DWI Lawyers in Parsippany, New Jersey
“Here, our client was arrested and charged with DWI in Parsippany, NJ. Mr. Tormey was able to challenge the breath test results in the case so the client’s driver’s license suspension was significantly lowered.”
A DWI is a traffic offense in New Jersey, it’s not criminal. But that doesn’t mean it’s not serious. An arrest for drunk driving can have serious consequences including fines, jail time, and a suspension of your NJ driver’s license. Here is an example of a DUI case we handled for a client in Parsippany, New Jersey.
1st offense DWI Charge in Parsippany Court
Travis J. Tormey recently represented a client in the Parsippany Municipal Court who was facing a driving while intoxicated (DWI) violation under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50. The client was allegedly stopped for speeding and failure to yield to an emergency vehicle. He was suspected of DWI and conducted field sobriety tests on the highway which he allegedly failed. The state trooper then arrested him for a DWI and took him to the state police barracks to provide a breath sample on the Alcotest 7110 breath testing device. The purported reading (blood alcohol content) was .16% which is double the legal limit in New Jersey. Our client was facing a 7 month to one year license suspension based on this level of intoxication, fines, alcohol classes, and an ignition interlock blowing device on his motor vehicle for 6 months to 1 year when he gets his license back (because his reading was higher than .15% BAC).
Review the Discovery Evidence – Challenge the Case in Parsippany Court
The client hired us to represent him on this case. We obtained the discovery packet which is all of the evidence in the case that the State intends to rely upon to prove the charges which includes police reports, videos, Alcotest documents relating to the breath machine, etc. Then, we noticed there were some legal issues with regards to the 20 minute observation period conducted in this case. The police officers must watch the driver for 20 minutes before placing them on the breath testing device to ensure they don’t eat anything, belch or burp, etc because this can effect the mouth alcohol levels and give the machine a false reading. In this case, the times on the video, police reports, and Alcohol Influence Report did not match up properly to show that the 20 minute period was properly conducted. As a result, we retained our DWI expert, a retired NJ state trooper, to write an expert report and potentially testify at trial if necessary regarding the reliability of the breath reading. Based on this expert report and the evidential issues, the prosecutor agreed to suppress the reading and proceed on the observations only. Therefore, the client only lost his driver’s license for three months and he avoided the ignition interlock device on his motor vehicle altogether.
This is known as an observation case so the DWI was proven without the breath reading which was suppressed in court – this significantly lowered the penalties that the client was facing.
What’s the best defense to DWI charges Parsippany? Contact Us to Review Your Case
The client was very pleased with this result and our handling of the matter. If you or a loved one needs assistance with a DWI in Parsippany NJ, contact our offices anytime for a free initial consultation at 908-336-5008.