New Jersey Criminal Defense Journal : New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Travis Tormey of Alexander M. Iler Law Firm : Monmouth County NJ DWI & Drunk Driving Defense

I appeared in Sea Bright Municipal Court yesterday as a public defender at the request of the Court as there were co-defendants in this drunk driving matter so the regular public defender can only represent one of the two co-defendants. Thus, I was asked by the Court to serve as the public defender for the other co-defendant. Sea Bright Municipal Court usually meets at 1167 Ocean Avenue in Sea Bright, New Jersey. However, when I arrived for the 8:30 a.m. calender call, I was informed that the Sea Bright Municipal Court is now being held at the Oceanport Municipal Court which is located at 222 Monmouth Boulevard in Oceanport, New Jersey.

I'm not sure if this is a permanent change or a temporary one but I would suggest if you have a matter scheduled in the Sea Bright Municipal Court, you should call the court prior to your appearance to confirm at which location the court session is being held.

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The Appellate Division in New Jersey this week upheld a law which gives judges the authority to suspend driver's licenses. The court detailed factors to be used in deciding whether or not to suspend a license and urged the legislature in New Jersey to enact guidelines for judges to consider. Defense counsel argued that the law, N.J.S.A. 39:5-31, had been repealed by implication through the Legislature creating the points system in New Jersey in 1952. The Appellate Division rejected this argument.

In this case, the defendant was convicted of reckless driving and her license was suspended 45 days. The statute in question allows judges to revoke a driver's license "when such person shall have been guilty of such willful violation of any of the provisions of this subtitle as shall, in the discretion of the magistrate, justify such revocation". Until the Legislature acts and creates guidelines in this arena, judges should be guided by factors such as the offense's nature and circumstance, the egregiousness of the offense, any harm inflicted on others, the defendant's driving history/record, the likelihood of committing future motor vehicle violations, and the need to deter this type of behavior.

Here, the judge considered the willful violation and the defendant's driving record that, although currently didn't have any motor vehicle points, it included prior traffic offenses such as improper passing, failure to observe a traffic light, speeding, obstructing traffic, and careless driving. Based on these factors, the judge suspended the defendant's driver's license for 45 days. Defense counsel plans to appeal this decision to the New Jersey Supreme Court.

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The New Jersey Appellate Division ruled Friday that it is permissible for law enforcement to pull over a vehicle for having anything hanging from their rearview mirror if the officer believes that the items obstruct the driver's view. For information on this decision, see the Asbury Park Press article. This is a terrible decision which has significant consequences for drivers in New Jersey.

Now, police officers can pull over any driver who has anything hanging from their rearview mirror (such as fuzzy dice or a car freshener) and claim that this object obstructs the driver's view of the road. According to the Appellate Division, this is sufficient probable cause for the traffic stop. Then, police can issue other summonses once they execute the traffic stop. Remember, police still cannot search the vehicle without sufficient probable cause. However, if marijuana or other drug paraphernalia is in "plain view" when the officer executes the traffic stop, this is an exception to the warrant requirement and the officer may arrest the driver for possession of marijuana or possession of drug paraphernalia. Further, even if nothing is in plain view, if the officer alleges that he smells marijuana on the driver, this can be sufficient probable cause to search the vehicle. Thus, this decision gives law enforcement significant leeway to pull someone over for something extremeley minor (like having fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror) and then execute a traffic stop to potentially create more serious criminal or traffic charges.

The moral of the story is: Don't hang anything from your rearview mirror or police can now lawfully pull you over.

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Monmouth and Ocean County will participate in an annual seat-belt enforcement campaign which runs from May 18 to May 31. Pam Fischer, the director of the State Division of Highway Traffic Safety commented, "I think the one message we really want to get out to the public is the most effective safety device in an automobile is a seat belt. We really want everyone to understand how important it is to buckle up." Drivers who wear a seat belt reduce their chance of being injured or killed in a crash by up to 75%. According to the Asbury Park Press, during last year's seat belt campaign, police in New Jersey issued 46,026 summonses for failure to wear a seat belt and 6,831 speeding tickets, and made 642 drunk driving arrests.

