New Jersey DWI Lawyer Blog

July 1, 2014

Accused of Drugged Driving in New Jersey? It’s just as Serious as a DWI Offense

Although being charged with drinking while intoxicated by alcohol is a very serious traffic offense, there are other activities that can get Garden State motorists in hot water rather quickly as well. The term impaired driving is often used as a catch-all for any number of offenses, such as DWI and DUI, but with the advent of cell phones, smartphones and even iPads and other portable tablets, being distracted while driving may soon be just another version of being impaired.

When it comes to the more traditional forms of impaired driving, the drug-related kind (or drug DUI) combines not only the charge of being impaired behind the wheel, but also the use and/or possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS). Overall, it goes without saying that driving under the influence of drugs is at least on a par with DWI in the eyes of traffic enforcement officers.

By law, specifically N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a), any individual can be arrested for operating a motor vehicle while impaired by a hallucinogenic, narcotic or habit producing drug. Proof of impairment or intoxication due to CDS use is generally provided in the form of an expert opinion, however this requirement is currently relaxed during the ongoing appeals process in our state’s judicial system.
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June 29, 2014

For Some Garden State Drivers, a DWI Arrest is Just One Driving Error Away

by Jonathan F. Marshall

It goes without saying that many average motorists can become pretty rattled when a highway patrolman or even a local police officer pulls them over for a traffic offense. Because most people have little, if any, contact with law enforcement professionals in their daily lives, being confronted by any cop for an alleged moving violation can be a nerve-racking experience. As experienced New Jersey trial attorneys, my colleagues and I know very well how even the most minor of police stops can leave a driver trembling and second-guessing themselves.

Now, add the potential of intoxicated driving to the mix and you have a serious situation. The can be especially true when a motorist has just been at a restaurant or is returning home from visiting a party with friends or family. If any alcohol was consumed, there is always a possibility that the officer in charge may suspect the driver of DWI. When a state trooper or municipal patrolman asks for the details of one’s evening, having a couple drinks can turn a simple traffic summons in to a full-blown drunken driving arrest.

Leading up to an arrest, many times the police will request a motorist exit the vehicle to perform one or more of the standardized field sobriety tests, which may not always indicate correctly whether a person is impaired or not, but which is often relied upon when a policeman decides whether or not to make an arrest. Being nervous will quite often make the situation worse for a potential arrestee, since fumbling for documents and having a less-than-smooth vocal delivery can influence the outcome of a DWI stop.
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June 26, 2014

Morris County Police Blotter: DWI Accident Leads to DWI; Other Alleged Drunk Drivers Arrested

by Jonathan F. Marshall

A driver from the Dover area was recently taken into custody by officers from the Randolph Township Police Department after an investigation revealed that the driver may have been intoxicated at the time of the wreck. According to reports, patrolmen responded to a car accident along a stretch of Everdale Rd. earlier in the year when the suspect’s car plowed through a snow bank and hit a tree. The crash, as reported in a more recent news article, took place on March 22.

Based on information from the Randolph PD, one of the officers responding to the apparent single-vehicle crash noted that the driver allegedly had a “strong smell” of alcohol on his breath at the scene of the collision. Apparently, it was decided to charge the individual on several counts, including driving under the influence of alcohol (or DUI) and refusing to submit to a breathalyzer test, as well as reckless driving. There was no mention of a court date.

In another instance of alleged drunken driving, a resident of Rockaway, NJ, was stopped by local police after police received word of a motorist operating a motor vehicle in an erratic fashion, and allegedly almost striking a pedestrian in the process. Based on police reports, a 49-year-old local man was operating his vehicle in the mid-afternoon on school property, specifically the Morris Hills High School parking lot.
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June 22, 2014

New Jersey DWI News: Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Jump Into Ignition Interlock Fray

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Poised to testify in Trenton before the State Legislature’s Assembly Appropriations Committee, representatives from the anti-drunken driving group, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, will state the case for pending legislation that could make ignition interlock devices (IIDs) mandatory for all convicted drivers regardless of prior convictions. The presentation by MADD is scheduled for tomorrow and is expected to echo those who have been pushing for changes to current state law to include the mandatory use of IIDs.

