New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog

March 20, 2012

Monmouth County, NJ, Driver Causes Accident; Same Man Arrested Hours Later for DWI

If we’ve said it once, we’ve said it a thousand times: Driving while intoxicated is one thing, but causing an accident while impaired brings in a whole new set of complications when defending a charge of DWI or drug DUI. This makes complete sense, especially to those who have been arrested for causing a traffic accident while drunk behind the wheel.

As New Jersey drunken driving defense lawyers, I and my staff are prepared to see just about anything in terms of police arrests on Garden State roadways. As experienced drunk driving attorneys, we have represented many clients accused of drunk driving in Hudson, Ocean, Essex and Monmouth County, some of who have actually been accused of causing a DWI-related auto accident.

One thing we don’t usually see is a person involved in a traffic wreck going home and then getting arrested for being drunk later in the day. It sounds hard to believe, or maybe it’s not. But according to recent news reports, this actually happened to one man from Monmouth County.
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March 18, 2012

New Jersey Driver Fails on Appeal of Drunken Driving Conviction on Jurisdictional Grounds

by Jonathan F. Marshall

No driver who lives or works in the Garden State needs to be told that being charged with a DWI offense can lead to harsh penalties if one is convicted for drunk driving. With all the hoopla over enhanced enforcement, saturation patrols and sobriety checkpoints, one would have to be living under a rock for the past couple decades to understand that police and the courts are not too sympathetic toward motorists caught driving drunk.

This only goes to show that with the potential fines and surcharges, not to mention other penalties, there is no reason not to contact a qualified DWI defense attorney following a drunken driving arrest. As New Jersey DUI-DWI defense lawyers, I and my staff are trained to represent individuals accused of driving while intoxicated by beer or hard liquor, prescription medications or illegal drugs (drug DUI).

It goes without saying that motorists who face severe penalties — such as mandatory license suspension and $4,000 or more in monetary penalties and insurance surcharges, among others — will usually want to fight the charges. And while not all DWI cases end well, there is always the appeals process, which is usually available to defendants who wish to contest a lower court ruling.
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March 17, 2012

Bergen County Police Blotter: Elmwood Park and Wyckoff Patrolmen Arrest Motorists for Drunken Driving, Drug Possession

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Numerous police arrests are made every day across the Garden State against drivers suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol or some other intoxicated substance. While a fair percentage of these DWI and drug DUI arrests are perhaps warranted, many others are based on less than substantial evidence. As a former municipal prosecutor here in New Jersey, and now as a drunken driving defense attorney, I find that a percentage of motorists charged with drunk driving will not be found guilty, or will have the charges against them reduced.

While nothing in this world is guaranteed, one thing is certain: if you drive drunk in Jersey long enough, you will be caught at some point, either by the New Jersey State Police or another, local police agency. Please understand that there are severe penalties for drunk driving, drug DUI (such as being impaired by prescription meds or illicit drugs like marijuana and meth) or even breath test refusal.

Of course, the first step is being stopped by a police officer or state trooper. After this, the actual DWI or DUI arrest process may begin in earnest. Every week the news carries updates on local police arrests, much of which can be instructive regarding the typical circumstances that can surround a drunk driving arrest. The following items from Bergen County, NJ, are fairly typical of the kinds of DWI police stops that happen daily. While every drunken driving arrest is unique, most every one begins with a traffic stop by an officer of the law.
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March 16, 2012

DUI Enforcement Update: NJ Sobriety Checkpoints Going Up Tonight, Anticipating St. Patrick’s Day Celebrants

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As drunken driving defense attorneys representing New Jersey residents and other drivers accused of DWI or drug-related impaired driving (drug DUI), I and my legal team have more than 100 years of collective experience in defending individuals charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or a controlled dangerous substance (CDS).

As motorists ourselves, we are pleased to know that state police and local municipal law enforcement personnel are working hard to keep our roadways safe from all manner of traffic hazards and other dangers. And while we commend the law enforcement community for making our streets and highways safer, we can’t help but wonder whether the money spent and the efforts made are not sometimes directed toward innocent motorists are become the focus of drunk driving patrols and sobriety checkpoints for no other reason than a possibly minor traffic infraction.

As a former municipal prosecuting attorney, and now as a drunk driving defense lawyer, I know that from time to time there do occur unjustified drunken driving arrests. From my extensive experience, I do know that a percentage of DWI charges do not, in fact, hold up in court. For this reason, I am committed to representing individuals accused of DWI, drug DWI and breath-test refusal in Middlesex, Hudson, Ocean and Atlantic Counties.
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March 13, 2012

New Jersey Motorists: Think Twice Before Driving Under the Influence of Drugs or Alcohol

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Being hit with a drunken driving summons in New Jersey is not as rare as some may think. One of the more foolproof methods of avoiding DWI charges is, actually, not drinking and driving at all, period. But even drivers who haven’t had a drop of liquor or beer have been know to be arrested for impaired driving; usually because of prescription drugs or use of an illegal substance, such as cocaine or marijuana (drug DUI).

Frankly, with the number of police patrols out and about on Garden State roadways, there is a high probability that someone, somewhere will be arrested for driving while intoxicated today, tomorrow and the next day. As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, our job is to represent individuals who have been accused of drunk driving, sometimes falsely, in a court of law.

