CDS Possession in a Vehicle

November 17, 2013

Drunken Driving Police Blotter: Monmouth and Ocean County Police Charge Several Drivers with DWI, DUI

Here in the Garden State, one could say that DWI arrests are hardly uncommon, especially at times of the year when seasonal celebrations or holiday vacations mean more parties and family gatherings than usual throughout the state. As New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense experts, the legal staff at my firm understands the ease with which a normally law-abiding individual can find himself taken into custody by a local or state police officer and charged with drunken or impaired driving.

Although getting pulled over happens to thousands of motorists every year, those who exhibit behaviors that lead a patrolman to suspect alcohol consumption or use of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) could be facing stiff penalties down the road. Receiving a DWU or drug DUI summons can be a nerve-racking experience for most anyone who has never even had a traffic ticket for a simple moving violation.

Nevertheless, quite often a drunk driving summons or an arrest for possession of a CDS in a motor vehicle can begin with the most innocent of driving errors. We see it in news articles and in court transcripts all of the time; Failure to signal a turn, faulty headlights or license plate lamps, and even a chipped windshield can open a motorist up to scrutiny by a municipal cop or state trooper.
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November 16, 2013

Ocean County DWI News: Berkeley Police Net Half-dozen Drunken Drivers during Late-night Checkpoint

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Success can be measured in many ways. For the police it can often mean the total number of traffic tickets or felony arrests over a month’s time. When it comes to sobriety checkpoints, we often read of successful efforts resulting in drunken driving and drug DUI charges against motorists who were pulled over at any number of roadside DWI checkpoints. The result, for many of the drivers served summonses at these locations may be fines or even jail time, depending on their particular circumstances.

As New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyers, we have seen numerous individuals who have been stopped at one of these late evening police roadblocks only to be arrested for operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. Despite concerns over the legality of sobriety checkpoints, the practice continues all across the Garden State.

Known variously as DUI checkpoints, drunk driving roadblocks or DWI checkpoints, the purpose of these so-called sobriety roadblocks is primarily to deter motorists from driving their vehicles vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, prescription medication, or an illegal substances (also known as a controlled dangerous substance or CDS).
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October 30, 2013

Ocean County Drunk Driving Police Blotter: Manchester, Stafford, Lacey and Toms River DWI Arrests

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As drunk driving defense attorneys, my legal staff handles a wide range of alcohol- and drug-related cases every year. The defendants in those DWI-related cases have usually been arrested following a roadside police stop arising typically from a rudimentary traffic-related offense. Other accused drunken drivers may have been taken into custody following a traffic accident or an encounter with police at one of the many sobriety checkpoints erected monthly around the state.

Whatever the situation, those individuals who have been detained or arrested and subsequently charged with a DWI, drug DUI, breathalyzer refusal, or other related offense can often find themselves going before a judge who will hear their case. A number of the dozens upon dozens of drinking and driving cases heard every month across the Garden State started off as arrests listed in the police blotter pages of local and state newspapers and news-related websites.

Every week, for those who may be curious, the police blotter section of various news outlets pages enumerate a variety of scenarios in which average drivers have found themselves arrested and charged with an alcohol- or prescription drug-related DWI or DUI offense. Whether the arrest happens in Middlesex, Hudson, Monmouth or Bergen County, as professional DWI defense lawyers, my colleagues and I have participated in our share of hearings, from car or truck collisions caused by allegedly intoxicated drivers to those motorists accused of possessing a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) in a motor vehicle.
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October 25, 2013

Arrest for Marijuana Possession in a Motor Vehicle Can be Cause for Concern

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Concern about one’s future can be a nagging thing especially when that future hangs on a courtroom hearing for marijuana possession in a car, or a cannabis-related drug DUI arrest. Not only is marijuana one of the most common drugs encountered by police in the New Jersey area, but arrests involving marijuana, hash, weed or pot are certainly as frequent, if not more so, as those for other controlled dangerous substances (CDSs) such as cocaine and narcotic-based pharmaceuticals.

