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May 13, 2009

New Jersey Man Charged with DWI Traffic Death of Stepdaughter

A New Jersey man accused of driving while intoxicated and causing a fatality in the process has recently been arraigned in district court on charges of DWI and vehicular manslaughter, just weeks after the accident that killed his former stepdaughter. The tragic drunk driving accident happened on April 23 in Bethlehem Township, PA, when Thomas A. Parsons drove his car into a tree, killing his 28-year-old passenger, Kelly Rice.

Parsons was arraigned on that state’s charge of homicide by vehicle while DUI, in a Northampton County courtroom. Local prosecutor, John Morganelli, said he approved the charges against the 43-year-old from Phillipsburg, New Jersey.

According to reports, Rice was riding home with Parsons from a Static-X concert at Crocodile Rock in Allentown when the crash occurred. They were driving on Johnston Drive in Bethlehem Township when the car smashed into a tree, killing the 28-year-old Rice. Morganelli said Parsons’ blood-alcohol content was 0.18, more than double the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

May 11, 2009

DWI Defendant from New Jersey Jailed for ‘Tweeting’ in Court

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Whether it’s a charge of driving while intoxicated, drug DUI or any number of other offenses, once in the courtroom, DWI defendants have an obligation to themselves to play by the rules, even if they think technology is one step ahead of the legal process. I’m speaking most recently of the Fort Lee man who “won” himself at least 33 days in a Pennsylvania jail, not from the DWI arrest for which he was being tried, but for “tweeting” his thoughts about that very same trial while still in court!

The presiding judge was alerted to the defendant’s social networking transmissions by the arresting officer who became aware of the defendant’s “tweets.” Scott Ruzal, a Penn State student up on charges of DWI and resisting arrest, was awaiting an eventual guilty verdict last March when he started to “tweet” his mind on the subject of his impending conviction.

According to reports, Penn State police officer, Matthew Massaro, who arrested the 20-year-old in 2008, said the student wrote the following on his Twitter account: “When all else fails, try ignorance. I watched four cops lie on a witness stand today and I didn’t say a word.”

May 7, 2009

Costs of Driving Drunk in New Jersey

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Drunk driving, driving under the influence, or DWI. In New Jersey, and anywhere else for that matter, these simple words represent a range of possible scenarios too numerous to list here. As a New Jersey DWI attorney, my office has represented hundreds of drunk driving cases — many of which involved terrible human and societal costs. Even in the best of situations, the personal price can prove truly devastating, with the stigma of a drunk driving conviction affecting the person’s standing in the community, possible loss of a job, or potential damage to relationships with family and friends.

Financially, a drunk driving conviction can be costly, too. Fines and penalties for second and subsequent DWIs are large, but even first-time offenders can feel the sting. Below are just a few of the potential monetary costs that can be expected for a variety of drunk driving offenses, according to the State of New Jersey (Keep in mind that jail time or community service may also be attached, but is not included here).

First DWI Offense
$250-$400 fine if blood-alcohol content (BAC) is 0.08 percent or higher but less than 0.10 percent ($300-$500 fine if BAC is 0.10 percent or higher); automobile insurance surcharge of $1,000 per year for three years

May 6, 2009

Drinking and Driving in New Jersey: Consequences of Underage DWI

by Jonathan F. Marshall

New Jersey law regarding underage drinking and driving is quite specific. Because you must 21 years or older to buy, possess or drink any alcoholic beverage, underage drinking is by definition illegal. And the consequences for underage drinking are severe under New Jersey law, especially as it pertains to operating a vehicle while intoxicated. But whether or not you are stopped for DWI, an underage drinking offense could affect your driving privileges now or in the future.

For example, if a person under 21 years old is arrested for purchasing or consuming an alcoholic drink in an establishment licensed to sell alcohol, he or she could be fined $500, as well as lose their driver’s license for up to six months. Parents take note, even if your child does not yet have a driver’s license, that potential suspension will start when the youngster is first eligible to receive his or her license. Furthermore, a young person who violates underage drinking laws may also be required by the court to attend an alcohol treatment or education program.

Anyone under 21 caught with even the slightest amount of alcohol in their system — that is, a blood-alcohol content of 0.01 or more — will be subject to the following penalties under New Jersey law:

May 5, 2009

New Jersey DWI / DUI Police Blotter

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Hackettstown — In what initially could have been a DWI drug arrest on Saturday, April 25, a K-9 police unit from Washington Township found 34 bags of heroin in a vehicle occupied by a young woman and a 22-year-old man from Fairfield, NJ. The man was eventually charged with possession of heroin and a hypodermic needle following the traffic stop on Stiger Street. He was then sent to the Warren County jail with bail set at $5,000. The 18-year-old female driver and owner of the vehicle was issued a summons for a vehicle violation and released.

Montville — A number of teenagers were charged with underage alcohol possession by police who were responding to a Saturday night complaint regarding a large party just off Bonnie View Lane. Upon arriving at around 10:30 p.m., officers encountered a large group of minors leaving the scene. A juvenile driver was also charged with violation of his provisional driver’s license. There were no arrests for underage DWI.

