New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog
On numerous occasions every week in this state it is not uncommon to see a motorist accused of DWI walk into a courtroom with either insufficient representation or none at all. When it comes to drunk driving charges, any accused individual should carefully weigh his or her options as they face the potentially costly consequences of a DWI or drug DUI conviction.
As drunk driving trial attorneys, the legal experts at the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall have many decades of cumulative courtroom experience defending individuals accused of operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated by alcohol or impaired by some kind of controlled substance. Whether the DWI-DUI charges stem from alcohol, prescription medication or illegal drug use, having a qualified drunk driving lawyer at one’s side is always preferable to entering a courtroom alone and ill-prepared.
Accused individuals may feel that their good name or driving record is sufficient to get them out of hot water; however, without the assistance of a skilled attorney the positive outcome of a drunk driving case is far from assured. Preparation and a detailed understanding of New Jersey drunk driving law are important aspects of any good DWI defense. At the very least, we highly recommend consulting with a drunken driving attorney prior to stepping foot in a courtroom.
It makes sense, especially here in the Garden State, to take advantage of an initial no-obligation legal consult. While there is nothing that says a driver must retain counsel, it never hurts to get the professional opinion of an experienced trial lawyer who has represented other motorists in similar situations. In fact, as a former municipal prosecutor myself, I and my legal team understand the strategies applied by local prosecutors when attempting to obtain a drunk driving conviction. One thing is certain, pleading guilty is a sure-fire way to be convicted of a DWI-DUI offense.
Of course, receiving a summons for drunk driving following a stop at a late-night sobriety checkpoint or a routine traffic stop is somewhat different from being cited for drunken driving following a serious motorcycle, car or truck collision. Although most people should be rightly concerned about a DWI charge received at a typical DWI roadblock, that level of concern usually rises commensurately when the charges are associated with an injury-related traffic accident that may have been alcohol-related.
As attorneys who have defended many people accused of drug DUI, breathalyzer refusal, underage DWI, drinking and driving, and other related cases, my firm has seen numerous scenarios such as the one below.
According to a news article published last month, seven people were hurt in a two-car accident allegedly caused by a drunken driver. Based on police reports, the accident occurred a little before 11pm on a Tuesday evening along a stretch of the Garden State Parkway.
Authorities stated that a 36-year-old out-of-state driver apparently precipitated the crash after trying to use the parkway’s median cut-through to move from the local travel lanes to the express lanes. As a result, the driver’s vehicle struck another car driven by a 47-year-old man from Suffern, NY. According to information from the news article, the victim’s vehicle was carrying five people, including a 78-year-old man.
While none of the injuries sustained by the five people in the victim’s vehicle and the two in the first vehicle, five individuals did require basic life support. The remaining two victims, which included one person who had to be extricated from a mangled car, needed advanced life support arising from the crash. According to Middletown police, the driver who allegedly caused the crash was charged with drinking and driving, reckless operation of a motor vehicle and unsafe lane change, among other offenses.
Driver Charged With DWI in Parkway Crash That Injured 7, Patch.com, July 11, 2013