Drug DWI

July 7, 2009

Morris County, NJ, Drunk Driving News: DWI and Drug DUI Police Blotter

Mount Olive

A 57-year-old Hackettstown woman was stopped by police last Saturday and charged with driving while intoxicated, failure to stay within her lane, and reckless driving. The drunk driving arrest occurred in Morris County, New Jersey, following a traffic stop on Oakwood Drive. The lady was released and currently has a court appearance pending.

Several potential drug DUIs recently occurred this past weekend. The first involved a 17-year-old juvenile from Long Valley, NJ, who was stopped by police for failure stay within his lane, as well as drug possession in vehicle. The stop took place on Route 46, after which the young man was released to one of his parents.

July 2, 2009

DWI-DUI Sobriety Checkpoint Scheduled for Ocean Township, NJ, this July 4th Weekend

by Jonathan F. Marshall

New Jersey’s drunk driving laws will be strictly enforced this Fourth of July weekend, especially in Ocean Township, Monmouth County, where a sobriety checkpoint will be in effect from Friday evening until early Saturday morning. Sobriety checkpoints are frequently used by police and other law enforcement agencies to identify drunk drivers and make arrests for DWI and driving under the influence of illegal or prescription drugs.

As part of these sobriety roadblocks, police usually ask drivers suspected of driving while intoxicated to take one or more field sobriety tests. Breath testing apparatus, such as the Alcotest machine, are also employed to determine the specific content of alcohol in an individual’s bloodstream. The legal limit in New Jersey is 0.08 percent blood alcohol content (BAC).

This latest sobriety checkpoint will be set up on Ocean Avenue in the borough of Deal and remain in effect from 11pm Friday through 3am. Task force members and officers from the Deal Police Department will pull vehicles from the northbound lanes into the Deal Casino Beach Club parking lot to determine drivers’ sobriety, according to a press release issued by Brielle Police Chief Michael W. Palmer, task force coordinator.

June 12, 2009

Drug DUI in New Jersey: Marijuana Possession in a Vehicle

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As a New Jersey resident, have you been issued a summons for possession of marijuana, or weed, in a motor vehicle? Or worse, been charged with drug DUI, or DWI, involving marijuana? With the likely increase in the legal use of medical marijuana in New Jersey and other states, it is conceivable that use of this drug may become more prevalent. Meanwhile, there is obviously a steady illegal trade in marijuana ongoing now throughout the Garden State. As a drug, the use of marijuana can affect a person’s ability to operate a motor vehicle.

If marijuana is found in your car, the police will usually issue a summons for possession in a motor vehicle. As experienced DWI and marijuana DUI defense attorneys, we at the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall are fully prepared to defend you or a loved one in court. We know drunk driving and DUI law inside and out, which is why you can turn to us when faced with a driving under the influence or possession charge.

Under New Jersey law, persons are prohibited from operating a motor vehicle while knowingly in possession of marijuana. You should know that this law (N.J.S.A. 39:4-49.1) is directed at the driver of a vehicle and does not apply to the other occupants. In order to prove a violation, the state must establish several facts:

May 25, 2009

New Jersey Drivers Arrested for DWI, DUI by Middle Township Police

by Jonathan F. Marshall

May 23 was an eventful day for Middle Township Police, who stopped and arrested one driver for drunk driving and a second for drug DUI within the township limits. In the first instance, officers were alerted to a possible intoxicated driver operating his vehicle erratically on SH47.

Police found a 27-year-old man from Woodbine sitting in a silver Lexus, which was stopped on Goshen Road near SH47. Police had maneuvered behind the suspect’s vehicle when the driver, Daniel B. Carson, then attempted to leave and crashed into a second police cruiser arriving at the scene. The man was arrested on the spot for drunk driving, issued a total of nine summonses, and had his car impounded. Carson was later charged with lewdness at police headquarters and subsequently taken to Cape May County Jail in lieu of $1,500 bail.

As a New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense attorney and former prosecutor, I know that the police have no tolerance for blatant DWI behavior. Running into a police car while in an allegedly intoxicated state is a clear sign that a defendant will have a difficult row to hoe in court. This is why it is imperative that you retain profession legal assistance to handle your drunk driving case. The other stop that day was somewhat worse, as it involved drugs, according to police reports.

May 5, 2009

New Jersey DWI / DUI Police Blotter

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Hackettstown — In what initially could have been a DWI drug arrest on Saturday, April 25, a K-9 police unit from Washington Township found 34 bags of heroin in a vehicle occupied by a young woman and a 22-year-old man from Fairfield, NJ. The man was eventually charged with possession of heroin and a hypodermic needle following the traffic stop on Stiger Street. He was then sent to the Warren County jail with bail set at $5,000. The 18-year-old female driver and owner of the vehicle was issued a summons for a vehicle violation and released.

Montville — A number of teenagers were charged with underage alcohol possession by police who were responding to a Saturday night complaint regarding a large party just off Bonnie View Lane. Upon arriving at around 10:30 p.m., officers encountered a large group of minors leaving the scene. A juvenile driver was also charged with violation of his provisional driver’s license. There were no arrests for underage DWI.

Montville — An 18-year-old man from Pine Brook, New Jersey, was charged with possession of marijuana in a vehicle on the evening of Friday, April 24, after police checked a car parked on Briarcliff Road with four people inside. A juvenile that was present was charged with obstruction.

