New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog

October 9, 2014

States Add Mandatory Ignition Interlock Device (IID) Laws; New Jersey Continues to Mull IIDs

Mississippi has added its name to the list of states now requiring ignition interlock devices (IIDs) for all DWI offenders, even first-time convicted drunken drivers. New Jersey is waiting in the wings right now, as legislators in Trenton hash things out regarding the state’s mandatory IID law. While the debate regarding IIDs has come from both sides of the aisle, some still feel that the Garden State’s approach to drunk drivers may be a little too accommodating.

When it comes to potential changes in New Jersey’s DWI laws, the proposed change to a “brief” 10-day license suspension, plus immediate and mandatory installation of an IID post-conviction has been regarded as a better solution to the current situation, which requires several months’ worth of suspension time that many argue has the potential to cause serious career, family and financial repercussions while not fully addressing the very real issue of convicted DWI offenders taking to the street sans driver’s license.

As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, my firm has seen more than enough instances of otherwise law-abiding motorists being stripped of their driving privileges as punishment for even a first-time indiscretion. We fully understand the risks and physical dangers of driving while impaired, but more and more people are beginning to accept the potential changes in our drunk driving laws to include mandatory IIDs in lieu of the rather strict punitive measures currently required by the New Jersey legal statutes.
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October 8, 2014

Camden County Driver Arrested for Drunken Driving and Fleeing Police following DWI Stop

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Could there be more than a few better avenues for fighting a drunken driving charge besides fleeing the police at the time of a DWI traffic stop? The answer to that question, as absurd as it may seem, is naturally, Yes. As New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense attorneys, my colleagues and I believe that employing the law in one’s defense is surely a more rational approach to avoiding a drunk driving conviction than doing anything as rash as running from the police during a traffic stop or following a roadway accident.

Regardless of the perceived downside to being charged with intoxicated driving, we must repeat that the law provides avenues for those individuals accused of drinking and driving, which have relative benefits far in excess of unlawful and often dangerous hijinks on the road. Case in point, a news article that was published not too long ago regarding a Garden State man who, it would seem, felt that running from patrolmen during a routine traffic stop would save him from being arrested for DWI. Unfortunately, as these things often play out, the result was likely worse it had to be given the limited information in the report we read.

Nevertheless, according to police reports, a 62-year-old Barrington, NJ, motorist was in Gloucester County driving on a stretch of E. High St. in Glassboro when he was stopped by local police just before midnight. The traffic stop was part of the “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” anti-DWI program launched to coincide with the end of summer, culminating during this past Labor Day weekend.
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October 7, 2014

Olympic Champion Michael Phelps Puts Swimming on Hold Following DUI Arrest in Baltimore

by Jonathan F. Marshall

According to news reports, Olympic athlete and champion swimmer Michael Phelps put training on the backburner after his second, and most recent impaired driving arrest up in Maryland. Based on news articles, 29-year-old Phelps decided to put his swimming career on hold in order for the 18-time gold medal winner to go through a six-week in-patient drug rehabilitation program, which he stated would allow him to get the help he believes he needs to “better understand” himself.

The incident that led to this latest DUI arrest occurred in Phelps’s home town of Baltimore when the famous Olympian was pulled over by police for an apparent traffic violation on Tuesday. During the traffic stop, patrolmen suspected that the man was inebriated. After administering several of the standardized field sobriety tests, which Phelps reportedly failed to perform successfully, officers took the Olympian into custody. At police headquarters it was allegedly determined that the man had a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.14 percent, which is almost twice the legal limit in most states including New Jersey.

News reports around the internet suggest that Phelps was concerned about this latest DUI, which is likely why he opted to sign himself into a comprehensive rehab program. Based on those reports, his voluntary admission into the program at Octagon means that Phelps will more than likely miss the first United States Grand Prix swim meet in Minneapolis this coming November. As for the balance of the scheduled Grand Prix events, all five of those take place in the first part of 2015.
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October 5, 2014

NJ Drunk Driving Defense Update: Understanding Garden State DWI Arrests Arising from Anonymous Tips

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As professional trial attorneys representing individuals accused of both civil and criminal offenses, we are well aware of situation in which defendants are concerned that the evidence against them is either unsupported or lacking invalid from a legal standpoint. In particular, there are numerous potential pieces of evidence that the state can use in an effort to convict a motorist on a charge of drunken driving.

