Hudson County DWI Defense

June 7, 2009

Jersey City Cop Charged with DWI After Off-duty Crash and Speeding Episode

The recent DWI case involving a New Jersey police officer arrested for driving drunk at break-neck speeds in a 25-mph zone is difficult to imagine, but it did happen. The intoxicated cop, Jersey City Police Officer Kevin Cieslak, has only been on the force for two years. Regardless of the circumstances, his actions are totally unacceptable.

Officer Cieslak was arrested in Belmar on Memorial Day by the New Jersey State Police around 2 a.m., according to reports. An officer from the East District, Cieslak allegedly collided with a bread truck, after which he reportedly left the scene. He was subsequently observed driving 89 miles per hour in a 25-mph zone before being pulled over by State Police. According to police, he was issued summonses for DWI after refusing a Breathalyzer test, as well as for reckless driving, leaving and accident scene, failing to report an accident, running a red light and driving in the opposing lane.

We should all be proud, and rightly so, of the hard work that our law enforcement officers do for society, but when they step over the line and break the same laws they are entrusted to enforce there should be no leniency. These are the same individuals that make judgments on whether to stop other citizens for driving while intoxicated. They, of all people, need to set an example for the rest of the us — there is no middle ground here.

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 23, 2009

Intoxicated Teen Arrested for Assault by Auto in Jersey City

by Jonathan F. Marshall

A 19-year-old Bayonne man, already up on charges for driving while intoxicated, , has now been slapped with two counts of aggravated assault as a result of an accident last Saturday that left two young girls in critical condition, one of them paralyzed perhaps for life. The teen was arraigned Tuesday on DWI and assault charges in Jersey City.

This type of drunk driving tragedy is charged with emotion and considerable sadness, not only for the victims and their families, but also for the relatives of the young suspect. Although it appears that this is the teen’s first DWI arrest, the addition of aggravated assault charges makes it all the more important for him to have a qualified legal professional on his side. The attorneys at The Law Offices of John F. Marshall have experience defending cases just like this one.

The events leading up to Tuesday’s court appearance transpired, according to police, in the early morning hours of April 18. Witnesses stated that a 1996 Honda Passport allegedly driven by Michael Garbacki drove straight into a group of people including two young women. The Honda not only injured the girls, but also crashed into two other cars in a parking area beside Port Jersey Boulevard just before 2 a.m.

April 22, 2009

Bayonne, NJ, Man Arrested for DWI After Hoboken Police Chase

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Downtown Hoboken, New Jersey, was the scene of a DWI arrest this past Sunday following what could have easily been a deadly car chase between police and an allegedly intoxicated 23-year-old Bayonne man. Police reported that the suspect refused to pull over and then led them on a chase, which almost resulted in the fleeing driver hitting another vehicle.

By the time it was all over, police had charged Michael M. Leahey with resisting arrest, as well as eluding an officer. He also received summonses for several other offenses, including failure to obey a traffic signal, operating a vehicle the wrong way on a one-way street, driving while intoxicated and refusal to submit to a Breathalyzer test.

The incident began in the early morning hours, after police observed a vehicle headed the wrong way on Hudson Street — a one-way street. Police gave chase with lights and sirens on, but the man reportedly refused to pull his Buick over, instead turning onto First Street so fast that his vehicle briefly fishtailed before the driver regained control.