DWI Information

As the summer season gets underway and more people are out and about, it’s helpful to revisit some of the things you should know if you come upon a DWI checkpoint in New Jersey. First, your rights remain protected during the interaction, if you choose to proceed through the checkpoint. You are not obligated to pass through a DWI checkpoint you see ahead of you, and can turn around or turn away without consequence.

If you do advance to the checkpoint, the only obligations you have as a driver are to show your driver’s license and registration to the police officers. Anything else, including the types of routine questions you would expect (“Had anything to drink tonight?”) you are permitted to decline to answer. If police ask to search your vehicle, you are within your rights to decline the search. If police decide they have enough evidence to arrest you for DWI at the checkpoint, you retain your right to remain silent, and you’d be well served to avoid answering any questions, or even chatting with the arresting officers. Everything you say can and will be used against you to prosecute your case.

Drive safely and be wise about DWI checkpoints in New Jersey, but if you find yourself in police custody because of allegations of intoxication, fight back. Matthew Reisig has helped more than 1,040 New Jersey drivers avoid conviction on DWI, and he can help you present the strongest, most persuasive case in your defense in the state. Call today at 732-625-9660 and talk to an experienced New Jersey DWI defense lawyer for free.

Ahead of the Memorial Day holiday weekend, police departments across New Jersey made an effort to let the public know that they would be out in force to catch drunk drivers. This is a fairly routine practice, with departments scheduling extra manpower and ordering DWI checkpoints to be placed during holidays. The papers write it up, the holiday proceeds, and a certain number of drivers are arrested for DWI in NJ.

What’s important to keep in mind is that New Jersey has very strict guidelines when it comes to DWI checkpoints. The police are required to use a randomized method to decide which vehicles to stop to ensure that they aren’t engaging in any type of profiling or otherwise violating drivers’ rights. There are rules governing the amount of time required for each stop, how that time is used, what indicators of impairment police can rely on, and requiring access to a separate area for field sobriety tests to be conducted.

In other words, in a DWI case stemming from a holiday sobriety checkpoint, there are numerous elements that can be examined to push back at charges of drunk driving. If you’ve been arrested for DWI in New Jersey, contact an experienced DWI defense lawyer right away. Matthew Reisig has helped more than 1,040 drivers avoid conviction on DWI charges. Call 732-625-9660 today for a free consultation.

It’s never a good idea to try to use a position of authority to pressure a cop into ignoring evidence of a crime. Judge Dennis Baptista of the Phillipsburg Municipal Court learned that the hard way, when reports of his attempt to persuade a cop to let him go after admitting to drunk driving prompted the State Supreme Court to issue an official censure. Judge Baptista is also barred from hearing DWI cases for a period of one year, according to the Supreme Court’s order.

The reprimands stem from an August 2014 traffic stop by State Trooper Josh Ladao in Clinton Township. Baptista had been driving erratically, and Ladao had him perform field sobriety tests, which he failed. Ladao arrested him. During the encounter, Baptista repeatedly suggested that an arrest would be detrimental to his career in public service and that charges would be harder for him than, “for an average guy.”

The Court was outraged, calling Baptista’s conduct an abuse of power that, “bespeaks a disregard for the rule of law” and said that Baptista “was attempting to obstruct justice.” According to Phillipsburg Town Council minutes, Baptista has been replaced on the municipal bench, meaning that he may have lost his job outright by sacrificing his reputation.

Consequences for a DWI in New Jersey can include professional penalties, which is why it’s so important to know your rights and work with an experienced New Jersey DWI attorney. Matthew Reisig has helped clients overcome DWI charges for almost 20 years. Call 732-625-9660 today for a free consultation with an experienced New Jersey DWI attorney.

A New Jersey man who challenged his fourth DWI conviction all the way to the state’s Supreme Court finally got a ruling last week. James Denelsbeck was facing a 180-day mandatory jail sentence, plus thousands of dollars in fees and fines. Because of the severity of the punishment, Denelsbeck requested a trial by jury, which was denied on the grounds that DWI cases are traffic matters, not criminal prosecutions.

Denelsbeck argued that the punishments for his conviction were comparable to those of a crime. The New Jersey Supreme Court disagreed, declaring that DWI prosecutions remain a matter for municipal courts. This approach to DWI is unique among the states, with most treating them as criminal matters. People convicted of DWI in New Jersey will not have a criminal record, but do face a number of penalties over a period of years when they are convicted.

There are defenses for DWI charges in New Jersey. If you’ve been charged with drunk driving, talk to an experienced DWI attorney today. Matthew Reisig has helped more than 1,040 New Jersey drivers avoid conviction on DWI charges. Call 732-625-9660 today for a free consultation.

One of the most common questions people have when they’re facing DWI charges is whether they’ll have a criminal record if they’re convicted. The answer is no, but that doesn’t mean they’ll face no scrutiny. Drunk driving charges in New Jersey are technically classified as traffic infractions, but the degree of public interest, not to mention punishment if you’re convicted, push it into a quasi-criminal realm. Your local paper is unlikely to include reports of traffic tickets in its coverage of the local police blotter, but a New Jersey DWI arrest does make the cut.

Media reports of an arrest are typically not a violation of your rights or actionable on your end, but they do raise the question of whether DWI is properly categorized in the state. Punishment for DWI, especially when a driver has had previous arrests for driving drunk, look increasingly like the penalties a criminal defendant would face for a variety of charges we prosecute in the state every day, but in a DWI case, defendants aren’t even entitled to make their case to a jury.

Drunk driving charges are tough for you, your family, and your career. You can lose your license for months or years, pay huge fines, and even face jail time. While the media is free to report the arrest, and you’ll likely have to explain it in some difficult situations down the line, you can fight back and win. Matthew Reisig has helped more than 1,040 drivers in New Jersey avoid conviction in their DWI cases. Call 732-625-9660 today for a free consultation.

Bergen County Public Safety Director Ralph Rivera, who spent nearly 30 years as a state trooper, has been suspended with pay after a report that he tried to intervene in a DWI stop in Hackensack in March.

According to the police report, Rivera appeared on scene shortly after his friend Francisco Almonte was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal around 3:30 in the morning.

Rivera interrupted Officer Andrew Kara a total of four times, repeating his law enforcement credentials in an effort to keep his friend, Almonte, from being arrested.

Officer Kara explained that he would treat the situation the same as any other, and the incident eventually made it back to Rivera’s Bergen County bosses, who launched an investigation through the Bergen County Prosecutor’s office.

Almonte, whose blood alcohol level was ultimately recorded at .03%, has pleaded not guilty to the charges, while Rivera’s future remains in doubt. Rivera will be called as a witness in Almonte’s trial.

Every DWI case has defenses. Matthew Reisig has helped more than 1,040 New Jersey drivers avoid conviction on DWI charges.

Call 732-625-9660 today and talk to an experienced New Jersey DWI defense attorney for free.