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June 8, 2009

DWI Convictions Haunt Two New Jersey Judges Disciplined by State Supreme Court

Two New Jersey municipal judges arrested for drunk driving were recently disciplined by the state supreme court. One of the judges, Peter Tourison, received a more serious sanction because his DWI offense included property damage from a collision, as well as an effort to interfere with the results of the Alcotest breath testing machine.

On Tuesday, June 2, the New Jersey Supreme Court censured Judge Tourison, who presides over the municipal courts in Stone Harbor, Cape May and Middle Township, for the arrest precipitated by his public intoxication. The court also reprimanded Judge Robert Jones, of Livingston. Under a new policy adopted by the Court, judges convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol are disqualified for one year from presiding over DWI cases.

Tourison, arrested in early 2008, was stopped by police after he allegedly drove his BMW against the flow of traffic on Bayshore Road in Lower Township. He reportedly forced another driver to swerve his car onto the shoulder and then ended up in a Wawa parking lot where he ran into a parked Ford Explorer. The arresting officer stated that he detected the odor of alcohol on Tourison, who claimed he had consumed only two drinks, but then failed most of the field sobriety tests.

June 7, 2009

Jersey City Cop Charged with DWI After Off-duty Crash and Speeding Episode

by Jonathan F. Marshall

The recent DWI case involving a New Jersey police officer arrested for driving drunk at break-neck speeds in a 25-mph zone is difficult to imagine, but it did happen. The intoxicated cop, Jersey City Police Officer Kevin Cieslak, has only been on the force for two years. Regardless of the circumstances, his actions are totally unacceptable.

Officer Cieslak was arrested in Belmar on Memorial Day by the New Jersey State Police around 2 a.m., according to reports. An officer from the East District, Cieslak allegedly collided with a bread truck, after which he reportedly left the scene. He was subsequently observed driving 89 miles per hour in a 25-mph zone before being pulled over by State Police. According to police, he was issued summonses for DWI after refusing a Breathalyzer test, as well as for reckless driving, leaving and accident scene, failing to report an accident, running a red light and driving in the opposing lane.

We should all be proud, and rightly so, of the hard work that our law enforcement officers do for society, but when they step over the line and break the same laws they are entrusted to enforce there should be no leniency. These are the same individuals that make judgments on whether to stop other citizens for driving while intoxicated. They, of all people, need to set an example for the rest of the us — there is no middle ground here.

June 5, 2009

Homicide Charges Dropped in New Jersey DWI Fatality Case

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Family members of a pedestrian killed last summer in Belmar by a drunk driver have expressed their anger over the recent reduction in charges against the defendant in the case. Despite having struck and killed 22-year-old Christopher Nowak while driving drunk on New Jersey’s Route 35, Mark Rich of Neptune City, NJ, now faces only a driving while intoxicated charge that carries with it a $500 fine, a 30-day maximum jail sentence, and a one-year license suspension.

Last December, a grand jury turned down an indictment of vehicular homicide against Rich, 53, that would have called for a maximum of 10 years in prison. Upon the grand jury’s rejection of the indictment, the case was handed back to municipal court, where Rich pleaded guilty this past Wednesday to DWI. According to reports, the Belmar prosecutor in the case requested that the judge also dismiss the other charge of careless driving. This has enraged the victim’s family.

Any loss of life through an automobile accident is a tragic event, but the facts of this case make for a difficult defense, as well as prosecution. Being a New Jersey DWI Defense Attorney and former municipal prosecutor myself, I have been involved in cases that seemed clear cut on their face, but which had many grey areas.

June 4, 2009

New Jersey DWI Sobriety Checkpoint in Marlboro Scheduled for this Friday Night

by Jonathan F. Marshall

The Marlboro Police Department will be checking for drunk drivers this Friday night and into the early morning hours of Saturday, June 6. Working in cooperation with the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, members of the Monmouth County DWI Task Force will be checking for drivers who may be under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or other drugs, along the southbound lanes of Route 9 in Marlboro.

