, police said he showed clear signs of drunkenness. According to reports, when the patrolman attempted to place the driver under arrest, he allegedly resisted. Additional officers were called in and the suspect was subdued and taken into custody. He was taken to headquarters where he refused to provide breath samples. Police charged him with breath test refusal, resisting arrest, failure to stop when signaled by police, failure to change address with the DMV, failure to keep right, improper passing and reckless driving, police said. He was released pending further court action, police said.

October 17, 2009

New Jersey Smokers may be “Falsely Accused” of DWI by Police Breathalyzer Machines

by Jonathan F. Marshall

New Jersey motorists charged with drunk driving may be surprised to learn that blood alcohol content (BAC) measuring devices such as the Alcotest machine can return falsely elevated BAC readings that don’t reflect an individual’s actual state of sobriety. As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, I find that a percentage of people charged with driving under the influence of alcohol were not actually legally drunk due to faulty breathalyzer results.

Body weight, time since you last drink and other factors can greatly affect the results of the Alcotest device, a breathalyzer machine commonly used by New Jersey law enforcement agencies. One unexpected cause of false readings can be smoking tobacco.

There is some research that points to smokers as having a greater chance of being accused of DWI due to high BAC readings from a breath test. Actually, breathalyzers like the Alcotest machine don’t really measure alcohol. Their design is such that they detect any compound containing the molecular structure of compounds in the methyl group — which these devices take to be alcohol. This is extremely important for motorists who smoke, because these machines cannot distinguish the difference between alcohol and acetaldehyde.

October 15, 2009

Bergen County Man Charged with NJ Parkway DWI Traffic Accident that Injured Three

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Alcohol-related injury accidents are one of the more serious types of DWI-related traffic offenses. Recently a Hackensack, NJ, resident was charged with driving while intoxicated and as well as allegedly causing a two-car crash on the Garden State Parkway that resulted in injury to the suspect, his passenger and the driver of a second vehicle. As a New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyer, my firm has represented people who have found themselves in similar circumstances.

According to reports, the accident occurred a little after 10pm on Friday, September 25 in Ocean County around the 74-mile marker on the Garden State Parkway. Police reports show that 40-year-old John Twomey was driving southbound in his 1996 Infiniti with Kevrye Lantigua, 18, from Perth Amboy.

The investigation was still underway at the time of the news report, however it appears that Twomey’s vehicle struck a second vehicle driven by Christine Doran, a 35-year-old resident of Barnegat. Authorities say that emergency responders tending to the victims noticed the scent of alcohol on Twomey’s breath, as well as open containers of alcohol were in the Infinity. According to police reports, the man admitted to drinking Bacardi rum while in the vehicle.

October 12, 2009

NJ DWI News: Can We Trust Breath Test-Ignition Interlock Devices to Measure Drivers’ BAC Accurately?

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Based on a recent poll found on AAA Mid-Atlantic’s website, 61 percent of respondents said individuals with first-time drunk driving convictions should be required to have a breathalyzer-ignition interlock device installed on their vehicle. A larger 85 percent felt that an ignition interlock should be mandatory only for subsequent offenses. As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, I have represented clients charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, many of whom were unjustly accused due to inaccuracies inherent with breath testing machines.

The point here is that vehicle-installed breath testing devices are not necessarily more accurate, or even as accurate as the units used by law enforcement. Yet judges are requiring many people convicted of drunk driving to have these interlock devices installed. The problem I see going forward is how accurate can the in-car units be when the validity of the more expensive and complicated Alcotest and other breath-testing machines have recently been called into question?

From the results of the AAA poll, it would appear that popular opinion is tilted against those accused of driving while intoxicated, and there is no doubt that New Jersey drivers charged with a DWI offense face rather stiff penalties. But to be judged fit to drive by a possibly less accurate machine may be a burden itself.

October 10, 2009

Sentence Stands in Monmouth County DWI Fatality Case

by Jonathan F. Marshall

I colleague was able to achieve an excellent result in a DWI case recently. In this regard, the defendant had a blood alcohol content of .115 while striking a pedestrian. The rub is that the pedestrian was also intoxicated, possessing a BAC of .26. The allegations were that the deceased walked into oncoming traffic with little to no warning. A grand jury refused to indict the defendant on a felony offense of death by auto so the case was remanded to municipal court. The defendant was found guilty of DWI and was sentenced to thirty (30) days in jail. The Asbury Park Press reported this weekend that the defendant’s appeal of the sentence was denied.

