CDS Possession in a Vehicle

September 5, 2013

Jersey DWI-DUI Police Blotter: Salem County Police Arrest Drivers on Drunken Driving, Drug Possession Charges

For the average motorist, being stopped by a police officer for impaired driving may not be that one expects to happen, but receiving a summons for drunken driving, drug DUI or even breath test refusal can be a serious situation, especially for someone who has limited means or cannot afford to give up his or her driving privileges for even a short duration. Relying on a qualified drunken driving defense attorney can often be a necessity when facing the many times harsh consequences of a first-time DWI conviction.

Here in the Garden State, drunken driving arrests during the summer months can be much more common than many drivers imagine. But even as we ease into fall, end of summer events with coworkers, family members and close friends can open a person up to the potential for a DWI-DUI arrest. Every week, it is possible to read about any number of drug- and alcohol-related traffic stops published by local and state news outlets.

Monmouth, Bergen, Ocean and Atlantic County are just a few of the areas where police enforcement of traffic laws and anti-drinking and driving statutes happen regularly. As professional drunken driving defense lawyers, my legal staff and I have seen our share of courtroom scenarios where auto accidents, drunk drivers, drug arrests and other civil and criminal cases play out; as such, we are no strangers to defending drivers accused of drug DUIs and alcohol-related traffic offenses.
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August 21, 2013

Cranford, NJ, Drunken Driving Police Blotter: Officers Take in Several Drivers for Alleged DWI

by Jonathan F. Marshall

In the course of driving throughout the Garden State, there’s a good chance that a percentage of motorists have seen roadside traffic stops from time to time. Whether those police stops are conducted at night or during the daytime; on the parkway or in the city, every week there are numerous New Jersey and out-of-state drivers who are stopped by state troopers or municipal cops for what may appear to be a rather minor traffic violation, but which ends up costing those people hundreds or thousands of dollars.

We’re talking, of course, about those traffic stops that develop into an alcohol or drug-related arrest. While not every police stop ends in an arrest for DWI or a summons for drug DUI, many New Jersey motorists in counties such as Bergen, Ocean and Monmouth discover the hard way that drinking and driving can land them in a courtroom to explain themselves before a judge.

This is where my law firm comes into play. As DWI defense attorneys and experienced trial lawyers, my legal staff understands this state’s drunken driving laws. We also understand the way in which otherwise law-abiding individuals can find themselves in the back of a police cruiser on the way to the local police department for a breath test and possible charges. Regardless of the final determination — be it impaired driving due to beer, wine or liquor; or some controlled dangerous substance (CDS) such as marijuana, cocaine or meth – the costs can be high.
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August 12, 2013

NJ Drunk Driving Police Blotter: Monmouth County Cops Rack Up More DWI-DUI Arrests

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, we can safely say that not every traffic stop by a state trooper or municipal patrolman will end up with an arrest or serious charges. That said, with a strong focus on curbing drunk driving across the Garden State, there are certainly a portion of those monthly police stops that do indeed result in an arrest or at least a summons to appear in court to answer for a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or impaired operation of a motor vehicle due to prescription drugs or even illicit substances like marijuana or cocaine.

In many of those DWI and drug DUI cases, as I and my staff of experienced trial lawyers understand very well, motorists are taken into custody and charged with one or more offenses pertaining to intoxicated driving. In such instances, even the most simple of driving mistakes can be a trigger for a DWI arrest. As motorists ourselves, it is easy to see how even the most law-abiding person might make an occasional improper turn or mistakenly change lanes without signaling.

Although the frequency of drunken driving arrests fluctuate from week to week, there always seem to be more than enough opportunity for a driver, who may only have had one or two drinks prior to getting behind the wheel, to be stopped for a minor infraction. Whether one is legally drunk or not, the mere appearance of being “not quite with it” or acting a little intoxicated during a traffic stop could cause a police officer to decide to make a DWI-related arrest.
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August 6, 2013

DWI Police Blotter: Arrests across Monmouth County include Drunken Driving and CDS Possession

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As potentially fallible individuals, few among us can actually state that they are perfect in every respect. As experienced trial attorneys who make it our job to defend individuals accused of civil offenses and criminal acts, the legal staff at my law firm recognizes that many people have occasional shortcomings that sometimes result in a well-intentioned individual being arrested for a traffic offense such as DWI or drug DUI. It’s just part of human nature to make mistakes, and we fully understand this.

