Bergen County DWI Defense

October 5, 2010

New Jersey Drunk Driving Defense News: Bergen County DWI and Drug DUI Police Blotter

With so many drivers on the road it’s no surprise that drunken driving arrests occur every day all across the Garden State. As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney with offices throughout the state, I’ve dealt with a wide variety of motorists who have been charged with drunken driving or prescription drug DUI. Our Bergen County drunk driving defense lawyers have the experience to handle cases not unlike the ones reported below.

Lyndhurst

According to news articles, a car was pulled over as part of an early morning traffic stop which looked like a case of CDS possession and possible drug DUI. Officers had apparently noticed that the man’s passenger was not wearing a seat belt just before 4am on a Monday. Based on the police report, the stop occurred at the corner of Jackson Plc. and Rutherford Ave. in Lyndhurst. While interviewing the two occupants, patrolmen observed that the 19-year-old passenger had a quantity of the prescription drug Xanax on his person. Determining that the man did not have a prescription for the medication, police charged him with possession of prescription drugs and failure to wear a seatbelt.

September 27, 2010

Bergen County DWI News: Drunk Driving Arrests may Rise with Increased Traffic Enforcement Patrols in Wyckoff

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Drunken driving enforcement is nothing new to motorists in New Jersey. With economic woes still reverberating across the country, the Garden State has seen its share of turmoil. It’s no doubt that many people choose to ease the pain with a drink or two at the local bar or friendly neighborhood gatherings. The trouble comes when an individual who may have had a bit too much to drink hits the road.

As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, I make it my job to assist drivers who have been accused of driving while intoxicated. As a Bergen County drunken driving attorney, I know that certain times of the year can make it especially common for drivers to be pulled over for driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to news reports, Wyckoff Township has announced an increase in traffic safety patrols, which are sure to the net the municipality more than a few DWI and drug DUI arrests. Based on reports, the township’s police department will be running “stepped up” traffic enforcement patrols through October 10. This surge in police presence is part of a national “Put the Brakes on Fatalities” campaign going on in towns and cities all around the U.S. Sobriety checkpoints and roadblocks could be part of this effort.

September 10, 2010

NJ Drunk Driving Defense News: Bergen County DWI and Drug DUI and CDS Arrests

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, my law offices have a vast amount of experience handling a wide variety of drunken driving, marijuana possession in a vehicle, and drug DUI cases throughout the Garden State. The following is just a sample of the typical police arrests in the Bergen County area that happen every month. These can include driving under the influence of alcohol or controlled dangerous substances (CDS), breath test refusal and possession of cannabis (or weed) in a motor vehicle.

East Rutherford

A 41-year-old man was stopped by police after being caught on radar doing 82mph in a 55mph speed zone. The incident occurred just after 10pm when ERPD officers saw a 2000 Hyundai traveling at a high rate of speed. Following the traffic stop, the driver apparently told officers that he had several drinks previous to taking the wheel. Police reportedly administered field sobriety tests, which the suspect failed, according to police reports. A breath test indicated that the man’s blood-alcohol content (BAC) was 0.17 percent — twice the legal limit. The driver was arrested and charged with drunk driving, careless driving and speeding. He was subsequently released to a responsible party.

August 27, 2010

New Jersey DWI Alert: Drunk Driving Enforcement Increases around NJ for Labor Day Holiday

by Jonathan F. Marshall

With the coming holiday weekend police agencies around the Garden State will be on a heightened alert for partiers and other people driving while intoxicated between picnics and family gatherings. Regardless of the bad economy, drunken driving arrests and summonses are certain to increase in the next couple weeks.

As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney and drunk driver lawyer, my job is to help motorists who have been arrested by state police, municipal patrolmen and other law enforcement personnel for DWI and drug DUI traffic offenses. Many of these arrests occur at so-called sobriety checkpoints, which are frequently set up throughout the New Jersey area.

As part of the upcoming drunk driving enforcement campaign, known as “Over the Limit, Under Arrest,” police units have taken to the streets in an effort to cut the instances of driving while under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs.

August 21, 2010

New Jersey Drunk Driving News: Bergen County DWI and Drug DUI Police Blotter

by Jonathan F. Marshall

LyndhurstA 56-year-old out-of-state woman was arrested and charged with DWI after she apparently left the scene of a minor accident. According to police reports, officers were called to the scene of a motor vehicle accident on a late Monday afternoon, from which one of the drivers had subsequently left. At nearly the same time, police received reports of an allegedly intoxicated person in a Quality Inn parking lot across the street from the accident. The woman was taken into custody and eventually released on summonses.

East Rutherford

A 21-year-old Weehawken, NJ, female resident was stopped by police after officers observed the driver make a U-turn along New Jersey’s Route 120 and in the process hit the center divider of the highway. After pulling over the suspect’s car police determined that the woman was apparently intoxicated. Officers noticed a plastic bag in the vehicle, which the driver eventually identified as containing marijuana. She also admitted to police that she had planned to sell the controlled dangerous substance (CDS). The woman was arrested and charged with multiple violations including possession of CDS under 50 grams and possession of marijuana with intent to distribute.