Following the initial ruling in this matter, I received several offensive comments on my blog, as well as emails of similar attack. I assume that the related individuals felt we were a good target to voice displeasure given our prominence as NJ DWI Lawyers. While it might be hard for the complaining individuals to accept, causation is a requirement in order to hold an individual criminally accountable for death by auto. An indictment was not returned in this case because a Grand Jury panel of citizens heard the evidence and simply found that, although the defendant was intoxicated, he was not the cause of the fatality. The driver was therefore not indicted. Notwithstanding, the defendant is going to jail for thirty (30) days.

I certainly understand a level of frustration on the part of some given the fact that the defendant was intoxicated, however, the law cuts both ways. The defendant here was not guilty of assault by auto and therefore the most that could be imposed in terms of jail was significantly limited. The municipal court judge found that thirty days was appropriate. The situation could have gone much different but the facts simply did not support such a result.

October 9, 2009

NJ Drunk Driving News: “Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day” Could Heighten DWI Enforcement

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Drivers across the New Jersey area, including Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean and Atlantic counties, may see an increase in police presence on the state’s highways and surface streets during this coming Saturday, October 10. In a nationwide campaign known as “Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day,” law enforcement agencies will be out in force looking for traffic violations and targeting zero fatalities for one full day. This effort may include sobriety checkpoints in various areas.

As a citizen of New Jersey, as well as a DWI defense attorney, I am always happy to see traffic deaths decrease. However, I know that some motorists can get a raw deal from local and state police during campaigns such as this. That is why I always encourage people arrested for drunk driving to contact a legal professional for advice and counsel.

According to news reports, “Put the Brakes on Fatalities Day” will see police departments statewide emphasizing and enforcing all traffic laws, including seatbelt usage, obeying the posted speed limit, avoiding distractions such as cellphone use while driving, and not getting behind the well when intoxicated.

October 7, 2009

New Jersey Residents Coming Down Hard on Repeat Drunk Driving Offenders

by Jonathan F. Marshall

In seeming reaction to the recent sentencing of Shaun P. Campbell, the 40-year-old East Rutherford resident with 16 convictions for driving while intoxicated and nearly 80 related license suspensions to his name, the New Jersey media and public are apparently fed up with any individual having multiple drunk driving convictions on his or her record. As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, I know what these folks are going through.

As a drunk driving defense attorney, I also know that some people are less cautious than others and never consider the implications of driving drunk, even if it means just a couple beers. This is why I encourage my friends and family to always have a designated driver for those times when a celebration becomes too exuberant.

According to a recent editorial, the media may be calling for more strict sentencing and harsher laws to keep repeat DWI offenders off public roads. Campbell, who is now going to jail for almost five years as a result of his most recent DWI-related traffic accident, will also have to pay more than $9,000 in fines. Campbell’s latest license suspension means he won’t be eligible to drive legally until he is 81 year old.

October 5, 2009

New Jersey DWI Defense News: Warren County Identified as Common Area for Speed Traps

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As a New Jersey drunk driving defense attorney I have seen the lengths to which local and state law enforcement agencies will go in an effort to catch people driving under the influence of alcohol and prescription drugs. A recently article quotes the National Motorists Association as saying that Warren County, NJ, is possibly using speed traps to catch unwary drivers. The message here is that a speed trap can catch more than leadfooted motorists, it can also lead to other traffic arrests, such as DWI, as well as drug DUI and possession charges.

According to reports, postings on the National Motorists Association talk about a website that points to Oxford Street in Belvidere, New Jersey, as a hotbed of speed trap activity in Warren County. The website, SpeedTrap.org, claims New Jersey is worst state in the union for “hitting motorists in the pocketbook” for driving too fast.

Naturally, with speed enforcement comes drunk driving and other types of enforcement. The article goes on to explain that the information on the SpeedTrap.org web site, also known as “The Speed Trap Exchange” is provided by visitors to the site, who can post info on what they believe to be speed traps. According to the National Motorists Association, they cannot attest to the validity of these listings.

October 2, 2009

Monmouth Co., New Jersey Drunk Driving News: Sobriety Checkpoint in Holmdel Tonight

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As a New Jersey drunk driving lawyer, I constantly tell people who have been arrested for DWI or issued a summons for drunk driving or breath test refusal to retain the services of an experienced drunk driving defense lawyer. One of the most likely places to be pulled over for driving while intoxicated is a sobriety checkpoint, also known as a roadblock.

According to a news report, beginning tonight and running through Saturday morning the Monmouth County drunk driving task force, working together with New Jersey’s Highway Traffic Safety division, will be conducting a DWI checkpoint on the southbound side of Route 35 near Holmdel in Monmouth County. The roadblock will be set up to pull motorists over into the Dearborn Farms parking lot where members of the task force and officers from the Holmdel Police Department will determine drivers’ sobriety.

The checkpoint will be in operation from 11pm tonight until 3am Saturday morning.