When one realizes that an estimated $30-plus billion of pot is grown in all across the United States annually, it shouldn’t be too surprising that marijuana-related motor vehicle arrests occur quite frequently. In fact, the attorneys at my law firm have more than 40 years of experience defending drivers and other individuals against marijuana-related offenses throughout New Jersey. For myself, as a former municipal prosecutor and now a DUI-DWI and criminal defense attorney, I have been involved in literally hundreds of cases during my career.

As DWI and drug DUI defense lawyers, my legal staff is familiar With drunk driving, alcohol and drug possession cases held in both municipal and county courts throughout the state. Whether a charge is cannabis-related charges. Whether you have been charged with marijuana possession in a vehicle, drunk driving or breath test refusal, the attorneys at my firm have the expertise to defend clients against marijuana, CDS and alcohol-related charges.
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October 22, 2013

Garden State DWI Defense Update: Driving Drunk in New Jersey is a Bad Bet

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Driving drunk in Monmouth, Union, Bergen or Atlantic County is greatly discouraged by more than just a few safety advocates and law enforcement agencies. But besides the obvious downside of being impaired when piloting a 3,500-pound motor vehicle at parkway speeds, there are the legal and financial implications to consider should one be accused of doing so by the police. As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, my firm has a good idea of the odds that a driver who has had a couple drinks might end up being pulled over and arrested for driving while intoxicated.

Is it worth the gamble? We’d say not, especially considering all of the opportunities these days that police have to catch an unsuspecting motorist who may or may not have had too much alcohol, or possibly be impaired by prescription drugs. While some people know that a cop can’t stop a vehicle simply on the hunch that the driver is inebriated, there are many ways in which a municipal patrolman or state trooper can legitimately stop a motorist on the road for a traffic infraction; after which the really serious problems can begin if alcohol or drug use is suspected by the officer.

Being pulled over by a police officer can begin in any number of ways, but only a few of them would be considered very serious in the minds of most motorists. As such, it is easy to imagine that even the most innocuous driving error or vehicle infraction could possibly land a person in police headquarters with a possible alcohol or drug-related impaired driving charge hanging over his or her head. As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, my colleagues and I are more than aware of the manner in which many drivers find themselves answering a summons for driving while intoxicated in the Garden State.
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October 18, 2013

Salem County Police Blotter: Multiple Arrests for DWI and Drug Possession in a Vehicle

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Living and working here in the Garden State, one finds that police activity on our highways and byways is certainly not hidden from everyday commuters. Whether driving through Mercer, Union, Somerset or Monmouth County, motorists are witness to routine traffic stops nearly every day on the parkway or interstates, city streets and rural routes. Of those frequent roadside occurrences, drunk driving arrests are hardly uncommon, especially during the holidays and warmer months.

As New Jersey DWI-DUI defense lawyers, my colleagues and I have for years provided our services to motorists who have been accused of driving while intoxicated. Whether coming from a company social function, family picnic or other friendly gathering, if alcohol was consumed — even in small quantities — there exists the opportunity for a DWI arrest. Frankly, being pulled over for driving under the influence of alcohol in Jersey is almost a regular occurrence in some parts of the state.

In any case, a wide range of alcohol- and drug-related police arrests can be read about in almost any newspaper or online news site. As professional legal experts, my staff have seen their fair share of courtroom scenarios play out over the years. From DWI-related auto accidents and underage drunk driving, to arrests involving CDS (controlled dangerous substance) possession in a motor vehicle or drug DUI, my firm has the legal background and the trial experience to represent clients who wish to fight for their rights under the law.
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October 9, 2013

Son of Former D.C. Mayor, Marion Barry, Charged with Marijuana-connected Drug DUI and Possession

by Jonathan F. Marshall

To many people a DWI is just a DWI; it’s an instance of being charged by a police officer for driving under the influence of alcohol. However, there are other types of impaired driving offenses, the more serious of which can be those that go under the heading of drug DUI. While alcohol can and does affect a driver’s judgment, as well as his or her ability to react to traffic situations, drugs of all types can cause a person to be less able to operate a motor vehicle.

For the above reasons, the New Jersey legislature has enacted laws that make it illegal to drive a car, motorcycle or truck while impaired by any number of substances. Whether a motorist is impaired because of a bad prescription drug interaction, or due to the use of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) like marijuana or cocaine, our legal statutes (for instance, N.J.S.A. 39:4-50[a]) make it a chargeable offense for operating a vehicle while under the influence of hallucinogenic, narcotic, or habit producing drugs.