April 30, 2009

Could New Jersey DWI Laws Soon Apply to Drowsy Driving?

by Jonathan F. Marshall

It sure doesn’t sound like drunk driving, but I bet this has happened to you or someone you know. You’re driving home a bit tired after working a double shift in Jersey City, or trying to squeeze in that last 50 miles returning from a very full weekend in Atlantic City. Just trying to stay awake long enough to get home, park the car and climb into bed. That’s not the same as driving while intoxicated, or is it?

Whether it’s a paperwork backlog at work, working the graveyard shift at a second job, or spending a sleepless night tending to a sick child, the result is the same. Operating a vehicle when you’ve had little or no sleep can be a recipe for disaster. Nodding off on the Garden State Parkway can have a deadly outcome.

And the consequences can be serious, especially here in New Jersey. We live in the only state in the Union that makes drowsy driving a crime when it’s found to be the cause of a fatal crash — classified as recklessness under the state’s vehicular homicide statute. And it’s not unreasonable that drowsy driving could one day become as serious an offense as DWI.

April 28, 2009

New Jersey Drunk Driving Police Blotter

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Boonton — Police charged a 58-year-old Boonton Township, NJ, man with DWI, reckless driving and not having insurance for his vehicle. The allegedly intoxicated man was picked up by police during the late afternoon on Saturday, April 25, and released pending an appearance in court.

Boonton — A woman from Kinnelon was pulled over by police for drunk driving, as well as reckless driving. The 45-year-old was stopped just after 9 p.m. and subsequently released pending appearance in court at a later date.

Madison — In what could possibly have been a drug DUI arrest, as 20-year-old Westfield man was arrested on Thursday, April 23, after police responded to a call regarding an occupant of a vehicle snorting drugs on Loveland Street. The vehicle apparently left that location, as the police pulled the vehicle over on Green Village Road, where they arrested the young man after noticing a white powdery substance on the man’s lips. According to authorities, the arresting officer found a white tube and the driver admitted that he had been snorting oxycodone. Police arrested and charged the man with possession of drug paraphernalia, and then released him shortly thereafter.

April 26, 2009

Will Marijuana DUI Arrests in New Jersey be Affected by Legalization?

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Could New Jersey expect an increase in DUI arrest involving marijuana if the drug becomes legal for medicinal use? Nobody can truly know the answer until such a law takes effect. But with the increasing number of medical marijuana bills being proposed and voted into law across the country, one can only assume there will be more opportunity for marijuana DUI arrests.

Neighboring New York State may soon pass legislation — which would make it the 15th state to legalize medicinal marijuana — and the New Jersey legislature is on the verge of passing a similar bill. The legislation currently specifies that individuals with painful or debilitating illnesses such as AIDS, cancer, glaucoma and multiple sclerosis will be able to register with the state to use marijuana legally.

Not long ago, New Jersey Attorney General Anne Milgram responded positively to the proposed law, which would allow patients to purchase the drug from a state-approved outlet, or even grow the plants at home. Calling it a “workable” law, Milgram agreed that there are concerns about how to enforce laws to ensure that the drug be used legally and only by patients who qualify.

April 19, 2009

Glassboro, NJ, DWI Suspect Gets Plea Deal from Gloucester Prosecutors

by Jonathan F. Marshall

A Glassboro, New Jersey, man arrested for a DWI traffic death in Gloucester Country late last year has been offered seven years in jail in exchange for a guilty plea — three years less than the maximum 10 years he could face if convicted in a jury trial. Charges of driving while intoxicated and vehicular homicide, combined with alleged evidence of cocaine (although no DUI charges were brought), make this a challenging case for the defense.

According to a recent report, attorneys for Arthur Anwar Jr. made a motion to have the court reduce his bail, but that has been rejected apparently due to the severity of the offense. At a bail hearing last Friday, Superior Court Judge Christine Allen-Jackson denied the motion to reduce the $75,000 bail, on which Anwar has been held since his arrest on December 21, 2008. The case remains open as both sides consider their next steps.

Anwar’s drunk driving arrest stems from a lethal accident that happened just days before Christmas. According to police, the 53-year-old and a friend had left the Down on Main Street bar in Glassboro and were riding in his 1997 Mazda 626. At about 2 a.m., the vehicle plowed into the back of a dump truck on Glassboro Road in Monroe Township. The crash was so horrific that emergency personnel had to pry open the mangled sedan to remove the passenger. That man, Arthur Davis, 24, later died from multiple injuries at Cooper Hospital in Camden.

April 10, 2009

DWI Alert: Sobriety Checkpoint in Marlboro, NJ

by Jonathan F. Marshall

In New Jersey, DWI checkpoints are a common method used by police to help reduce the number of alcohol-related traffic accidents and fatalities throughout the state. To maintain fairness under the law, our courts have required state, county and municipal law enforcement authorities to publish the times and locations of future sobriety roadblocks. It is our opinion, however, that this information is not always provided in the most convenient or accessible fashion.

We believe that if the public knew about the times/locations of these checkpoints in advance, they would be more likely to stay off the road during those hours, ensuring their own safety and contributing to that of other drivers. Because of this, we are posting the following information:

DWI Checkpoint in Marlboro
Starting tonight, April 10, and continuing through the morning hours of April 11, the Monmouth County DWI Taskforce, in cooperation with the New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, will be operating a DWI checkpoint adjacent to the northbound lanes of Route 9. The Marlboro Police Department, along with members from the task force, will pull vehicles over into the New York Sports Club parking lot to detect any vehicles being operated by drivers under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. This announcement is based on information provided by Brielle Police Chief and task force coordinator, Michael W. Palmer.