A Former Edison Municipal Court Prosecutor Is Ready At Our Firm To Defend Your Third Offense Case
If this is your third or subsequent DWI offense, you hardly need telling that a conviction in Edison Municipal Court can have a devastating impact on your life. Whether the DUI stop was by a member of the Edison Township Police Department on Routes 1, 18, 287, or by the State Police on the New Jersey Turnpike, the consequences are the same if you lose your case. Our attorneys have the experience and skill, however, to ensure you have the very best chance of avoiding a conviction.
Here at the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, our attorneys have over 200 years of collective experience handling DWI charges in Edison Township Municipal Court, including as the prosecutor of the town (i.e. Bill Wachowski). You should also know that the head of our drinking and driving defense team is Colin Bonus and that he is one of only approximately 4 attorneys in New Jersey who practice exclusively in DWI. The combination of our training, unique experience, and concentration in this area of law, tend to translate into a much higher percentage of acquittals than you would expect from the run-of-the-mill attorney defending a DWI in Edison or elsewhere.
Let our Edison DWI Lawyers put their skill to use for you so that you have the best opportunity of escaping a DUI conviction. Give us a call today at 732-248-7675 for a free consultation with a highly experienced drunk driving attorney.
Edison Township Third DUI Offense
Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, a person can be convicted of DWI where the prosecution is able to prove to essential elements, operation of a motor vehicle and intoxication. The operational element, while rarely in dispute, is proven in one of three ways. First, the prosecution can show through direct evidence, i.e. an officer witnessed you driving before they pulled you over, that you were operating a motor vehicle. Secondly, the prosecution, though perhaps without direct evidence, can satisfy their burden if you or someone else in the vehicle tells them that you were operating the vehicle prior to the stop. Lastly, with circumstantial evidence, i.e. evidence that, while not direct evidence, allows the prosecution to create a presumption of operation, the prosecution may also satisfy their burden. It is also worth noting that in some cases, this operational element is not necessary. This are the “intent to operate” cases. Where an officer sees a noticeably intoxicated person attempt to get behind the wheel of a vehicle, the law does not require him to wait for the person to actually drive off to make an arrest.
The intoxication element similarly can be proven in three ways: Field Sobriety Testing, a Breath Test, or a Blood Test. Field sobriety testing is familiar to most people as those tests you do on the side of the road that ask you to state the alphabet backwards, walk a straight line, balance on one foot, etc. Law enforcement officials, however, prefer to rely on the more scientifically accurate tests to uphold their arrests. The breathalyzer used in the State of New Jersey is the Alcotest 7110 and it’s results are deemed to be scientifically reliable in a court of law after the New Jersey Supreme Court’s landmark decision in State v. Chun. However, these results are only admissible if officers follow a particular set of instructions mandated by law. The failure to do so renders the test unreliable and the results inadmissible. The blood draw test, while it may be used, is a secondary method to the breath test, which is preferred.
If the prosecution is able to establish these elements, however, the results of a third or subsequent DWI conviction are severe. The most noticeable and hard-hitting of these is the loss of the right to operate a motor vehicle for 8-10 years. An individual is also required to serve 180 days in jail, pay a fine of $1,000, and an annual surcharge of $1,500, not $1,000, for three years.
Edison NJ DWI Lawyer for a Third Offense
The penalties for a third offense are clearly severe with 6 months in jail and an approximately decade long license suspension. Don’t let you an unfortunate mistake and DWI arrest translate into such a dire outcome when the NJ criminal defense attorneys have a track record of avoiding these consequences. Our lawyers know the ins and outs of this offense and how best to ensure that you neither face lengthy incarceration or the prospect of being immobile for ten years. If you have been charged with a third offense in Edison NJ, call us today at 732-248-7675 or a free initial consultation with an attorney who has the experience and know-how you need.
