New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog

East Brunswick issued over 280 DWI complaints between 2011 and April 2012, ranking second in Middlesex County to Woodbridge Township. The high number of driving while intoxicated offenses is not only attributable to the major roadways that pass through East Brunswick NJ but also to the fact that the town maintains its own DWI Enforcement Team. The sole purpose of this team is to identifying and apprehending drunk drivers.

Penalties for a DWI or refusal convictions are extremely severe. At a bare minimum, you are facing a $1,000 surcharge per year for three years, increased insurance rates, and numerous fines and assessments. For a first offense, there is a three month to one year license suspension and up to 30 days. A second offense will result in a mandatory 2-90 day period of incarceration and a mandatory two year license suspension. Third offense penalties are even more severe: at least 180 days in jail and a mandatory ten year license suspension.

Since we are the largest DWI defense firm in the state and have an East Brunswick office, our lawyers routinely represent individuals charged with driving while intoxicated in East Brunswick. If you are facing a drunk driving charge, including DUI (i.e. driving under the influence of drugs) or refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test, our firm has the expertise and experience to defend your case. Beyond the relationships our firm has established over the years appearing in East Brunswick Municipal Court, our lawyers are among the most credentialed in the state. Five of our attorneys are not only certified on the breath test machine used in New Jersey DWI cases (there are only approximately 50 lawyers who have this credential in the state) but are also certified in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (there are only about 15 attorneys in New Jersey with this certification). Three of the lawyers are actual instructors in field tests. All seven (7) of the defense attorneys armed with the knowledge and skill to pinpoint issues in your case and to obtain the best possible resolution. Because New Jersey does not allow plea-bargaining in DWI cases, success in defending your case hinges on identifying issues to allow for a dismissal and this is where our experience, qualifications and skill prove invaluable. Give us a call anytime to schedule an appointment in our East Brunswick office or to speak to one of our lawyers free of charge.

Middletown Township historically ranks number one in Monmouth County for DWI arrests. The municipality also happens to be the largest town in NJ. While these are interesting facts, we are here to talk about driving while intoxicated and that is something that our law firm, the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, happens to know very well if you have been charged with this offense.

Our office is located just a few miles down the road from the Middletown Municipal Court along State Highway 35. More importantly, we are the largest DWI defense firm and probably the most credentialed firm in the State when it comes to these charges. We have five (5) attorneys who are dual certified in Field Sobriety Testing, as well as on the Alcotest Breath Test machine. There are probably less than 15 lawyers in the entire state and, perhaps, one or two others in the county that possess dual certification. In fact, three (3) of our lawyers are actual instructors in psycho-physical tests. Beyond this training, we are former prosecutors in over 25 area municipalities and possess 100 plus years of collective experience defending DWI charges in Middletown Township NJ.

The penalties that will be imposed in Middletown if you are convicted of driving while intoxicated are serious. A First Offense carries a mandatory license suspension of at least 3 months and as much as 1 year. A Second Offense results in a revocation of 2 years and a Third Offense triggers a 10 year loss. The monetary consequences are also stiff with thousands of dollars in fines, assessments and surcharges. The division of motor vehicles surcharge alone is $1,000 to $1,500 per year for three years for a First Offense, Second Offense and Third Offense.

It is now several years since some very unfortunate alcohol and drug related injuries and/or deaths at the Holmdel Township concert venue – PNC Bank Art Center (“Art Center”). The Art Center attracts a variety of bands and vocalist every concert season, including Phish and other rock bands police associate with enhanced drug and alcohol use. The related concerts give rise to increased police presence and enforcement. The lawyers at our firm, the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, definitely see more Holmdel DWI and drug offense cases when these events take place. As the largest defense firm in Monmouth County and the home of Holmdel’s former prosecutor, Thomas Campo, we have our fair share of appearances in Holmdel every month but even more during the summer. We anticipate police enforcement to continue at these events and readers should be mindful of the risk associated with illegal conduct, particularly as the State Police have a barracks only a few hundred feet from the entrance of the Art Center.

Last summer, at least twenty (20) concert goers were arrested on drug charges at the Phish concert at the Art Center. There were quite a few number of driving while intoxicated arrests as well. The N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 arrests not only involved alcohol intoxication but also individuals who were allegedly under the influence of drugs, especially marijuana. Drug driving while intoxicated case, a.k.a. DUI, are very defensible in our experience given the requirement that the state produce a drug recognition expert. Alcohol related cases are also much more susceptible to success than most anticipate. If you have been charged with DWI or DUI in Holmdel, our defense team is formidable. We have seven (7) driving while intoxicated defense lawyers and the majority of them are dual certified in Standardized Field Sobriety Testing and on the Draeger Alcotest 7110 —- there are probably less than 15 attorneys with dual certification in the state.