Unlike alcohol-based DWI offenses, a drug DUI charge has often been pursued by local prosecutors’ offices using expert opinions as to the effect that a certain type of substance had on the defendant’s ability to operate a motor vehicle. When approaching DWI and drug DUI cases, the term “under the influence” has generally been defined to mean a “substantial” deterioration or diminution of an individual’s mental faculties or physical capabilities due to an intoxicating liquor, a narcotic, a hallucinogenic or a habit producing drug.
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October 2, 2013

Gloucester County Drunk Driving News: DWI Traffic Accident and Numerous DWI-DUI Arrests

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Pick almost any community from across the Garden State and you will likely see at least a handful of drunk driving incidents occur there nearly every month. Being the most densely populated state in the Union, it is hardly surprising that New Jersey state troopers and local cops make more than 20,000 DWI arrests every year. Add to that the nearly 200 fatal accidents that make up about a third of all deadly roadway collisions and anyone can see that DWI-DUI enforcement is backed by both the public and the government.

Whether one is talking about Middlesex County, Bergen County, Ocean County or Atlantic County, the incidences of police traffic stops that result in an arrest for intoxicated driving or drug-related impaired operation of a motor vehicle is based on the number of individuals who are drunk on the road at the time. While a police officer is prohibited by law from stopping a driver only on the basis of a hunch that the person is inebriated, if there is a traffic violation, the door can be opened to a potential DUI-DWI arrest.

As New Jersey drunken driving defense lawyers, we fully understand the trepidation that many motorists feel after being served with a summons for drunk driving. The prospect of going before a judge, with a prosecutor and the arresting officer more or less gunning for that individual can put a certain amount of stress on a person. As DWI attorneys, my colleagues and I are always ready to assist accused drunk drivers fight for their rights in court.
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September 18, 2013

NJ Drunk Driving Police Blotter: DWI and CDS Arrests in Middelsex and Cumberland Counties

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As Garden State DWI defense attorneys, we know that our perspective on drunk drivers may be somewhat different that that of the police or legislators in Trenton. Where law enforcement agencies do not have much sympathy for drivers who drink and drive on New Jersey roadways, our job as DWI defense lawyers is to consider all of the facts and the specific circumstances of each case and present a thoughtful argument to the court on our clients’ behalf.

When it comes to operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated, my colleagues and I know that errors in judgment can and do occur on a regular basis in this country. We know that many people who are arrested for drunken driving (who the law refers to as first-time offenders) never consciously decided to break the law, but rather did not realize they we legally impaired to begin with. Of course, once a traffic stop is made, it can be up to the opinion of the officer in charge whether or not to arrest the motorist.

With all the focus on anti-DWI enforcement, it is not too surprising that there will be from time to time motorists arrested and charged with drunk driving who have been either unfairly accused of DWI or who may have extenuating circumstance that made the officer believe that individual was impaired at the time of the traffic stop. Either way, it is the job of this law office to provide an important service of representation to these and other people who seek our counsel.
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September 14, 2013

Driver Found Asleep at the Wheel in Ocean County Arrested for DWI and Drug Possession

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Impaired driving aside, being arrested for a drug possession charge is nothing to take lightly. Having marijuana, cocaine, meth, or any other type of narcotic or habit producing substance in one’s possession can lead to bad results. As Garden State criminal lawyers and drunken driving defense attorneys, we often see situations where a simple traffic offense may lead to a worse outcome.

The reality these days is how easily a case of simple drug possession in a motor vehicle, or even possession with intent to distribute can become a much more complicated situation with serious criminal penalties attached. As criminal defense attorneys, we understand how charges for cocaine, weed or other illegal substance has the potential to become bring with it enhanced penalty exposure, including jail time.

Taking into effect the numerous factors associated with cocaine possession, for instance, law enforcement agencies in the Garden State have been rather aggressive in pursuing and arresting individuals believed to be involved in this type of drug. New Jersey’s Drug Court was instituted to help those people who have an addiction problem, as opposed to those who may be in the drug “business.” In any case, being stopped on the roadside with illegal drugs in one’s possession is not desirable under any circumstances.
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