Drug DWI

February 17, 2014

Marijuana DUI: The Next Big DWI Crusade?

It’s already on the books, that is, the Garden State’s legal statutes that specify the use of marijuana (and certain other substances) as grounds for being arrested and charged with driving under the influence. Whatever you call it: weed, pot, grass, hash, or just plain Mary Jane, marijuana has for years been listed as one of many controlled dangerous substances (CDSs), all of which are considered illegal because they are either hallucinogenic or habit-forming. As New Jersey DWI defense lawyers, my legal team has been defending motorists charged with marijuana DUI for years now.

Under New Jersey statute 39:4-50, any motorist operating a car, truck or motorcycle who is found to be under the influence of any habit-producing drug or narcotic can be arrested and charged with a violation of state law. The fines and punishments are not unlike those associated with alcohol-related DWI; hundreds of dollars in fines, plus possible jail time and suspension of one’s driver’s license. The interesting thing is that we may just see more and more pot-related DUIs in the future thanks to the course of marijuana legalization in many states.

From a legal point of view, the use of weed versus the consumption of beer, wine or hard liquor has some differences. In fact, the statute covering marijuana DUI does not provide for any specific criteria on how the state should determine that a driver was actually under the influence of marijuana when pulled over by a police officer. The proving of this element becomes what attorneys refer to as a “fact specific” inquiry.
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January 10, 2014

Monmouth County DWI Defense: Exploring Various Aspects of a Typical Drunken Driving Arrest

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Being stopped by a New Jersey State Police officer or local cop for a traffic offense can be unnerving enough for most people without the added concern of being arrested for DWI. As Garden State drunken driving defense lawyers, my firm is all too aware of the emotions that can come to the surface when faced with a summons for driving under the influence. Often frightening, and certainly unsettling, the experience of being taken into custody is only overshadowed by the potential financial impact that a DWI or drug DUI conviction can have on an individual or his family.

The state of New Jersey has long since banned plea bargaining as a common avenue to having a drunk driving charge dismissed or downgraded. Because of this, many people might wonder why they should even consider retaining a DWI attorney at all. First and foremost, an experienced legal expert can look for flaws in the state’s case, which can range from the way the police officer conducted the traffic stop prior to the DWI arrest, to the procedures followed or skipped after the driver submitted to a breathalyzer device in order to determine his or her blood-alcohol concentration (BAC).

When asking why one should hire a lawyer for a DWI or drug DUI defense, it may be more important to ask what the secret to success is when it comes to avoiding a conviction. At the very least, someone accused of driving drunk should contact a qualified professional to determine if fighting a drunk driving summons would be fruitful or if a downgrade is possible. In our experience, identifying any potential issues that may undermine the state’s ability to prove the DWI-DUI offense is a key objective when discussing a defendant’s options going forward.
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January 8, 2014

New Jersey DWI Update: Professional Truck Drivers Risk Everything When Driving Drunk or Drug-impaired

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As Garden State DWI defense lawyers, my colleagues and I handle dozens of drunken driving cases every month. While most motorists can be severely inconvenienced by a suspension of their driver’s license if found guilty of driving while intoxicated, the odds are most of them will not lose their jobs or be threatened with a loss of income due to their offense. Professional drivers, those who operate commercial vehicles, have a much greater chance of harming their careers if a court finds them guilty of DWI or drug DUI.

For this reason alone, it is incumbent on any commercial driver who is arrested and charged with drinking and driving to seek a qualified DWI-DUI attorney for his or her defense. The potential fines are not the only concern when it comes to truckers, cabbies, chauffeurs and school bus drivers who are accused of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The loss of a commercial driver’s license (or CDL) can spell the end of a career, which could have life-changing effects.

Take the story of an out-of-state truck driver who was pulled over by Vermont police late on a Thursday afternoon. The 32-year old trucker was reportedly hauling a load of flammable material when officers observed the man’s vehicle cross over the centerline four separate times. According to news reports, the officers noticed that the box truck was traveling well below the posted 50mph speed limit, which also drew the patrolmen’s attention.
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December 31, 2013

Ocean County Sobriety Roadblock Nets Police Handful of Intoxicated New Jersey Motorists

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Considering the volume of DWI and DUI arrests that are carried out every month in the Garden State, most every drunk driving defense attorney has likely represented at least a few clients who have been charged with driving while impaired after running afoul of the police at a local DWI checkpoint. Most months, all around the state, one might expect a certain number of these DUI roadblocks in operation on the weekends and during high-traffic holidays. This makes it all the more certain that, over time, more motorists will be arrested at one of the late-night roadblocks and hit with a DWI summons.

