Breath Test Results

May 14, 2010

DWI News: New Jersey State Police Trooper Gets Multiple Passes for Driving Under the Influence

Being arrested, much less convicted, of drunken driving can adversely impact an individual’s personal and work life. In fact, careers have been ended by DWI convictions. This just one of many pitfalls as a result of being arrested for DWI or drug DUI here in the Garden State. As a New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyer, I know what happens to motorists arrested and charged with driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Having worked as a municipal prosecutor in years past, I am particularly sensitive when I read that a law enforcement officer has apparently taken advantage of their position to avoid punishment for an alleged crime. It’s a sad fact that many times police officers who enforce drunken driving laws will themselves get a “pass” from other officers if stopped for driving while intoxicated.

According to a recent news article, State Police Trooper Sheila McKaig was reportedly stopped 10 times for various offenses including DWI over a period of 14 months, yet she never received a citation in New Jersey for any of those incidents. The most recent one occurred in Atlantic City in 2008 when McKaig was let go after she was pulled over by another officer on suspicion of DWI.

May 6, 2010

New Jersey DWI Defense Update: What Every Driver Should Know If Stopped for Drunk Driving — Part Two

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Understanding how the police and court system approaches drunk driving offenders is the first step in preparing yourself for a possible DWI arrest in the future. Of course, no one wants to be charged with driving while intoxicated and most people are usually unprepared when it does happen. But being taken into custody for driving under the influence is the beginning of a protracted extended process.

As a New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyer and former municipal prosecutor, I believe knowledge is power. Below are some additional pieces of information that go along with a previous entry elsewhere in this blog. My hope is this may help some drivers when if and when they are pulled over for DWI, drug DUI or marijuana possession in a vehicle.

When it comes to drunk driving, a police officer may suspect that you have been operating your car or truck while impaired. One way for the patrolman to make a decision on whether to take you to police headquarters for a breath test is the use of several standardized field sobriety tests.

Field sobriety tests are one of the main tools of law enforcement and can be used as one of many pieces of evidence to prove that you were, in fact, under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs at the time of the arrest. These tests typically involve three separate tests:

1) The walk-and-turn test 2) The one leg stand test 3) The horizontal gaze nystagmus
This last one is something many people have seen in the movies and on TV where the patrolman asks the subject to follow a light or a finger with his eyes from one side to the other.

In addition to these tests, the officer will be watching and noting nearly every thing you say or do during the traffic stop, all of which may be used in court as evidence to gain a DWI or drug DUI conviction. Even how you get out of your car can be noted and used against you by the prosecutor’s office.
Continue reading

May 2, 2010

New Jersey DWI Update: Court Holds that DWI Testing Rules Don’t Apply to Current Cases

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Not long ago a New Jersey appellate court made its decision in the case of STATE v. HANNA, No. A-5256-08T4 (N.J.A.D. 2010). In this appeals case, the appellant, Douglas Hanna, argued that his drunk driving conviction was not valid because certain procedures that are now required for the collection of evidence through chemical-based blood-alcohol content (BAC) measurement testing were not in place when he was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated.

As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, I know there are many instances where an appeal can make sense following an unfavorable judgment in a drunk driving, drug DUI or breath test refusal case. In fact, I and my colleagues are experienced in this area and work aggressively to defend motorists who are caught on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs.

In the case of Mr. Hanna, he was picked up for drunk driving on November 21 of 2007. Following his arrest, he was transported to the hospital due to complaints of chest pain. After being released from the facility, approximately two hours later, the police officer in charge detected the odor of alcohol on Hanna’s breath. The man did consent to a breath alcohol test conducted on an Alcotest device, which returned a BAC of 0.18 percent. According to court records, the device had last been calibrated seven months prior.

April 26, 2010

NJ Drunk Driving Defense Update: New Jersey Appellate Court Upholds DWI Conviction per Chun

by Jonathan F. Marshall

When fighting a drunken driving charge, a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer will use all of his experience to help his client get a fair trial. Since being arrested and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol is a serious offense with long-lasting and potentially detrimental effects on a person’s life and livelihood, a drunk driving attorney will use the law in an effort to achieve the most favorable outcome.