Fortunately, our society is based on laws and we have courts and judges to decide if a person is guilty or innocent of any particular crime or infraction of which he or she has been accused. Once a verdict is rendered, penalties for a convicted person are meted out. In the case of DWI-DUI, defendants who are found guilty of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs can find the monetary costs to be rather expensive.

For economic reasons alone, it would seem to be in most people’s best interests to choose a qualified drunk driving defense lawyer to represent them. For our part, we usually recommend that anyone accused of drunk driving, breath test refusal or any of a myriad of DWI and DUI-related offenses, consider retaining an experienced legal professional. At the very least, it is wise to consult a trial attorney who is skilled in DWI law.
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August 2, 2013

Drug DUI News: Marijuana-related DUI Legislation Passes into Law in Colorado

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Driving while under the influence of marijuana in the Garden State is actually covered under the same statutes as the state’s alcohol-related DWI laws. While marijuana is the most common variety of “illegal” drug when it comes to a drug DUI charge, many motorists every year are accused of impaired operation of a motor vehicle because of cocaine, meth, heroin and other illicit substances, sometimes referred to as controlled dangerous substances or CDS.

As New Jersey drunk driving defense attorneys, a portion of our work is representing individuals who have been stopped by a police officer for what would normally be a routine traffic infraction, yet who end up being arrested and charged with either drug DUI or CDS possession in a motor vehicle. As we mentioned previously, although the law (specifically, N.J.S.A. 39:4-50) has been couched in terms of “driving while intoxicated” from alcohol, the statutes are written so as to include physical intoxication from any and all substance.

In addition to alcohol, the state’s DWI-DUI laws encompass impairment from all manner of CDS including narcotics, hallucinogens or any habit forming drugs. This is why, if a motorist is arrested for operating their vehicle while under the influence of marijuana, they are charged with a violation of the statues listed under 39:4-50. More importantly, however, unlike an alcohol-related DWI case (which usually entails evidence from a breathalyzer device such as the Alcotest machine), a marijuana-related DUI case usually involves scientific evidence in the form of a blood test or urine test.
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July 28, 2013

New Jersey Drunk Driving Police Blotter: Officers in Middlesex and Monmouth County Arrest Drivers for DWI

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Prosecutions of motorists accused of driving while intoxicated can unfold in a number of different ways here in the Garden State. In situations where a driver is charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol usually focus on whether or not the defendant was impaired by beer, wine, hard liquor of some other type of alcoholic beverage. Arrests made on the basis of having a blood-alcohol content (BAC) reading of 0.08 percent or more is typically referred to as a “per se” charge.

As New Jersey drunk driving defense attorneys, I and my legal team understands New Jersey’s DWI-DUI law, which can be unusual in several ways. First off, unlike many other states across the country, New Jersey doesn’t give accused DWI or drug DUI offenders the right to a jury trial. A motorist accused of driving while intoxicated in the Garden State is entitled only to a court trial, where a judge is the sole decider of guilt or innocence. Naturally, there are various advantages and disadvantages to this approach.

One important “advantage” for those defendants who are found guilty by a judge of DWI-DUI in New Jersey is that the guilty party has the right to an appeal, known in legal circles as a “de novo” appeal. In cases where the defendant loses his initial DWI case, the de novo appeal allows the appellant to bring his case before a county-level Superior Court judge, who will review the trial transcripts and listen to arguments from both the motorist’s lawyer and the state’s attorney.
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July 4, 2013

NJ Drunk Driving News: Three Garden State Drivers Compound DWI with Additional Offenses in Middlesex County

by Jonathan F. Marshall

In Atlantic, Ocean, Monmouth, Middlesex, Passaic, and Morris County, not to mention the dozen-plus other counties around the Garden State, it is not appropriate to operate a motor vehicle while legally intoxicated as provided in the New Jersey legal statutes. If you or someone you know have been arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving under the influence of prescription drugs (drug DUI), you may have already started searching for a drunk driving defense attorney who may be able to assist in your defense.

One of the more important things to remember if ever you find yourself named in a DWI or DUI case is that New Jersey prosecutors, in general, are taught that confronting a defendant in court will be typically more difficult if that individual has retained a DWI lawyer to assist him or her against the state’s accusations. Being found not guilty following a charge of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, doctor-prescribed medication or illicit drugs is a matter of finding many or all of the prosecution’s key legal arguments to be defective.

