Essex County DWI Defense

January 18, 2010

NJ DWI and DUI Police Blotter: Drunken and Impaired Driving News from Across New Jersey

As a New Jersey drunk driving defense lawyer, my office represents dozens of clients accused of a range of traffic offenses including driving under the influence of alcohol, prescription and illicit drug DUI, breath test refusal and other DWI-related charges. Not every drunken driving arrest results in a conviction, which is due to a variety of possible scenarios and different facts attached to each case.

The following is a selection of recent drunk driving arrests across the Garden State. Whether you live in Newark, Red Bank, Atlantic City or any of other cities and towns in New Jersey, a conviction for driving while intoxicated can adversely affect your life. However, you should never assume that you have don’t have options following a drug DUI or DWI arrest.

Orange
A local resident was picked up recently by police after running her vehicle up onto a curb in Orange, NJ. The incident occurred just before 2:30am on January 3, when the 23-year-old woman apparently lost control of her sedan, struck the curb and then hit a stop sign. Police responded to the accident at Orange and Elm streets apparently on a call from another motorist or resident in the area.

According to reports, police officers arriving on the scene found the woman’s 2001 Mitsubishi Diamante up on the curb with damage to its front end and the right-front tire. Officers also noted a street sign, which had apparently been struck by the vehicle and was now lying in the roadway.

Police reports indicate that there were five occupants in the car, including the driver, all of which were unhurt. However, law enforcement officers observed that the suspect was slurring her words, swaying and staggering as she stood outside the vehicle. Based on these observations, officers requested the woman take several field sobriety tests, which she failed. She was charged with DWI and careless driving, according to police.

Montclair
Al local motorist was stopped by police after the officers saw a 2009 Ford Flex weaving in and out of its lane around 1:45am on January 2. According to news reports, patrolmen pulled over the 42-year-old driver near the intersection of Bloomfield Avenue and Valley Road.
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January 12, 2010

NJ Drunk Driving Defense Update: Financial Impact of a DWI Conviction in New Jersey

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Driving while intoxicated, DWI or driving under the influence, whatever term you use it all adds up to lost driving privileges and extensive fines, not to mention possible job loss and being disgraced in the eyes of your family or local community. Here in New Jersey, being convicted of a drunk driving charge can result in a range of possible actions by the court to punish the convicted drunk driver.

As a New Jersey drunk driving defense attorney my firm represents hundreds of individuals every year in cases of driving under the influence of alcohol. A number of these cases involve human as well as social costs. Even under the best of circumstances, the financial cost of a DWI conviction can result in expensive court fines as well as higher insurance rates for years to come.

The stigma alone of a alcohol-related DWI or drug DUI conviction can affect a person’s standing in the community, possible loss of a job, or potential damage to relationships with family and friends.

December 19, 2009

Seton Hall Lifts Suspension on Player Arrested for DWI Injury Accident on Garden State Parkway

by Jonathan F. Marshall

It doesn’t affect his legal troubles related to a November 9 drunk driving accident on New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway, but Seton Hall’s lifting of Keon Lawrence’s suspension will allow him to play in the upcoming game against Temple University. As a New Jersey DWI defense attorney, I’ve seen numerous athletes and other personalities take liberties with their fame, but there is no mistaking that everyone needs professional legal counsel when it comes to drunk driving-related traffic offenses, especially when they involve an injury accident.

According to reports, the 22-year-old Lawrence was initially suspended from the Seton Hall Pirate’s basketball team following an alleged DWI accident on Garden State Parkway near Newark, NJ. Police reports show that the player’s vehicle was heading the wrong way on the parkway when it collided head on with another car driven by 56-year-old Kenneth Smith. Fortunately, neither driver sustained life-threatening injuries, although Lawrence suffered facial injuries and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Police apparently based the drunk driving charge on an investigation of the crash scene, but not on any direct evidence of alcohol in Lawrence’s body. Blood tests from the hospital were not initially available that day. To compound Lawrence’s problems, he was also reportedly driving on a suspended license.

December 8, 2009

NJ DWI News: Drunk Driving Patrols Increased Across New Jersey through New Years

by Jonathan F. Marshall

The coming holiday season is well known for its parties and family gatherings, and despite the poor economy drunk driving arrests are sure to surge during the next few weeks. In response, New Jersey DWI enforcement units are taking to the streets in an effort to reduce the instance of driving while intoxicated. As leading drunk driving defense lawyers, my firm has experience in a wide range of DWI and drug DUI defense. Recent news of the “Over the Limit, Under Arrest” campaign is evidence that drunk driving patrols will be working overtime in the Garden State.