Officers will be signaling to drivers to pull over into the local Lowe’s parking lot in Marlboro to check driver sobriety between the hours of 11 p.m. on Friday night and 3 a.m. on Saturday morning. This is according to Brielle Police Chief Michael W. Palmer, the task force coordinator.

This upcoming sobriety roadblock is one of many set up during the year to root out drunk drivers. These checkpoints are used by police across New Jersey to help decrease the number of alcohol-related auto accidents and deaths. Information on these roadblocks is not always readily available, but the law stipulates that impending sobriety checkpoints must be publically announced beforehand. The law also requires New Jersey’s state, county and municipal law enforcement departments only to establish checkpoints based on certain criteria, such as statistical data that indicates an area has a high incidence of DWI arrests.

May 31, 2009

New Jersey DWI News: Idling While Drunk not Necessarily a Chargeable Offense

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Anyone who has read about drunk driving police stops will certainly be familiar with typical stories of New Jersey residents arrested for being intoxicated while sitting in their parked vehicles. Well, DWI stories like these may become history if a recent New Jersey appeals court decision is any indication.

The ruling, which came down on Tuesday, May 26, essentially said that being drunk in the driver’s seat of your parked car, even if the engine is running and the parking brake is disengaged, cannot be grounds in and of itself for a DWI conviction — there must be proof of intention to drive.

In this case, being asleep was the key to the defense’s argument. According to the New Jersey Law Journal, in State v. Putz, the Appellate Division said the trial court ignored credible evidence that the defendant, Joshua Putz, a Phillipsburg resident who was found asleep in his idling pick-up truck after midnight by a Lopatcong Township police officer, had no intent to move the vehicle prior to falling asleep.

May 27, 2009

Tougher New Jersey Drunk Driving Laws Pushed for by State Senate

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Repeat drunk driving offenders may face greater fines and jail time if New Jersey State Senate President Richard Codey gets his way. Intoxicated drivers accounted for nearly 30 percent of New Jersey’s fatal car crashes in 2007, according to State Police records, and this statistic is one of the driving forces behind the latest initiative.

Being a New Jersey DWI and DUI defense lawyer, I am familiar with the lack of teeth in some parts of DWI law. This bold legislation calls for increasing fines and extending or adding jail time for certain drunk driving offenses, all of which could go a long way toward reducing DWI-related traffic deaths and injuries. Hopefully, this will be a benefit to everyone traveling on New Jersey roadways and not result in added harassment of law abiding citizens.

Motivated by a recent DWI injury accident, Senate President Codey is mainly targeting motorists who repeatedly drive drunk, and has proposed mandatory jail time for some offenders. A package of several bills, scheduled to be introduced in June, would increase penalties for a variety of drunk driving offenses.

May 25, 2009

New Jersey Drivers Arrested for DWI, DUI by Middle Township Police

by Jonathan F. Marshall

May 23 was an eventful day for Middle Township Police, who stopped and arrested one driver for drunk driving and a second for drug DUI within the township limits. In the first instance, officers were alerted to a possible intoxicated driver operating his vehicle erratically on SH47.

Police found a 27-year-old man from Woodbine sitting in a silver Lexus, which was stopped on Goshen Road near SH47. Police had maneuvered behind the suspect’s vehicle when the driver, Daniel B. Carson, then attempted to leave and crashed into a second police cruiser arriving at the scene. The man was arrested on the spot for drunk driving, issued a total of nine summonses, and had his car impounded. Carson was later charged with lewdness at police headquarters and subsequently taken to Cape May County Jail in lieu of $1,500 bail.

As a New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense attorney and former prosecutor, I know that the police have no tolerance for blatant DWI behavior. Running into a police car while in an allegedly intoxicated state is a clear sign that a defendant will have a difficult row to hoe in court. This is why it is imperative that you retain profession legal assistance to handle your drunk driving case. The other stop that day was somewhat worse, as it involved drugs, according to police reports.

May 22, 2009

DWI News: New Jersey Ranked First in “Unfair” Traffic Fines, Enforcement Practices

by Jonathan F. Marshall

With Memorial Day weekend upon us, we have one observation for New Jersey motorists: The Garden State is no paradise when it comes to drunk drivers, speeders and other hapless recipients of tickets and summonses from our traffic enforcement community. Intoxicated drivers in particular beware, according to the National Motorists Association (NMA) our state goes to the head of the class when it comes to exploitation of the road-going public.

