New Jersey DUI

First Stage – Arrest

• For your arrest to be lawful, you must have been stopped because the police officer had reasonable suspicion that a violation occurred or some other legal explanation for contacting you, such as a concern for your safety.

• Under State v. Carpentieri, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that the police must have an articulable and reasonable suspicion that a violation of the traffic laws has occurred in order to effectuate a stop for driving while intoxicated (DWI).

• Once you have been stopped, the police must have a reasonable suspicion to believe that you are intoxicated in order to perform field sobriety tests (FSTs). If, based on the facts available such as an odor of alcohol, poor coordination, and poor performance on the FSTs, the police develop probable cause, they will arrest your for DWI and bring you to the police station to provide a breath sample. At this time you do not have any right to have counsel present and having an attorney at the scene will make no difference. They can not provide you with any assistance. However, you do have the right not to answer questions other than basic biographical information.

• You should, however, call an attorney as soon as possible after your arrest. Oftentimes, putting together a strong defense requires gathering facts and evidence that are only available for a short time after the arrest. If you delay, the critical evidence that could help you be acquitted could be lost.

Second Stage – Arraignment

• If you have been charged with a DUI/DWI or you are charged with refusing, you will be served with a complaint. Once this is filed you will appear for arraignment, at which time you are informed of the charges against you. You will also be informed of your rights, such as the right to an attorney and to remain silent, and will enter a plea to the court of either guilty or not guilty.

• If you have hired an attorney before the arraignment then this part will normally be waived. Your lawyer can have the arraignment adjourned so that you do not have to appear. Your lawyer will simply send a letter to the court that you are represented by counsel. He will also inform the court that you have been told your rights and that you understand them and will be entering a plea of “NOT GUILTY“.

Third Stage – Discovery

• During discovery the state is required to submit all the evidence they have in your case such as quality control checks of the breath test machine, police certifications and reports. They have to submit it to your lawyer so he can examine all the evidence the state has.

• At this point, your lawyer will examine the evidence to to find weaknesses in the State’s evidence against you. This is where lawyers usually find reasons to refute the states case against their client.

Your lawyer will look for things such as:

• was there reasonable suspicion for the office to stop you

• was there enough probable case for the arrest

• did the breathalyzer operator present any issues to be challenged

• was the breathalyzer machine in good working order

• Obtaining all the documents that are relevant to your case and having them examined by an experienced lawyer can be the difference between guilty and not guilty.

Fourth Stage – The Trial

• If your attorney has not reached a plea agreement with the judge before trial, it will proceed in the municipal court. This will take place in the municipality where you were originally charged. The trial will be in front of a municipal judge. There is no trial by jury in New Jersey for DUI/DWI offenses. Therefore it will be up to the judge in question to determine innocence or guilt.

• If you are convicted of the offense, the municipal judge will proceed to sentence you according to guidelines set forth in New Jersey for DUI/DWI offenses.

Issues That Your Lawyer Can Examine

• The first issue concerns the whether or not it can be proven that you were the person operating the vehicle.

Defining Operation of A Vehicle

• An important issue that can be raised in some cases is whether or not the defendant was operating the vehicle. This often arises in the case where the defendant was asleep while in the vehicle. It can also occur when the defendant was stopped by an officer as he was about to enter his vehicle.

• Under State v. Mulcahy, the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that police officers, who saw defendant, who was drunk, stagger out of tavern into car that was illegally parked on a sidewalk, could arrest the defendant for purposes of submission to sobriety test when defendant started to put keys in the ignition.

• The defendant’s attempt to place keys in the ignition was “operation” of motor vehicle sufficient to warrant submission to the breathalyzer test.

• Also, under State v. Daly, the defendant did not have “intent” to operate his car notwithstanding the fact that the car was running because he had been sleeping in the car with the heat on for almost 1.5 hours prior to police arriving.

• This is where it is important to have a DUI/DWI lawyer who is experienced in presenting the facts of the case when it comes to the operation of a vehicle. Your lawyer will be able to defend you in such a case.

Questioning The Breathalyzer Tests

• A lawyer who is experienced in breathalyzer tests will know how to defend you against the charges based on how the breathalyzer tests were administered as well as the functioning of the machine. These machines are subject to strict rules and regulations. They must have been inspected on a regular basis and it is incumbent on the police to produce a coordinator’s certificate in order to show the machine was functioning properly and when it was last inspected.

More Than One Offense

• How you are categorized when it comes to offenses can depend on numerous things. There are issues surrounding a first, second or even a third offense. The prior convictions must be examined by an experienced lawyer to determine how the prior offenses were classified. Having a DWI or a Refusal can make a significant difference when it comes to court and the sentence to be handed down. Many DUI/DWI lawyers are not experienced in this area, so it is imperative that you have one who is knowledgeable in these differences. A well versed lawyer can present different aspects of the previous charges to the court in such a way that it can affect the outcome in your favor.