HOW TO BEAT A CHARGE OF DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED IN NEW JERSEY

HOW TO BEAT A CHARGE OF DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED IN NEW JERSEY

First, it should be noted that New Jersey makes no distinction between Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and Driving Under the Influence (DUI).  If you have ingested anything such that your driving may be impaired you are subject to New Jersey’s DWI law.

Except in some very limited circumstances, driving drunk is not a criminal offense in New Jersey.  It is a traffic offense.  However, drunk driving is undoubtedly the most litigated area of traffic law.  The New Jersey Supreme Court and United States Supreme Court have rendered dozens of opinions shaping the correct procedures which must be followed.  The law surrounding drunk driving is very complex and often changing and it therefore no surprise that entire treatises are written on the subject.  This blog post no way attempts to explain all the nuances involved in drunk driving law.  Instead, this post briefly explores some of the more common defenses that can be raised against a charge of drunk driving.

A charge of DWI is one of the most serious driving charges one can face.  Therefore, many people seek out the assistance of a component New Jersey Drunk Driving Attorney with experience in handling these cases.   Depending on the facts and circumstances, your attorney may be able to get the penalties reduced, the charge downgraded, or even dismissed.  If you are facing a DWI in New Jersey, contact the lawyers at Roberts & Teeter for a free consultation.

1.  Challenging the Stop.  In most circumstances, a person charged with a DWI has been pulled over by the police.  Typically, the police claim that they observed you committing a separate traffic violation and may have even written you multiple tickets such as reckless driving, careless driving, failure to keep right, speeding, failure to observe a traffic control device, failure to maintain lane, or even the use of a cell phone.

After the police pull you over, they undoubtedly will come to your window and start asking you questions.  For some reason or another they suspect that you are under the influence of alcohol or a narcotic.  What might of started out like any other night suddenly has taken a turn for the worse when the police have ordered you outside your vehicle and have you standing on one foot like a high school gymnast or recalling the alphabet.  If you don’t prove to the officer’s satisfaction that you are sober, you have a long night ahead of you behind bars.

In certain instances an aggressive drunk driving attorney can challenge the basis for the stop.  In New Jersey before the police can pull you over, they need an articulable and reasonable suspicion that you violated a traffic law.  If you can successfully defeat the basis for why the police pulled you over, then the DWI must be dismissed as well.

2. Challenge the Field Sobriety Test.  Sometimes the only evidence the State has against you is the officer’s observation during a field sobriety test.  In New Jersey, when police suspect a driver is intoxicated they may ask the driver to perform a field sobriety test.  There are a number of field sobriety tests that are used across the country, but New Jersey specifically recognizes two such tests as scientifically reliable.  The first test is called the Walk and Turn test.  The second test is called the One-Leg Stand test.  Before administering either test, the police are required to tell you certain specific instructions.  If they fail to provide these instructions completely and accurately, you may be able to challenge the evidence.  Additionally, it is the officer’s observation and subjective interpretation of your performance that is at issue.  The Officer’s conclusion that you were under the influence can be challenged if the officer was not properly trained in the administration of the Field Sobriety Tests, the officer was not in a proper location to make observations, or his conclusion that you failed the test is not supported by the motor vehicle recording.

3.  Challenge the Blood Alcohol Reading.  Blood Alcohol content is typically measured in one of two ways in New Jersey: 1) Breathalyzer; or 2) Blood.  The accuracy and reliability of the Breathalyzer is one of the most contested issues arising out of municipal court.  The Supreme Court of New Jersey has reviewed dozens of issues concerning the Breathalyzer machine, the software, the qualifications of the administrator, the procedure for administering the test, and many more.  These requirements provide a fertile ground to challenge the blood alcohol reading.  The most common challenges to the breath test are the qualifications of the operator, the proper operation of the device, the working order of the device, the 20-minute observation period, and presence of electronic devices in the testing area that may affect the instrument.  Often it is not enough for an attorney to point out these problems to the prosecutor and judge.  In many instances, the defendant increases his chance of successfully challenging a blood alcohol reading by hiring an expert who specializes in writing reports and testifying in these types of cases.

A second way police obtain a blood alcohol reading is through blood.  If a DWI results in a traffic accident and the driver is taken to a hospital the police may try and use blood obtained at the hospital as evidence of the blood alcohol content.  Proving a driver’s blood alcohol content through blood draw can be challenged in several ways.  First, the sample must be taken in a medically acceptable manner.  If the blood is drawn for medical purposes by a medical professional, the alcohol concentration will be measured in terms of blood serum rather than blood alcohol concentration.  There is a 16% margin of error when the blood alcohol content is measured by blood serum.  A second challenge to a blood alcohol reading through a blood draw is lack of a warrant of consent.  In April 2013, the United States Supreme Court ruled in a case called Missouri v. McNeely  that a warrant is required before police can seize a suspect’s blood.  Without a warrant or consent of the patient, the evidence may be thrown-out.   A final common way of challenging a blood alcohol reading through a blood draw is to challenge the chain of custody.  The State must be able to demonstrate the entire chain of the patient’s blood from the initial draw to the testing at the police department.  If the sample was left alone or handled by unknown persons it is possible it became contaminated and is no longer reliable. 

Conclusion

The law surrounding drunk driving in very complex and is often changing.  Anytime a person is accused of driving under the influence they should contact an attorney experienced in handling drunk driving cases in New Jersey.  Depending upon the facts and circumstances, a successful defense may result in the penalties being reduced, the charge being downgraded, or even dismissed.  Call the attorneys of Roberts & Teeter at 732-325-0814 for a free consultation.