The court will usually consider the defense’s arguments and weigh those against that of the prosecution. A recent New Jersey appellate court decision (STATE V. UZUPIS) upheld one man’s appeal of a drunk driving conviction. The circumstances of the arrest appeared to be questionable, which is why the defense files an appeal.

According to the original case tried in an Atlantic County court, Luke J. Uzupis had been arrested after police found him sleeping in his running vehicle. At that time, a police officer spotted the man’s car parked at a closed gas station around midnight. The headlights were reportedly will on and the engine was running.

April 22, 2010

New Jersey DWI Police Blotter: Bergen County, NJ, Drunk Driving and Marijuana Possession Arrests

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Marijuana CDS

In a possible drug DUI incident in North Arlington, NJ, two 20-year-olds in a light truck were stopped by a police officer who had been alerted by local residents to a possible marijuana drug deal going on in a local neighborhood. The traffic stop occurred on Belmont Avenue just before 4pm on a weekday. When the two men — who apparently were passengers in the truck — denied holding any marijuana, the officer told them that he would call in a drug sniffing dog to investigate. At that point, one man reportedly ran from the scene. He was eventually caught and arrested. Both he and the other 20-year-old were charged with possession of controlled substance and later released on summonses.

In Lyndhurst on a Saturday evening, police approached an apparently suspicious looking car that was sitting in a lot on Chubb Avenue. As officers approached the occupied vehicle, they could detect the reportedly strong odor of marijuana coming from the car. Based on police reports, a 15-year-old passenger and resident of Belleville, NJ, was charged with possession of marijuana.

April 2, 2010

New Jersey Drunk Driving News: Will Anti-DWI Breathalyzer-Ignition Interlocks Cause Traffic Accidents?

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Since the passing of another anti-drunk driving bill in the state legislature earlier this year, some people have voiced concern over the safety of ignition interlock devices, which are designed to disable a vehicle if the operator’s blood-alcohol content (BAC) is over a certain level. The law requires even those convicted of a first-time DWI violation to have the breathalyzer-type device installed on their vehicle.

As a New Jersey lawyer who defends motorists charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, I was not surprised by the passage of this law especially considering the strong public support for most any DWI, drug DUI or other drunken driving offenses. Not only does a conviction for driving while intoxicated carry a stigma that is not easily lost, court costs, fines and increased insurance premiums only add to the burden, even for first-time offenders.

Recently, an editorial addressed the concern of having so many vehicles fitted with a breathalyzer-ignition interlock device. The fear is that these devices might cause additional distractions or literally shut off the vehicle as it is traveling on a busy expressway, possibly causing an accident.

March 31, 2010

Morristown Judge Sentences Oak Ridge Man to Three Years in Prison for DWI Injury Accident

by Jonathan F. Marshall

A resident of Oak Ridge, NJ, was recently given three years in jail for a May, 2009, drunk driving accident that left a 71-year-old newspaper delivery man with multiple injuries. As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, my firm handles drunken driving cases through the Garden State. I know from experience that severe injury accidents involving alcohol can land a motorist in prison very easily.

In this particular case, the defendant was found guilty of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Furthermore, the man had apparently tried to elude Jefferson Township police while driving drunk a second time months after the accident, something that never improves one’s chances in court. As a former municipal prosecutor, I understand the strategies used by prosecuting attorneys when it comes to DWI offenders.

According to news reports, Superior Court Judge David Ironson sentenced 23-year-old Ibrahim Hasan to three years in prison for having deprived the victim, Oak Ridge resident Jerry Begley, of what should have been his golden years.