The proposed legislation, A 1368, which was introduced by Assemblywoman Linda Stender, would require ignition interlocks for every convicted drunk drivers, even first-offenders. While IIDs can be inconvenient and potentially embarrassing when installed on an individual’s vehicle, the legislation reportedly also includes changes to the license suspension requirements for those convicted of DWI.

As Garden State drunk driving defense attorneys, my colleagues and I know very well the serious burden that New Jersey’s current DWI-DUI statutes places on those individuals convicted of drunken drivers by requiring mandatory suspension of driving privileges for three months or more, depending on the number of prior convictions. Many argue that having a mandatory IID installation for every convicted offender is a small price to pay for NOT losing one’s driver’s license.
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June 21, 2014

Out-of-State Driver Pleads Guilty to Vehicular Homicide after Fatal Warren County DWI Crash

by Jonathan F. Marshall

When it comes to out-of-state drivers who are arrested for DWI or drug DUI here in New Jersey, it is important to remember that New Jersey and almost every other state in the nation participates in what is known as the “Driver License Compact,” or DLC for short. Briefly, the DLC is an agreement between 45 individual states and the District of Columbia, which allows the non-resident state to report any traffic-related conviction to the administrative division of the offending driver’s home state. In short, if one’s home state has a statute or equivalent law for an offense committed here in New Jersey, it will be treated as if the violation took place in the state where the driver resides.

A related agreement, known as the “Non-resident Violator Compact,” is observed by 44 participating states, which in essence safeguards the rights and privileges of non-resident drivers when operating a motor vehicle outside of their home state. For example, when a Garden State motorist is driving in a participating state, this interstate agreement ensures that the driver will have the same rights as the resident drivers of that state if he or she is arrested for drunken driving, drug DUI or other related impaired driving offense.

Under the non-resident agreement, if a motorist is charged with a traffic offense or other serious moving violation, he or she has the protection of due process. This also means that a New Jersey driver must comply with the terms of the member state’s traffic citation as ordered by that non-resident state, and any failure to comply can result in license suspension here in the one’s own state.
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June 17, 2014

Mandatory Ignition Interlock Devices: Are They Really that Burdensome for Convicted Drunken Drivers?

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Arguments for and against mandatory ignition interlock devices, or IIDs as they are sometimes called, have been going on for years. Whether these devices, or the threat of having them installed on one’s car or truck, can be beneficial to public safety; or even if they provide sufficient deterrent against repeat DWIs is certainly a subject that has fueled hot debate in the area of drunk driving law. As New Jersey DWI and drug DUI defense lawyers, we can understand both sides of the argument.

But even as the question of effectiveness lingers regarding the use of court-ordered ignition interlock devices, a future where the law requires every motorist convicted of DWI in the Garden State to have an IID installed has made for lively discussion. In fact, just like New Jersey, many states have already adopted IIDs as a way to combat recidivist DWIs. The approach to making them mandatory for first-time offenders has also taken hold.

For anyone still unaware of what the use of these devices is supposed to accomplish, the goal is to stop newly convicted drunk drivers from taking the road in an intoxicated state by making sure that a person who has consumed alcohol recently cannot start his or her car. To do this, and IID features a handheld breath-alcohol tester tied to an electronic control unit that either allows the vehicle to be started or prevents ignition based on a predetermined blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) threshold.
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June 14, 2014

Jersey Shore DWI News: Drunk Driving Patrols on the Rise as Summer Quickly Approaches

by Jonathan F. Marshall

Most every adult here in the Garden State who drives a car has noticed over the years that police traffic enforcement generally ramps up as the weather gets warmer and the vacationers start a migration to the famous Jersey Shore. While the spring and summer revelry is always a welcome change from the freezing temperatures of winter, some changes are not always that pleasant. In particular the opportunity for traffic citations and, occasionally, an alcohol or drug-related arrest.

As New Jersey drunk driving attorneys, we receive a number of questions from friends and acquaintances, as well as potential clients, regarding the legitimacy of certain kinds of drunk driving enforcement; namely, the random erection of late-night drunk driving roadblocks, also known as sobriety checkpoints. Depending on where you live, the frequency of these “tools” of law enforcement can rise or fall based on the time of year of the funding available to staff them.