As long-term DWI defense attorneys, the attorneys at my law firm have the skills and courtroom experience to identify problems with the prosecution’s case and use those to the client’s ultimate advantage. Depending on the particular circumstances surrounding the defendant’s arrest and subsequent charging in a drunk driving case, a skilled lawyer may be able to work out a favorable sentence, or better yet, help the accused motorist to avoid a conviction completely.
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June 14, 2013

NJ DWI Police Blotter: Morris and Warren Officers Make Numerous Drunk Driving Traffic Stops

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Drunk driving arrests are hardly uncommon here in the Garden State, with our large population and plenty of vehicles on the road. But while intoxicated driving maybe a year-round occurrence throughout the state, the incidences of impaired motor vehicle operation can become especially frequent when the weather starts to warm up and the summer tourist season begins anew. With numerous family get-togethers, company picnics, and out-of-towners streaming into beach and resort areas, police all around the state are on alert for potentially inebriated motorists.

Whether one lives, works or travels through Monmouth County, or Ocean, Atlantic or Cape May, a wide variety of alcohol- and prescription drug-related arrests can be seen nearly any day of the week in the various police blotter pages published by local news outlets. As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, my legal team has seen its share of courtroom scenarios involving all manner of drunk driving, breath-test refusal and drug DUI cases.

Regardless of the circumstances, from alcohol-related car and truck accidents to drug-impaired motorists taken into custody and charged with DUI, our court system is witness to a constant stream of DWI-DUI cases, many of which are thrown out due to lack of proper evidence or incorrect police procedures. For these last two reasons alone it is never a bad idea to consult with an experienced trial lawyer skilled in DWI-DUI litigation. Certainly, understanding one’s legal rights and weighing the possible options is usually to a person’s advantage.
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March 11, 2013

Toms River Police Blotter: Drug Possession and Drunk Driving Arrests in Ocean County, NJ

by Jonathan F. Marshall

For anyone who has not been arrested by police for drunken driving and charged with DWI or drug DUI, we would suggest that for most people it can be an embarrassing, belittling and potentially costly experience. For many motorists, just being pulled over by a state patrolman or a local municipal police officer can be a nerve-racking encounter. Being nervous can have its own drawbacks when a police officer is already convinced that a driver may have been drinking before getting behind the wheel of his or her automobile.

We understand how a normally law-abiding person, faced with a traffic stop and perhaps having had a drink or two earlier in the day might appear a little bit off his game, especially in the presence of an authority figure like a New Jersey state trooper. As experienced DWI defense lawyers, I and my team of highly skilled trial attorneys are devoted to our job of representing individuals accused of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated. This also goes for drivers charged with impairment by doctor-prescribed medications (drug DUI) and even those motorists accused of driving under the influence of illegal drugs or possessing a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) in an automobile.

For those charged with alcohol intoxication, after the initial stop and arrest, the driver will likely be taken to the local police headquarters where he or she will be asked to provide a breath sample using a breath-testing device like the Alcotest 7110. Should this happen to you, it is wise to remember everything about the arrest, most importantly the circumstances surrounding the actual breath testing as well as the exact blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) reading.
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February 10, 2013

Union County DWI Police Blotter: Cranford and Clark Officers Make Multiple Drunken Driving, CDS Arrests

by Jonathan F. Marshall

For those who have never been stopped by a police officer for a traffic violation, it may be hard to imagine what it feels like not only to be stopped for a moving violation, but to be asked to perform a field sobriety test because that patrolman believes that you have been drinking. Forget embarrassment; most people have no idea how nerve-racking and confidence shaking a drunken driving arrest can truly be.

As experienced New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, my firm is dedicated to helping those individuals who believe they have either been falsely accused of drunk driving or drug DUI (prescription medication or illegal substances), or who feel that they have a legitimate case for a reduced charge based on the way in which the traffic stop and DWI/DUI arrest was handled by the police officer in charge. My legal staff is ready to fight for our clients’ rights.

Every day, from news agencies all around the Garden State you can find examples of traffic stops that ended in an arrest for driving under the influence. The following news items out of Union County, NJ, are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the shear range of DWI and DUI arrest scenarios.
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