Montville — An 18-year-old man from Pine Brook, New Jersey, was charged with possession of marijuana in a vehicle on the evening of Friday, April 24, after police checked a car parked on Briarcliff Road with four people inside. A juvenile that was present was charged with obstruction.

May 2, 2009

DWI Injury Accident Caused by New Jersey Man with Long History of Drunk Driving

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Talk about your repeat drunk driving offenders, East Rutherford resident, Shaun Campbell, will surely have a place in the record books. According to reports, the 39-year-old already had a dozen DWI convictions, and 78 license suspensions, prior to a recent accident when he allegedly caused a head-on crash with another driver and his four-year-old daughter at the intersection of South Street and Spring Valley Road in Morris Township.

Police say that Campbell was allegedly intoxicated when he ran his SUV into another vehicle in Morristown on Thursday, April 23. Immediately following the accident, the suspect was viewed running from the scene into nearby Loantaka Park in an effort to escape from police. All of this happened while Campbell’s license was suspended by the state.

Campbell was caught and initially charged with driving while intoxicated and obstruction of justice. However, authorities also hit him last Wednesday with a charge of fourth-degree assault-by-auto in connection with this most recent accident.

May 1, 2009

Middlesex County DWI Enforcement for Prom and Graduation Season

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Middlesex County, New Jersey, has renewed its initiative to combat drunk driving during the Prom and Graduation season this year. In this regard, periodic checkpoints shall be set up throughout Middlesex County during the month of May and June. The target locations for the DWI roadblocks shall coincide with the prom and graduation schedules throughout the County.

The DUI detail shall be comprised of local police officers and members of the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office Vehicular Fatality Team. The program is over two decades old and is funded through a grant from the State. The program appears to have been successful in preventing alcohol related deaths insofar as there have been no such incidents in the County during the Prom and Graduation season for quite a time period.

Our DWI attorneys have occasion to represent many underage motorist every year in drunk driving cases. The pivotal thing that most of the public fails to understand is that NJ law has a no tolerance policy for alcohol consumption by minors. The result is a New Jersey Underage drinking and driving law which is triggered when a motorist under the age of 21 has any alcohol in his system whatsoever.

April 30, 2009

Could New Jersey DWI Laws Soon Apply to Drowsy Driving?

by Jonathan F. Marshall

It sure doesn’t sound like drunk driving, but I bet this has happened to you or someone you know. You’re driving home a bit tired after working a double shift in Jersey City, or trying to squeeze in that last 50 miles returning from a very full weekend in Atlantic City. Just trying to stay awake long enough to get home, park the car and climb into bed. That’s not the same as driving while intoxicated, or is it?

Whether it’s a paperwork backlog at work, working the graveyard shift at a second job, or spending a sleepless night tending to a sick child, the result is the same. Operating a vehicle when you’ve had little or no sleep can be a recipe for disaster. Nodding off on the Garden State Parkway can have a deadly outcome.

And the consequences can be serious, especially here in New Jersey. We live in the only state in the Union that makes drowsy driving a crime when it’s found to be the cause of a fatal crash — classified as recklessness under the state’s vehicular homicide statute. And it’s not unreasonable that drowsy driving could one day become as serious an offense as DWI.

April 28, 2009

New Jersey Drunk Driving Police Blotter

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Boonton — Police charged a 58-year-old Boonton Township, NJ, man with DWI, reckless driving and not having insurance for his vehicle. The allegedly intoxicated man was picked up by police during the late afternoon on Saturday, April 25, and released pending an appearance in court.

Boonton — A woman from Kinnelon was pulled over by police for drunk driving, as well as reckless driving. The 45-year-old was stopped just after 9 p.m. and subsequently released pending appearance in court at a later date.

Madison — In what could possibly have been a drug DUI arrest, as 20-year-old Westfield man was arrested on Thursday, April 23, after police responded to a call regarding an occupant of a vehicle snorting drugs on Loveland Street. The vehicle apparently left that location, as the police pulled the vehicle over on Green Village Road, where they arrested the young man after noticing a white powdery substance on the man’s lips. According to authorities, the arresting officer found a white tube and the driver admitted that he had been snorting oxycodone. Police arrested and charged the man with possession of drug paraphernalia, and then released him shortly thereafter.

April 26, 2009

Will Marijuana DUI Arrests in New Jersey be Affected by Legalization?

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Could New Jersey expect an increase in DUI arrest involving marijuana if the drug becomes legal for medicinal use? Nobody can truly know the answer until such a law takes effect. But with the increasing number of medical marijuana bills being proposed and voted into law across the country, one can only assume there will be more opportunity for marijuana DUI arrests.

Neighboring New York State may soon pass legislation — which would make it the 15th state to legalize medicinal marijuana — and the New Jersey legislature is on the verge of passing a similar bill. The legislation currently specifies that individuals with painful or debilitating illnesses such as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis will be able to register with the state to use marijuana legally.

Not long ago, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram responded positively to the proposed law, which would allow patients to purchase the drug from a state-approved outlet, or even grow the plants at home. Calling it a “workable” law, Milgram agreed that there are concerns about how to enforce laws to ensure that the drug be used legally and only by patients who qualify.