One of the many questions we get is whether or not sobriety checkpoints are legal in New Jersey, or if they are even constitutionally allowed. When asked, we must tell people that, in fact, DWI checkpoints are legal, both on a state and federal level. From a constitutional standpoint, the issue of police roadblocks was addressed in successive cases starting back in 1979, when the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Delaware v. Prouse.
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June 14, 2014

Debate Continues Over Potential Criminality of Trucking Accident that Injured Actor-Comedian Tracy Morgan

by Jonathan F. Marshall

While a charge of drinking and driving is one of the more serious traffic-related offenses for a Garden State motorist to receive, there are other types of “impaired” driving that can be just as serious when it comes to accidents resulting in injury or death. The New Jersey court system is no stranger to personal injury lawsuits arising from impaired driving; and for years now, law enforcement, state legislators and numerous traffic safety advocates have warned about the effects of cellphone use and distracted driving, not to mention drowsy driving.

The recent news coverage of the fatal multi-vehicle crash involving a limousine carrying well-known comedian and NBC “30 Rock” television star, Tracy Morgan, has ramped up debate regarding serious and fatal traffic collisions caused by motorists who are simply too tired to drive. As with intoxicated driving, drowsy driving can be deadly; however, the proof of whether a driver was too fatigued to properly operate his or her motor vehicle may be more difficult to come by than that involved in drunken driving cases.

Nevertheless, this latest high-profile news story has brought the issue of drowsy driving to the fore, with Walmart employee, Kevin Roper, in the spotlight and facing serious charges, including that of vehicular homicide and assault by auto following the death of comedian James McNair. The crash, as many people already know, took place last Saturday along a portion of the New Jersey Turnpike in Middlesex County. Mr. Roper, 35, has since entered a plea of not guilty across the board, though the case has much farther to go.
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June 11, 2014

NJ DWI News: Causing Injury to Others while Under the Influence is a Bad Combination

by Jonathan F. Marshall

As long-time Garden State drunken driving defense lawyers, my colleagues and I have seen just about everything over the nearly 100 years of our combined legal careers. In our capacity as litigators for New Jersey motorists, representing individuals accused of intoxicated driving or drug DUI has given us more than a little insight into the variety of alcohol-, prescription drug- and illegal substance-related traffic arrests. Quite simply, we understand the many and varied ways that drivers can be stopped and charged with driving under the influence.

For most motorists, at least those served with summonses or arrested for an alcohol- or drug-related offense, the usual scenario does not involve a serious traffic accident. In many instances, a driver will have been stopped after being observed making some kind of simple driving error or even a more overt moving violation, such as speeding, improper passing or running a red light.

It is only after one of these routine traffic stops that a police officer may question the driver regarding his activities prior to the stop. Although New Jersey law prohibits a patrolman from stopping a motorist purely on a “hunch” that the driver is inebriated, once stopped at the roadside, the line of questioning may lead to suspicion of drinking and driving, or even some kind of drug-related DUI.
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June 8, 2014

Bergen County DWI News: More Legal Troubles Sometimes Await Drivers Even After a DWI Charge

by Jonathan F. Marshall

From time to time we all read news articles that, on the face of it, seem like just one more in a string of typical day-to-day mistakes that some people make when driving a motor vehicle here in the Garden State. However, there are instances when a simple lack of good judgment may result in some serious consequences, not only for the individual who may have erred, but for those who suffered personal lose as a direct result.

While many car, truck or motorcycle accidents can be similar in many ways to the dozens of others that occur every week in counties like Monmouth, Middlesex and Atlantic, there are certain roadway collisions that distinguish themselves as being more unique than most. As New Jersey DWI defense attorneys, we have a great deal of experience representing various individuals accused of variety of alcohol-related traffic wrecks.

While multi-car drunken driving accidents are sure very common in a state with millions of motor vehicles travelling every day along its roadways, single-vehicle accidents do occur with amazing frequency as well. Some of these types of traffic incidents end up being allegedly attributed to alcohol consumption or drug use on the part of the driver.
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