Our law firm recently represented a client who was charged with his third driving while intoxicated (DWI) charge in Elizabeth, New Jersey. He was also charged with driving with a suspended license in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:3-40. A third drunk driving conviction in New Jersey results in a ten (10) year license suspension and six (6) months in the county jail (ninety (90) days of which can be served at an approved in-patient rehabilitation facility). Moreover, the client had multiple prior driving while suspended charges on his record and was facing an additional 1-2 year license suspension and an additional 20-100 days in the county jail based on the driving while suspended charge.

Several reputable union county criminal lawyers declined to take the defendant’s case because “there was nothing they could do” to help him and keep the defendant out of jail. As you can see, the defendant was exposed to more than eleven (11) years in driver’s license suspensions and mandatory seven (7) months to (1) year in jail based on these charges. Our firm was hired to represent the defendant against these charges in Elizabeth Municipal Court. Two members of my criminal trial team, Colin Bonus and Travis Tormey, appeared several times in attacking the State’s case from several angles. The breath test readings were suppressed based on a Motion to Suppress evidence as there was a 20-minute issue as to the observation of the defendant prior to submitting his breath sample on the Alcotest machine. Moroever, the foundational documents provided by the State associated with the breath testing device were flawed and were not in accordance with State v. Chun. As a result, and because the State could not prove the drunk driving charge on the physical observations, as no field sobriety testing had been done, the driving while intoxicated (DWI) charge was dismissed. Further, my firm worked out a downgrade of the other charges so that the client did not lose his license at all and avoided any jail time. As you can imagine, this was a tremendous result for the client and the firm.

This case is an example of the type of defenses which are available in drunk driving cases in New Jersey if the right attorneys are involved. Our criminal defense trial team will examine the facts of your case, review the discovery package provided by the State, consult with experts and obtain an expert report if necessary, and take the case to trial if the circumstances warrant. Please contact any of my offices anytime for a free initial consultation at (732)450-8300.