According to news reports, law enforcement agencies across the state are already conducting saturation patrols and operating sobriety checkpoints, also known as sobriety roadblocks, as part of the nationwide drunk driving campaign. Enforcement will continue, say police, through January 3, 2010.

New Jersey’s Division of Highway Traffic Safety is funding the local initiative, which began in 1999. According to reports, the division provides $5,000 grants to law enforcement agencies to cover overtime for those officers assigned to DWI patrols or checkpoints.

October 29, 2009

New Jersey Police Blotter: Numerous Essex and Morris County DWI Arrests in the News

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Montclair

A resident of Wayne, NJ, was stopped by police just after 12am on September 21 for allegedly running three stop signs. As a drunk driving defense lawyer with offices throughout New Jersey, I know that this kind of behavior is difficult to explain simply. However, my firm has represented many individuals arrested for DWI under similar circumstances, which is not uncommon.

According to police reports, the 44-year-old man was driving a 2006 Honda CR-V when he was pulled over by law enforcement officers at Valley Road and Church Street. Officers reportedly could smell alcohol on the man, who also exhibited other signs of possible intoxication, police said. When asked, the suspect explained that he had consumed two beers at a local bar earlier that evening.

August 19, 2009

DWI News: Drunk Driving Patrols, Sobriety Checkpoints Scheduled across New Jersey for Next Couple Weeks

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Drivers in Monmouth and Essex Counties, along with many other parts of New Jersey, will see numerous Drunk driving patrols over the coming weeks. DWI sobriety checkpoints throughout the Garden State will also be evident during the days leading up to the coming Labor Day holiday weekend. These checkpoints, also known as sobriety roadblocks, are commonly used by law enforcement as one way to decrease the number of alcohol-related auto accidents and deaths on the state’s highways and surface streets.

As a New Jersey DWI defense lawyer, my office alerts motorists to these checkpoints due to the number of driving while intoxicated arrests in these areas. By law, state, county and municipal arms of law enforcement can only set up checkpoints in locations that have a statistically high incidence of people driving under the influence of alcohol.

Standard procedure at these checkpoints includes police giving field sobriety tests to drivers that appear to be intoxicated. If the officer is satisfied that an individual operating a vehicle is possibly drunk, a breath test will usually be administered to determine the blood alcohol content (BAC) of that driver.

August 14, 2009

Drunk Driving Arrest News: New Jersey Police Blotter

by Jonathan F. Marshall

South Orange — An Essex County, New Jersey, resident was stopped by police around 1:30 a.m. on August 7 when and officer saw a car apparently speeding on Sloan Street, after which it poorly negotiated a left turn onto South Orange Avenue. After making the traffic stop, other officers arrived at the scene where they detected the scent of alcohol on the driver’s breath indicating that the man was probably drunk. A passenger in the front seat also appeared to be intoxicated. Police administered a field sobriety test to the 43-year-old Maplewood resident, which he failed. The man became upset following the test. Police arrested him for DWI, took him into custody and impounded his vehicle.

South Orange — On August 8, in the early morning hours, a patrolman noticed a vehicle parked in front of 67 South Orange Avenue with the motor running, headlights burning and right-front tire completely flat. On closer inspection, the officer could see that the 28-year-old Greenbrook, NJ, resident appeared to be sleeping. The officer attempted to awaken the man, who became somewhat responsive after several minutes. Interviewing the conscious driver, the police officer could detect the odor of alcohol on the man’s breath. Other officers were called to the scene and the man was removed from the vehicle and given several field sobriety tests, all of which he failed. Police arrested the man and transported him to headquarters where a test for blood alcohol content (BAC) showed a reading of 0.13 percent.

Madison — A 49-year-old Irvington resident was stopped for careless driving by local police officers late in the evening of July 31. During the traffic stop, officers noticed that she was inebriated, after which she was charged with drunk driving and later released to a family member.

June 21, 2009

Drunk Driving Suspected in Multi-Car Injury Pileup in Newark

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Speeding and driving under the influence of alcohol were suspected contributing factors in a horrendous multi-vehicle DWI accident a few nights ago in Essex County, New Jersey. An allegedly drunk driver was in one of two cars observed traveling at a high rate of speed just before they both crashed into three other vehicles waiting for a traffic signal at a busy Newark intersection.

Nine people were injured in the five-car crash at the intersection of Frelinghuysen and Haynes Avenues. Except for the driver and passenger in one of the five vehicles, everyone involved escaped serious injury — those two people were reportedly taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Following the early-morning accident, police detained Rayquan Horton, 24, who they suspected was one of the two drivers who may have been responsible for the accident. Horton, a resident of Irvington, New Jersey, was later charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. According to preliminary police reports, all of the people involved in the accident were coming from the same night club in Elizabeth.