The offense of driving under the influence of drugs, even marijuana, falls within the DWI law – N.J.S.A. 39:4-50. In this regard, the statute makes it illegal to operate a motor vehicle when “intoxicated” by a drug, including a narcotic or hashish derivative (e.g. weed). If you have been charged with DUI in Holmdel Township, you should know that the proofs necessary to convict you are different than what would be required in an alcohol based case.

In a DWI case, the prosecutor must present probable cause for the arrest and this usually hinges on Field Sobriety Testing. In a drug case under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, there must be an evaluation by a Drug Recognition Expert (“DRE”). The DRE has in depth training in the recognition of drug impairment. This training is a long process and very few police officers in New Jersey, let alone the Holmdel Police Department, possess this training and a DRE certification. The municipality does also have one of the larger State Police Trooper barracks in the state which can be utilized for a DRE, although this rarely occurs.

A DRE must conduct a series of very specific tests that are intended to determine whether someone is impaired by drugs and, in addition, the category of drug involved. The resulting report is termed a drug recognition evaluation. This report must be presented at the time of trial in a DUI case in Holmdel or elsewhere in New Jersey, or there is no ability for the prosecutor to satisfy the elements of his or her case. The only exception to this rule involves clear cut marijuana cases. The thought of the court being that marijuana is so come in our community that specialized training is not required to detect and/or determine impairment.

The municipal court in Holmdel Township is traditionally in the top 10% of Monmouth County municipalities in DWI arrests. This statistic has held true over the last year and this may explain why our driving while intoxicated defense firm handled so many first offense, second offense and third offense cases this year. Another obvious reason is the fact that Thomas Campo, Esq., is the former prosecutor in Holmdel and that happens to attract a large number of potential clients.

Mr. Campo is one of seven (7) attorneys on our defense staff. He is Alcotest certified, along with four other lawyers, making them among about fifty in the state with this qualification. He also happens to be trained in Field Sobriety Testing, something very few possess, perhaps 15 in the state. Mr. Campo has over twenty years of experience handling alcohol related cases in New Jersey, including time serving as prosecutor at the County level and in about 20 municipalities in the area. If you were arrested for your first offense, second offense or even a third or subsequent offense, Mr. Campo and the other lawyers on our team have the skill and know how to help you.

DWI penalties are severe if you are found guilty of driving while intoxicated in Holmdel Township. The mandatory license suspension is 3 months to 12 months for a first offense, 2 years for a second, and 10 years for a third. The fines and mandatory surcharges amount to thousands of dollars irrespective of the existence of priors. An ignition interlock requirement also applies in many instances, meaning you will have to install a portal breathalyzer in your car once you get your license restored. You should also know that every DWI case filed in Holmdel is supposed to be resolved within sixty days of issuance of the related summons. While cases classically take more than this time to develop, the municipal court prosecutor and judge try to push these cases along. This is a primary reason why you need an experienced and respected lawyer like Mr. Campo handling your Holmdel New Jersey DWI case. He possesses the qualities necessary to avoid a conviction.

If you have been charged with driving while intoxicated (“DWI”) in Middletown Township NJ, you are probably very confused and intimidated. But while the the DWI law and related penalties, which are set forth at N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 are very stiff, our law firm has many success stories in defending these charges. This is probably because the collective qualification, skill and experience possessed by our defense team is extreme and unparalleled by any other law office in the state. We have 5 of the 50 Alcotest Test certified attorneys in the state; 5 of the 15 who are certified in Field Sobriety Testing (the only other way to prove a driving while intoxicated when scientific evidence is eliminated in a case); 3 of the 5 instructors in Field Sobriety tests; the only New Jersey version of the Alcotest breath test machine; former prosecutors in over 25 municipalities, including 3 adjacent to Middletown; and 100 years of collective experience. Why is this experience and all of these credentials so important?

The law in this state prohibits the Middletown Municipal Court prosecutor from plea bargaining DWI cases. Your attorney must therefore come up with a bona fide issue with respect to the validity of the Alcotest readings or blood so that your BAC can be eliminated and then the Field Sobriety tests, which is the only other way of proving the case, must be attacked. A lawyer who knows the Alcotest as good or better than the arresting officer comes in handy when you need to find an issue to knock out the readings and so too when it comes to dissecting the Field Sobriety testing. There are also those cases where probable cause for the stop or arrest are lacking and 100 plus years of collective experience, including years as area prosecutors, proves to be invaluable. If your serious about defending your Middletown Township driving while intoxicated charge, you have come to the right place. Indeed, we are able to achieve a dismissal of the original Alcotest readings in the majority of the first offense cases which is a significant fact. We would like the opportunity to achieve the same in your DWI case.

Our main office is located in downtown Red Bank, less than a mile from Middletown. Give us a call anytime 24/7 for a consultation with one of our attorneys free of charge.