Under the New Jersey statutes, a motorist can be charged with a number of offenses pertaining to alcohol consumption. These include driving while impaired by beer, wine or some other intoxicating substance, driving under the influence of drugs or doctor-prescribed medication, and even refusal to undergo a breathalyzer test.
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March 11, 2012

Westfield, NJ, Drunken Driving News: Two New Jersey Drivers Charged in Fatal Union County DWI Crash

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Whether one drives in Middlesex, Atlantic, Monmouth or Essex County, if you cause an accident while driving under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs (drug DUI) there is always a chance that you will be found guilty of intoxicated driving by a court. Raise the stakes by causing a fatal drunken driving-related traffic wreck and the consequences can be much worse.

As a former municipal prosecutor, I understand the strategies and legal approach that the state uses to convict a motorist charged with drunk driving or drug DWI. I and my staff of experienced New Jersey drunken driving defense attorneys know the procedures and techniques that the prosecution may use against a DWI defendant. An already critical situation is made that much worse when a driver is accused of drunk driving as it applied to a traffic accident involving injury or death.

It is for these reasons alone that one typically needs the counsel, if not the representation, of a qualified DWI/DUI lawyer. This is because, here in the Garden State, law enforcement and the courts have become rather strict regarding any traffic-related offenses involving the consumption of beer, wine or hard liquor, as well as doctor-prescribed medication or illicit drugs such as marijuana or cocaine.
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March 9, 2012

DWI Roadblock Update: Drunken Driving Sobriety Checkpoint Scheduled for Middletown, NJ, Tonight

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Here in New Jersey, most drivers are probably familiar with the increased presence of police on patrol during certain times of the year, such as New Year’s Eve, St. Patrick’s Day, 4th of July, Memorial Day and Labor Day. During these times, it’s not unusual to have a spike in drunken driving arrests, although one can speculate on whether the increase in DWI arrests are due to a much high incidence of drunken driving, or that the added patrols catch a requisite increased number of impaired drivers.

In any case, the saturation patrols that happen from time to time during the year — over holiday weekends and other peak drinking and driving periods — are well known throughout the Garden State, especially by those who have been stopped on the road following attendance at a family reunion, office party or friendly get-togethers where beer, wine and hard liquor are typically served.

As New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense lawyers, I and my colleagues know how easy it can be for a driver to be pulled over for a seemingly minor traffic offense, yet find him or herself under arrest a short time later for driving while intoxicated. (A smaller percentage of individuals can sometimes find themselves on the receiving end of a drug DUI or marijuana possession summons as well, but that’s a different topic altogether.)
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March 6, 2012

Legal Defense Update: Not Every Drunken Driving Arrest in New Jersey Results in Similar Penalties Post-conviction

by Jonathan F. Marshall

A DWI is a DWI is a DWI, right? Well, not exactly. Here in the Garden State, people generally understand that an arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol can lead to severe monetary penalties. But what many motorists do not realize — until they have actually gone through the process of being tried for a DWI offense — is that drunken driving arrests come in varying degrees of severity, vis-à-vis penalties.

As New Jersey drunk driving defense attorneys, I and my staff of experienced DWI lawyers possess a deep understanding of the legal statutes that define this state’s anti-drunken driving law. Local and state police also know the law, too, and every day along our highways and byways, they make quite a concerted effort to secure arrests of individual drivers who, in their eyes, violate New Jersey’s strict DWI traffic laws.

For starters, every drunk driving defense lawyer in this state should know that driving while under the influence of beer, wine or hard liquor can result in severe penalties as defined in the New Jersey DWI statute, known in legal circles as N.J.S.A. 39:4-50. This set of criteria state the following in no uncertain terms:
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March 4, 2012

NJ Drunk Driving Update: Before a DWI Conviction, Prosecutors Must Prove Guilt — Part 1

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As stated previously in this forum, drunken driving is a serious offense with severe penalties for those convicted of DWI, breath test refusal or driving under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS); however, no conviction and no sentencing for driving while intoxicated can even take place until the prosecution has proven to the court that a driver was responsible for operating a motor vehicle while drunk on alcohol, or otherwise impaired by prescription medications or illicit drugs (also known as drug DUI).

In the Garden State, drivers who have never been arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol might not know all the finer point of the law. As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, I and my colleagues not only understand state law as it pertains to drunk drivers, but we also have a detailed understanding of the circumstances in which individuals find themselves facing a charge of DWI or breath test refusal.

Of course, it goes without saying that an arrest for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs can lead to harsh monetary penalties and even license suspension. (As an aside, most people might not even consider the implications of losing their driver’s license, and essentially their driving privileges for even several months, but this alone can be devastating to someone who drives to work, or more seriously, drives for a living.)
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March 1, 2012

Toms River Legal Defense Update: High Breathalyzer Reading Not Always Precursor to NJ Drunk Driving Conviction

by Jonathan F. Marshall

For argument’s sake, let’s posit that a Garden State motorist, who gets stopped for a routine traffic offense, ends up being charged with drunken driving in Ocean County. After stopping the driver for some simple infraction, such as failure to signal or improper turn, the officer might begin to suspect that the driver has possibly had something to drink and is possibly impaired by beer or wine, maybe even prescription drugs (also known as drug DUI).

In any case, the patrolman may request the motorist to perform one or more of the standardized field sobriety tests established by the National Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA). If the suspect fails one or more of these tests, there’s a pretty good chance that his or her next stop is the local police headquarters for a breathalyzer test.

As New Jersey drunken driving defense attorneys, I and my staff know that being convicted for even a first-time DWI offense can impact a person’s life, financially, personally and sometimes even professionally. Jobs have been lost, relationships ruined and reputations have been sullied as a result of an arrest for driving while intoxicated, much less for an actual conviction — if for only these reasons, is it a good idea to consult with a qualified drunk driving defense lawyer before stepping foot into a courtroom.
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