Moreover, according to the article, this year's local grant recipients are Allenhurst, Deal, Eatontown, Freehold Township, Holmdel, Interlaken, Keansburg, Keyport, Marlboro, Middletown, the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office, Neptune, Spring Lake Heights, Union Beach, West Long Branch, Barnegat, Berkeley, Lacey, Lakehurst, Lakewood, Little Egg Harbor, Manchester, Stafford and Toms River.

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I just read an interesting article in the Asbury Park Press.  Recent statistics show that traffic summonses are down 2% so far this fiscal year in the State of New Jersey. Moreover, traffic tickets are down 4% in Monmouth County and 11% in Ocean County. Some municipalities are down more than others. For example, traffic tickets are down 50% in Seaside Heights and 34% in Belmar.

Police gave several reasons for the decrease in tickets. First, people are driving less because of higher fuel prices and the economic climate. Further, the number of 911 calls are up. This often takes officers off their normal patrols to deal with crime scenes and the like.

This is a very interesting development. We'll see if the trends continue for the rest of 2009.

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I appeared in Municipal Court this morning on behalf of a client. He was charged with Speeding under N.J.S.A. 39:4-98 and Reckless Driving under N.J.S.A. 39:4-96. He was paced by the New Jersey State Police going 110 m.p.h. in a 65 m.p.h. zone. He is a resident of Virginia and has a Virginia driver's license and was only in New Jersey visiting friends.

As you can see, this is a difficult case because he was traveling at an extremely high rate of speed. Further, there are no issues with regard to radar detection and the like because he was paced by the law enforcement officer. Thus, it is essentially the police officer's word against my client if we take this case to trial. Needless to say, I went to court looking for a plea and a positive resolution for my client. My client is actually moving back to Korea within the next month. Therefore, even if they suspend his license, which most judges require if you are traveling at a speed of 90 m.p.h. or faster, it will not have an impact on his life because he will be out of the country. My client's greatest concern was staying out of jail because penalties for reckless driving can include up to sixty (60) days in prison. Further, my client was looking at five (5) points for the speeding ticket (because he was going 30+ m.p.h. over the legal limit) and five (5) points for the reckless driving ticket. These ten (10) points on his license would have significant financial implications in terms of fines and insurance surcharges and his license could also be suspended once twelve (12) points or more are accumulated.
 

I was able to work out a favorable deal for my client. He is able to keep his license for the next month while he prepares to move back to Korea. Then, I will enter a plea by affidavit on his behalf in a month or so and he will plead guilty to the speeding ticket and the reckless driving ticket will be dismissed. Thus, he does not have to appear in court as he lives in Virginia and he may actually be in Korea by the time the plea is entered. He merely signs an affidavit stating that he understands the charges and wishes to plead guilty to the speeding ticket charge with the understanding that the reckless driving charge will be dismissed. He sends the Court a check for the fines and court costs and the matter is resolved. This was a great success as the client was able to keep his license for the next month while he arranges his move to Korea and I was also able to keep him out of jail.

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I recently represented a client who is charged with possessing and displaying a fraudulent insurance card to a law enforcement officer. The statute governing this offense is N.J.S.A. 2C:21-2.3 which provides:

§ 2C:21-2.3. Producing, selling, offering, displaying, possessing fraudulent motor vehicle insurance ID cards

a. A person who knowingly produces, sells, offers or exposes for sale a document, printed form or other writing which simulates a motor vehicle insurance identification card is guilty of a crime of the third degree. In addition to any other penalty imposed, a person convicted under this section shall be ordered by the court to perform community service for a period of 30 days.

b. A person who exhibits or displays to a law enforcement officer or a person conducting a motor vehicle inspection pursuant to chapter 8 of Title 39 of the Revised Statutes a falsely made, forged, altered, counterfeited or simulated motor vehicle insurance identification card, knowing that the insurance identification card was falsely made, forged, altered, counterfeited or simulated, commits a crime of the fourth degree.

c. A person who possesses a falsely made, forged, altered, counterfeited or simulated motor vehicle insurance identification card, knowing that the insurance identification card was falsely made, forged, altered, counterfeited or simulated, commits a disorderly persons offense.