Although DWI and DUI were not addressed specifically, the NMA did rank individual states based on seventeen criteria related to traffic laws, police enforcement practices, as well as how defendants are typically treated. The rankings, according to the NMA, are “designed to provide guidance to travelers who do not want their vacation ruined by speed traps, arcane laws or ‘kangaroo’ traffic courts.”

Not surprisingly, New Jersey was found to be the state most likely to dip deeper into a driver’s wallet. With our toll roads, sobriety roadblocks and speed traps, New Jersey has left almost no stone unturned when it comes to extracting cash from motorists, says the NMA. New Jersey has also recently pushed through a red-light camera pilot project at a time when many states are banning the ticket cameras because “they’ve proven to have a negative effect on traffic safety.” Add in “driver responsibility” fees, which are ineffective and have a disproportionate effect on the poor, and we find ourselves at the top of the list. For those keeping score, here is the NMA’s top ten worst states:

May 21, 2009

Bergen County, NJ: DWI / Marijuana DUI Arrests

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Lyndhurst — A 52-year-old New Jersey man was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol last week on Thursday evening when police found the allegedly intoxicated suspect in his car, which was parked and partially blocking the roadway on New York Avenue. In addition to drunk driving, he was charged with having an open alcohol container in his vehicle, as well as careless driving. Reports stated he was released to Hackensack University Medical Center.

Lyndhurst — Early on May 15, an out-of-state man was arrested for DWI following a motor vehicle stop on Ridge Road. Police charged him with driving under the influence of alcohol after they noticed he was unable to keep his vehicle properly in his lane. The 41-year-old driver refused to submit to breath test. He was charged with not carrying a driver’s license and careless driving, then released on summonses to a responsible party.

North Arlington — Police reported a motor vehicle stop on May 8 at Ilford and Prospect avenues. Officers detected the odor of burnt marijuana and determined a 16-year-old male passenger from North Arlington and the 17-year-old male driver from Lyndhurst, had been smoking marijuana. The passenger and driver were both charged with being under the influence of marijuana. The driver was also charged with DWI and violating his provisional driver’s license for having four people in the car.

May 18, 2009

New Jersey DWI and Marijuana DUI Police Blotter

by Jonathan F. Marshall

East Rutherford — A 29-year-old local man was picked up for drunk driving in the late evening of Wednesday, May 6, following a minor accident on Patterson Avenue. The allegedly intoxicated driver was arrested for DWI, as well as for not maintaining a vehicle in safe condition, failure to produce a driver’s license, driving on a suspended license, lack of insurance and failure to report a change of address. The suspect also refused a breathalyzer test. According to police, the man’s vehicle hit a curb, which blew out one of his tires. He admitted to officers that he did not have his driver’s license due to it being suspended for a previous DWI conviction. He was later released.

North Arlington — A 47-year-old resident of Belleville, New Jersey, was arrested in the early morning of May 8 for a series of offenses, including driving while intoxicated, careless driving, parking his car on the sidewalk and refusing to take a breath test. The man reportedly sped into a Chase Bank parking lot, where the observing police officer was parked in a marked police cruiser. The man reportedly stopped his car, stumbled out and staggered to the bank’s cash machine. Upon returning to his car, the officer approached the man and gave him a field sobriety test, which he failed. The man also refused a breath test, after which he was arrested and taken into custody. The vehicle was impounded and the man was later released to a third party the vehicle.

Princeton — In a possible marijuana DUI arrest, a 35-year-old Lawrence, NJ, man was charged for driving down Paul Robeson Place while intoxicated and in possession of marijuana. The man was arrested following a 12:15 a.m. vehicle stop the morning of Friday, May 13, and taken into the borough police headquarters. He was later released on his own recognizance. Police reports show that the man was charged with DWI, as well as possession of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia, however, there was no indication what the suspected intoxicating substance was.