What happens before an arrest, though, can also mean the difference between being charged with a DWI or drug DUI and avoiding a court hearing altogether. Of course, there are any number of triggers that can cause a police officer to stop a driver for what may seem to be a routine traffic offense. These include exceeding the posted speed limit, improper lane change, malfunctioning head or tail lights, or almost any minor infraction.

Having litigated countless DWI-DUI cases for our clients over the years, my colleagues and I know that of the many different scenarios that can eventually lead to DWI or drug DUI charges, one situation that comes up more and more is the call from a concerned citizen complaining of a possibly intoxicated driver on the roadway. More and more, it appears, the phoning in to police of information pertaining to a “bad driver” is getting some drivers into hot water.
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October 2, 2014

DWI Defense Update: Drivers Charged with DWI are Well-advised to Maintain Decorum at Trial

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As Garden State DWI-DUI defense attorneys, my colleagues and I strive to help individuals who have been charged with drunken driving or hit with a drug DUI summons, among other alcohol- or drug-related driving offenses. While some people may not understand the importance of preparation prior to a DWI hearing, it is safe to say that most individuals facing some potentially hefty fines and other costs of a possible DWI or DUI conviction will find it important to use discretion when taking part in their drunk driving hearing. Others, sadly, will not.

This last point was illustrated quite clearly after we read of a 47-year-old out-of-state woman who apparently distinguished herself in a less than flattering way when she allegedly showed up to her DWI hearing while she was intoxicated. According to news reports, the Pennsylvania driver had already received a traffic ticket for driving under the influence of alcohol; yet, when she arrived at the courtroom, she was reportedly impaired by alcohol yet again.

Based on the news article we read, the defendant was “highly intoxicated” at the time she arrived by taxi and eventually stepped foot into the office of the district judge for her arraignment on earlier charges of DWI, as well as other related traffic offenses from a police stop in late May this year. The woman was not only reportedly drunk, but an hour late as well, which as anyone can understand would in and of itself be unacceptable barring an extreme circumstance beyond the defendant’s control.
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September 29, 2014

Warren County, NJ, Driver with 4 DUI Convictions Arrested for Driving on Suspended License

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Although many people who find themselves arrested and charged with a drunken driving offense may generally be lumped into the first-and-old-time category, there is a portion of the driving public, albeit a smaller group, who end up with second- and third-time offenses to deal with. When it comes to DWI and drug DUI arrests, those with multiple convictions definitely have a harder time of it in terms of sentencing and penalties.

Sad to say, but those motorists who find themselves the recipients of frequent drunken driving summonses can often end up with onerous monetary penalties and significant jail time if convicted of a third or subsequent DWI charge. Most drivers, as well as the public at large, find it surprising that those with a couple DWIs under their belt may actually tempt fate and drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, prescription drugs or an illegal substance (CDS); however, regardless of why a person ends up arrested for DWI-DUI after already being convicted in the past of similar charges, the bottom line is that a competent drunk driving defense is all the more important for such individuals.

As Garden State DWI-DUI defense attorneys, my colleagues and I make it our business to defend those people who feel they were unjustly accused, or that the potential penalties following another conviction would be too much to bear. Whether my legal staff handles a first-time DWI case or one involving a second- or third-time charge, we know the importance of thorough preparation when fighting for our clients. In fact, it is safe to say that most individuals facing potentially heavy fines and other penalties feel they need a lawyer skilled in drunk driving defense to avoid serious consequences.
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September 25, 2014

Garden State DUI Update: Driving While Legally Medicated Can Still Lead to a Drug DUI

by Jonathan F. Marshall

There is no doubt that drinking and driving is an activity that happens with extreme frequency here in New Jersey. As Garden State DWI defense attorneys, my highly skilled legal staff has many years of representing motorists charged with being intoxicated behind the wheel of a motor vehicle on the roadways, interstates and highways of our state. While most people typically associate a DUI charge as being alcohol-related, a fair number of police arrests for impaired driving involve some kind of drug.

Of course, one person’s illicit drug may be another’s legal medication. And while there are more than a few arrests for drug DUI involving some kind of illegal drug (also referred to as a controlled dangerous substance, or CDS), many other drug DUI charges are based on impairment due to doctor-prescribed medications. The legal aspect of the actual substances may be starkly different — and a possible further complication to one’s DUI arrest — but in the eyes of the law, impaired driving is impaired driving regardless of the type of substance causing the impairment.