The fact that state and local law enforcement agencies are legally obliged to make public the locations and operating times of these so-called sobriety checkpoints could lead many people to assume that it is relatively easy to avoid being stopped at one of these roadblocks, whether one is driving with some amount of alcohol in one’s system or not; however, it is also very easy to overlook the relatively brief announcements that appear prior to the erection of a DWI-DUI checkpoint.

According to New Jersey legal statutes, the police are limited as to the locations and operation of a sobriety roadblock. Quite simply, the authorities cannot place a checkpoint anywhere they choose; it must be located in an area that has a demonstrated history of prior incidents of drunken driving.
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December 10, 2013

Is There Hope for Habitual Drug Users Outside of being Penalized Heavily for Drug DUI?

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As drunk driving defense attorneys, my colleagues and I have for many years represented dozens of motorists accused of driving while intoxicated by alcohol. Young or old, male or female, the odds of being picked up for a DWI here in the Garden State can be quite high, especially if a person makes one too many driving errors in the presence of a local patrolman or state trooper. But being accused of DWI is just one side of the coin; drug DUI is another equally costly charge that many motorists are hit with day in and day out across the Garden State.

Just like alcohol-related charges, New Jersey drivers can be arrested under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a) for operating a car, truck or motorcycle while under the influence of a legal or illegal drug if that substance is deemed a narcotic, hallucinogenic or habit-forming drug. In order for a charge like this to stick, it usually needs to be supported by the professional opinion of an expert in the field, though it should be remembered that at this time the requirement is relaxed while on appeal in the New Jersey court system.

To understand the phrase, “under the influence,” it is important to recognize that it means a “substantial deterioration or diminution” of a driver’s mental faculties or physical capabilities. As we mentioned above, this applies as much to intoxicating liquor as it does to doctor-prescribed medication that is narcotic or habit producing in nature. As one can imagine, illegal drugs such as cocaine and marijuana are also recognized under the state’s DWI statutes since they can also deteriorate a person’s mental and physical capacity.
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December 3, 2013

A Driver Charged with DWI is One Thing. Being Accused of Drug DUI is Another Altogether

by Jonathan F. Marshall

For anyone who has not been through the ordeal of a DWI arrest and court case, please understand that it is often not only a potentially costly exercise, but can sometimes be an embarrassing event in one’s life. For most people in the Garden State, driving while intoxicated is something that they would never think of consciously doing, but many people would be surprised how easy it truly is to find oneself pulled over on the side of the road and accused of DWI.

When it comes to proving alcohol-related DUI, the state typically relies upon breathalyzer readings (or sometimes a direct blood test) to establish a blood-alcohol concentration, or BAC. If the results are shown to be above the legal limit of 0.08 percent BAC, the prosecution will feel that it has a relatively strong case against a motorist. As New Jersey drunk driving specialists, my skilled team of DWI defense attorneys has the experience to fight DWI charges even when the evidence appears to be unassailable.

Breathalyzer tests are generally conducted by the police following an arrest for suspected drunk driving, during which certain procedures must be followed for the BAC results to be valid in a court of law. As one might expect, to be accepted in court, this key piece of evidence must meet a number of standards by law. If the manner of collection of the BAC results deviates from the related standards, or if there is a potential weakness in any of this important proof, an experienced DWI-DUI lawyer can call into question its validity.
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November 18, 2013

Garden State DWI News: School Bus Driver Sues Police After Being Accused of Drunken Driving

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Most likely any parent of school-aged children would feel rather uncomfortable having their kids shuttled about by a person who was impaired by alcohol or drugs. The fact of the matter is, because we value our children and the promise they hold for the future, school systems and motor coach companies have strict requirements for anyone who drives young children around. At the same time, as experienced trial attorneys, my colleagues and I believe that anyone who is charged with a crime, civil or criminal, deserves the right to challenge those accusations in a court of law.

Without a doubt, drunken driving is one of the more reviled traffic-related offenses that occur on a regular basis here in the Garden State. As New Jersey DWI-DUI defense lawyers, our job is to represent defendants who have been accused of an offense such as operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of beer, wine, liquor or prescription drugs. Our law offices also take on clients who have been charged with marijuana DUI or possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS) in a car or truck.

We understand all too well how being accused of DWI or drug DUI can ruin one’s standing in his or her community or destroy professional relationships; never mind the loss of one’s career following a possible conviction for drinking and driving or drug-impaired motor vehicle operation. As it stands, those individuals whose job it is to drive a taxi cab, livery sedan, airport shuttle or school bus can suffer greatly once a charge of DWI or DUI has been levied. The potential loss of income following a conviction can be devastating to any professional driver.
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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 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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