March 26, 2010

DWI Defense Law Update: NJ Appellate Court Overturns Decision on Sentencing for Convicted Drunk Drivers

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Recently there was an important change to New Jersey drunk driving law affecting the sentencing of motorists convicted of DWI offenses. According to reports, a New Jersey appellate court overturned a decision that had stood as a precedent for the past 17 years. As a New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyer, my aim is to help those accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs get a fair hearing. Changes such as this latest decision will have a great affect on DWI case going forward.

The recent appellate court ruling states that any previous convictions for the violation of New Jersey’s implied consent law must now be considered as prior DWI convictions where drunk driving sentencing is concerned.

The case in question, State v. Ciancaglini, No. A-2785-08T4 (N.J.A.D. 2010), was brought by the state of New Jersey as an appeal to the sentencing of Eileen Ciancaglini, a woman charged with drunk driving back in May 2008 (at that time Ciancaglini blew a 0.17 percent BAC on a breathalyzer).

Ciancaglini had already been convicted of drunk driving in 1979; she was also convicted of refusing a chemical alcohol test in 2006. When she pled guilty to the 2008 DWI charge she was sentenced as a third-time offender by the municipal court (Here in New Jersey, drunk driving defendants have the right to appeal the decisions of municipal courts to New Jersey Superior Court, which is exactly what Ciancaglini did).

In that appeal, the Superior Court used a precedent established in State v. DiSomma, 262 N.J.Super. 375 (N.J.A.D. 1993). In the case, the court found that prior refusal convictions did not count as prior DWI convictions under New Jersey’s DWI sentencing statute, N.J.S.A. 39:4-50. (This law also requires the court that sentences the defendant to discount a conviction so long as it occurred more than 10 years prior to the current conviction.)
Continue reading

March 24, 2010

NJ Drunk Driving Defense: Valid Breath Tests Require a Minimum 20-Minute Observation Period

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As a New Jersey drunk driving defense attorney, I and my fellow lawyers must know all the details of DWI law and the processes that law enforcement agencies use to determine legal intoxication due to alcohol consumption. Part of this knowledge is how a breath testing machine, such as the Alcotest device, is used and procedures required by law that make any reading valid and useful in a court of law.

In New Jersey, the law states that for a breathalyzer machine to yield readings that can be used with confidence, the operator must ensure that at least 20 minutes have elapsed since the drunk driving suspect’s last ingestion of alcohol before administering the test. The reason for this is to avoid any possible presence of what is termed “mouth alcohol.” If this observation period is not followed, there is a chance that the machine can give a falsely high reading, as per State v. Downie, 117 N.J. 450, 455 (1990).

Although the term “ingestion,” is used here, the main purpose of the 20-minute time interval is so the breathalyzer operator can be assured that there is no alcohol present in the suspect’s mouth at the time of testing. As stated previously, any residual alcohol in the person’s mouth could cause an inaccurate measure of breath alcohol, which would invalidate the reading and call into question the procedures used by police.

March 22, 2010

Drunk Driving Defense News: New Jersey Man Faces 60 Years in Prison for Fatal DWI Accident

by Jonathan F. Marshall

A Morris County jury recently convicted a Dover, NJ, resident in connection with the April 2006 deaths of two teenage girls. As a result of the guilty verdict for aggravated manslaughter, the defendant Eugene Baum, Jr. could be looking at a maximum of 60 years in prison for the fatal drunk driving-related accident.

As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, my law firm handles cases not unlike this one on a regular basis. Because of the facts in the case, it’s not surprising that the prosecutors would be seeking the maximum sentence of 60 years in jail for the defendant. According to news reports, the accident occurred in Kinnelon, NJ, on April 20, 2006, when Baum ran over the two cousins while operating his vehicle in an apparent drunken stupor.

News articles stated that the jury deliberated for three hours before declaring the 48-year-old Dover resident guilty of two counts each of aggravated manslaughter and death-by-auto. Following the guilty verdict, the Morris County Prosecutor said his office would seek a 60-year sentence — 30 years apiece for the aggravated manslaughters. The accident took the lives of 16-year-old Athear Jafar and 15-year-old Mayada Jafar.