Since driving under the influence is more commonly linked to alcohol consumption, it may be instructive to remind the driving public that, just like too much alcohol, taking certain medications — prescription or over-the-counter — may interfere with a motorist’s ability to operate his car, truck or motorcycle. As many doctors will point out, every patient who is taking one or more kinds of doctor-prescribed drugs should be aware of the potential side effects of those meds, either alone or in combination.
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September 25, 2014

FAQ: NJ Drunk Driving Arrests and the Consequences of a DWI Conviction — Part Five

by Jonathan F. Marshall

For those individuals who find themselves on the wrong side of the law, that is, a motorist who has been arrested for a drunken driving offense, the immediate issue at hand is often trying to locate a competent DWI-DUI attorney to represent oneself against the local municipal prosecutor who is pressing the charges against him. To put it in simple terms, if your turn in the DWI barrel has come, now is the time for action, not later.

As Garden State drunk driving attorneys, my colleagues and I have a very good track record of defending motorists who have been charged with some kind of impaired driving. Whether these accusations involve the consumption of alcohol or the use of legal narcotic medications, or even illegal substances, the need for a qualified legal professional is always a priority. Let it be said at this juncture that my firm in no way condones any kind of impaired operation of a motor vehicle, be it a car, commercial truck, motorcycle or watercraft. From our point of view, the best defense is a good offense, and the best way to avoid a DWI or DUI is to avoid drinking or taking drugs any time one expects to be driving on New Jersey roadways.

As recognized experts in the field, my legal team gets a lot of questions from prospective clients who are just beginning to learn about the intricacies of DWI law. In the interests of edifying our readers, we feel that learning something now about drunk driving defense may come in handy in the future, especially if someone finds himself in a difficult situation involving a drunk driving arrest.
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September 23, 2014

Former District Court Judge Charged with “Fixing” DWI Case against Prosecutor’s Relative

by Jonathan F. Marshall

It should be not be surprising that as New Jersey civil and criminal defense attorneys, my colleagues and I make our job to represent individuals accused of crimes, misdemeanors and civil infractions. In particular, we are dedicated to helping motorists accused of DWI get a fair shake within our legal system. When a driver feels that he or she has been unjustly or erroneously charged with driving while intoxicated, we are ready to lend out expertise to their case.

With the above stated, it must be said that we do have a great deal of respect for the law enforcement officers, attorneys on both sides of the aisle, as well as the members of the judiciary, who make the law work for millions of people every day. What we do not respect is the few individuals in positions of power and influence who take advantage of their status to use the law to their own benefit, or those who they favor.

While we applaud the police officers who enforce our laws and put their lives on the line every day, but conversely, we are rarely sympathetic to those patrolmen who by their deeds show that they hold themselves to a different set of standards in cases of drunk driving or other offenses. Similarly, we find that officers of the court who likewise use the law to their own advantage have much to learn about fairness and equal treatment under the law.
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September 20, 2014

Arrest of Bergen County Man for DWI follows Injury-related Drunken Driving Crash in Mahwah

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As Garden State drunk driving defense lawyers, my colleagues and I know that defending those accused of an alcohol- or drug-related traffic accident can become very complicated when injuries are involved. Multi-car accidents can, of course, result in serious and sometimes fatal injuries; however, causing injury while operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol or prescription drugs intoxicated can up the ante quite a bit in the eyes of a municipal prosecutor.

For this reason alone — that is, having caused a personal injury while intoxicated by alcohol — it is advisable to locate a skilled criminal defense lawyer with expertise in litigating New Jersey drunken driving cases. A recent news story out of Bergen County details an all too common scenario involving an inebriated driver, a crash between a motor vehicle and a bicycle rider, and a badly injured victim.

According to police reports, a 62-year-old bicyclist from the New York area was sent to the emergency room after being hit by a Dodge pickup truck in the Mahwah, NJ, area. The collision took place early on a Wednesday evening along a portion of Ramapo Valley Rd. New articles indicated that Francisco Perez of Suffern, NY, was riding his bicycle in the northbound lane when a local man going the opposite way made a sudden left turn onto N. Railroad Ave.
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