July 23, 2010

Bergen County, New Jersey, DWI News: North Arlington Drunk Driving Police Blotter

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Dozens of arrests for drunken driving are performed by New Jersey law enforcement personnel every week in the Garden State. As New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyers, I and my colleagues have seen just about every kind of DWI and drug DUI case, yet nothing surprises us much these days. On any given shift, state police, county sheriff and local municipal police officers pull over and otherwise stop and charge motorists with driving under the influence of alcohol.

From the initial traffic stop to the actual arrest and then performance of a blood-alcohol content (BAC) breath or blood test (to determine if a driver is legally intoxicated), the process of being charged and possibly convicted of drunk driving can be a scary prospect for many people. Beyond simple monetary penalties, a DWI or drug DUI conviction can result in loss of employment and can potentially ruin personal and business relationships. The following accounts of North Arlington drunk driving arrests are typical of those encountered around the state.

Drinking and Parking

June 20, 2010

Police Arrest Driver for Marijuana Possession Following High-speed Chase in Bergen County

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Some drug arrests have been known to start with a DWI or drug DUI traffic stop. There’s usually some reason for the initial stop, but a driver speeding down the highway is not a hard mark for a drunk driving or traffic enforcement patrol. A recent news report from Bergen County, NJ, shows the lengths that local police officers will go to apprehend a suspected drunken driver. As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, my legal experience includes years of defending motorists charged with driving while intoxicated either by alcohol, illicit drugs or prescription medications.

According to reports earlier this month, law enforcement officers from a number of towns in the vicinity of Mahwah, NJ, joined in a high-speed chase that began when a 1992 Toyota Celica was observed speeding along Route 17 in Mahwah around 2:30am. At that time, Mahwah Police Officer Stacy Conley apparently attempted to block the vehicle by pulling his patrol car across the highway with lights on. However, the Celica avoided the officer by veering onto the shoulder and kept traveling southbound at a high rate of speed.

The Celica’s driver, 26-year-old Shahan Momin, was eventually being pursued by police vehicles from Bergen County, Paramus, Rutherford and Lyndhurst. Toward the end of the chase, Momim reportedly tried to pull of of 17 onto Route 3 but lost control of his vehicle, which rolled several times ending up in an opposing lane of the roadway.

May 25, 2010

Lyndhurst, NJ, DWI Update: Lodi Man Arrested for Drunk Driving following Accident in Wendy’s Parking Lot

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Arrests for driving while intoxicated can happen nearly any time and almost anywhere. As a New Jersey DWI attorney, I have represented numerous motorists accused of drunken driving where a seemingly simple fender-bender precipitated into a full-blown drunk driving arrest.

Lyndhurst, like that most other Garden State municipalities, sees its share DWI, drug DUI and breath-test refusal cases every month. Some of these cases arise out of normal traffic enforcement, while others are called in by citizens who believe they have observed drunken driving behavior. Not long ago, a Lodi, NJ, man was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol following an accident at a local Lyndhurst Wendy’s fast food restaurant.

According to news reports, Lyndhurst police officers responded to an early morning call from the manager of a Wendy’s on Ridge Road. The call, which came in just before 2am, alerted police to an incident at the restaurant where a light-colored vehicle apparently collided with the drive-through window before the driver, later identified as John Finn, fled the scene.

May 19, 2010

NJ Drunk Driving Defense News: Lyndhurst Police Net Two DWI Arrests Following Traffic Stops

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Not a single days goes by that some New Jersey motorist is pulled over by a State Police trooper or local law enforcement officer for some traffic infraction. It is not uncommon for such routine traffic stops to turn into drunk driving arrests, for a number of reasons. As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, my office provides a valuable service to individuals accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or prescription drug DUI.

Regardless of the circumstances, it is foolish to “take your medicine” and not fight a drunk driving charge. This is especially true for persons with jobs that require a valid driver’s license and an unblemished driving record. Even those people who do not rely on driving to support themselves and their family, a DWI conviction can have a lasting effect on an individual’s standing in the community and with their friend and relative.

The two recent arrests in Lyndhurst, NJ, illustrate the way in which motorists can be singled out by police and eventually charged with operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated.

May 12, 2010

NJ DWI News: Will New Law Increase Police Focus on Young Drivers, Drunk or Otherwise?

by Jonathan F. Marshall

A recently passed law requires drivers under the age of 21 to place a red sticker on their vehicle’s license plates. While the intent of the law appears to be a good-hearted attempt at traffic safety, as a New Jersey DWI defense attorney I tend to side with those claiming the $4 sticker will only invite unwarranted scrutiny and potential discrimination against a segment of the driving public.

When it comes to drunk driving enforcement, New Jersey State Police and municipal police officers are always on the lookout for motorists who may be operating their vehicles while impaired due to alcohol, prescription drugs or controlled dangerous substances (CDS). Young drivers who exhibit traffic behavior suggesting inebriation could quite possibly by singled out due to that red mark on their license plate.

According to an editorial, the new law that took effect on May 1 will must likely lead to discrimination against young drivers which probably wouldn’t happen without a red dot. According to the author, New Jersey is one of the top ten safest states for teenage drivers. Referring to the 2001 law that established a curfew for teenagers and significantly decreased the teen driver accident rates, the editorial asks if there is any good reason to put another law into effect.