The act of flashing one’s headlights or high beams at another driver can have many different meanings, one of which is to warn that a speed trap is ahead. Some states have enacted laws prohibiting this practice, ostensibly for public safety. New Jersey’s statute, for example, prohibits flashing headlights that…
The arrest of a man found sleeping in his car on a New Jersey road for alleged driving while intoxicated (DWI) raises a rather obvious question: can police arrest someone for DWI if they did not actually see the person driving? New Jersey’s DWI statute, which prohibits “operat[ing] a vehicle”…
Police patrol cars in New Jersey must be equipped with video cameras under a new law passed by the New Jersey Legislature and signed by the Governor in September 2014. The law takes effect during a time when police accountability is a topic of national interest. Video cameras, either worn…
A new national organization for DWI attorneys, the DUI Defense Lawyers’ Association (DUIDLA), has launched, and I am honored to announce that I will serve as the organization’s first president. Along with five other officers, I have the privilege of helping to guide this organization at its birth as we…
The criminal offense of driving while intoxicated (DWI) is most often associated with alcohol, hence the term “drunk driving.” It is also an offense under New Jersey’s DWI statute to operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of certain other drugs. While the statute determines the severity of a…
For more than eight years, our law firm has been principally involved in challenges to the Alcotest device, which the state uses to measure blood alcohol content (BAC) in DWI cases. We represented the lead defendant in a 2008 case, State v. Chun, in which the New Jersey Supreme Court…
The Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court ruled in State v. Lawrence that a defendant should not have received an enhanced sentence for driving while intoxicated (DWI), even though he had two prior convictions. New Jersey law increases the penalties for second, third, and subsequent DWI convictions, but…
New Jersey law deals very seriously with the traffic offense of driving while intoxicated (DWI). An arrest for DWI can result in a license suspension, if the State can prove the offense in court beyond a reasonable doubt. However, a person does not even need to be driving a vehicle,…
A recent decision by the Superior Court of New Jersey, State v. O’Neill, highlights two important features of New Jersey driving while intoxicated (DWI) laws. First, the court held that, under New Jersey’s implied consent law, any response other than an unambiguous “yes” to an officer’s request to submit to…
The New Jersey Superior Court ruled that a defendant can be required to use an ignition interlock device as a penalty for refusal to submit to a breath test, even though the officer who read the required warning about refusal did not mention any penalties. The defendant in State v.…