As you can see, this is a very serious offense. Under subsection (a), this is a third degree offense and the individual is facing one (1) to five (5) years in prison. Under subsection (b), this is graded as a fourth degree offense and the individual is looking at up to eighteen (18) months in prison. Finally, under subsection (c), this is a disorderly persons offense and the defendant is facing up to six (6) months in prison. All of these offenses result in a permanent criminal charge on your record. Finally, if you display a false insurance card you will also be charged with driving without insurance under N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2 which is a serious traffic offense. For a first offense, the fine is between $300 and $1000, it requires a one year license suspension, and you will also pay motor vehicle surcharges and court costs.

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I recently represented a client in Hillside Municipal Court charged with leaving the scene of an accident. This is a fairly serious traffic offense in New Jersey. The statute governing this charge is N.J.S.A. 39:4-129. To read the entire statute, please visit my firm website at "The Iler Law Firm.Com". The penalties for a first offense include a one (1) year license suspension, a fine of $2,500 to $5,000, and potential imprisonment of 180 days if the accident resulted in injury or death to another. Also, if the accident results in an injury the leaving the scene charge causes eight (8) points on your New Jersey Driver's license. If the accident does not result in injury, it causes two (2) points on your license. Remember, if you rack up between twelve (12) and fifteen (15) points on your license in a two year period, your license is subject to suspension.

The statute requires that a driver immediately stop a vehicle once he or she is involved in an accident. This should be done at the scene of the accident or as close to the scene as possible. The driver must then satisfy the requirements of N.J.S.A. 39:4-129(c) which requires the driver provide his name and address and display his driver's license and registration for the vehicle to the other driver or to the police officer at the scene. Also, if anyone is injured the driver must provide "reasonable assistance, including the carrying of that person to a hospital or a physician for medical or surgical treatment, if it is apparent that the treatment is necessary or is requested by the injured person." Finally, if the other vehicle is unattended (i.e. you hit a parked car), you must attempt to find the driver and if you are unable to locate him or her you must create a written notice with your contact information and place it on the other vehicle or notify the local police department.

In my case, the driver struck a pedestrian who was talking on her cell phone while walking in the street. The driver essentially "rolled into her" and was not traveling at a high rate of speed. The driver stopped and asked the pedestrian if she was alright and offered to provide her with any assistance required. The pedestrian was clearly upset by the incident and told the driver she was fine and to leave her alone. Then, in a peculiar twist, the driver received tickets in the mail for careless driving, failure to yield, and leaving the scene of an accident. He hired us to defend him against these charges. As a result, I was able to get the leaving the scene of an accident charge dismissed because, I argued, the driver met his burden under the statute. He stopped, provided her with his information, and asked her if she needed medical assistance. Thus, he was not guilty of leaving the scene of an accident and the charge was dismissed.

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I was driving home last night on the Garden State Parkway and I couldn't believe how many vehicles I saw with one headlight out. Driving around with a headlight out is asking to be pulled over in New Jersey. Under New Jersey Motor Vehicle laws, driving with a headlight out is a violation of N.J.S.A. 39:3-66 which provides:

§ 39:3-66. Maintenance of lamps, reflectors, etc

   All lamps, reflectors and other illuminating devices required by this article shall be kept clean and in good working order and, as far as practicable, shall be mounted in such a manner as to reduce the likelihood of their being obscured by mud or dust thrown up by the wheels.

As a result, driving with a headlight or taillight out is a clear violation of the statute. However, this is not the real problem. A violation of NJSA 39:3-66 merely results in a fine. However, this violation allows law enforcement to pull you over and often leads to other violations. For example, you can be charged with driving without a license, driving on a suspended license, possession of marijuana, or failure to exhibit documents once you are pulled over by the police and they are allowed to investigate further. Therefore, it is imperative that you make sure all your lights (headlights and taillights) are in good working order at all times. Otherwise, you will surely be pulled over and receive a ticket for a violation of NJSA 39:3-66 and you may be looking at additional violations depending on the circumstances of your traffic stop.

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