Proposed Reforms of NJ DWI Laws

After representing thousands of defendants, and appearing in almost every municipal court throughout the state of New Jersey over the past 35 years, it has occurred to me that NJ could do a better job dealing with adjudication of DWI laws.  In my opinion, the following changes would provide a better system in terms of enforcement of DWI laws in New Jersey.

1. First and foremost, our judicial system must recognize that many times offenses arise because of emotional-psychological-psychiatric conditions that include the abuse of alcohol.  Unfortunately our medical system fails to provide services needed by these people.  Our system of DWI enforcement must take this into consideration, just as our criminal law system does.  While accidents which result from excessive alcohol consumption are senseless and tragic, we will better deal with this problem by recognizing what is causing alcohol abuse in many cases, rather than simply punishing defendants severely, the way our system does.
   
2. NJ should provide defendants, in the appropriate cases, with "work licenses" or "conditional licenses" which would allow them limited use of their vehicles to drive to work, to go to alcohol counseling, to obtain medical assistance and related activities.  Such as system has been in place in New York and Pennsylvania and appears to both punish the defendants, while at the same time, allowing work and access to substance abuse assistance.
   
   
3. The municipal court system should be reformed as it can no longer operate as a part-time court, handling high volumes of complaints, ranging from parking tickets enhanced DWI prosecutions.  While many of these courts have excellent and dedicated judges, prosecutors and court staffs, many are incapable of handling their case load in an efficient, prompt, and appropriate manner, considering limited sessions and budgetary constraints imposed by towns which expect courts to be profit centers in order to relieve the tax burden on home owners.  Furthermore, it makes no sense to repeat municipal court services in each of the 500+ towns in New Jersey when these courts only meet once a week, or once or twice a month.
   
4. Trials should not take place in facilities that are shared with police departments for the same town.  This would promote fairness in dispositions by insuring separation of judicial and executive functions in each town.  This would also improve the perception of justice from the standpoint of the defendant.
   
   
5. Arrest of defendants and police processing in headquarters shall be videotaped and provided to defendants prior to trial.  Too many times, police reports simply do not match up with videotapes of these same events.
   
   
6. Defendants charged with offenses requiring mandatory jail time, including DWI, should be entitled to jury trials in the Superior Court, with all rights afforded, as afforded other defendants in that court, including pre-trial intervention.
   
   
7. The State of New Jersey should be required to change software in all Alcotest 7110 MK-III breath test machines, mandated by the NJ Supreme Court in March of 2008 in State vs. Chun.
   
   
8. No defendant charged with refusal to provide a breath sample should be found guilty unless the defendant has been read a statement explaining his obligation to provide a breath sample, which is clear, understandable, and in "plain English," or in the language spoken by the defendant, and unless he is provided at least ten minutes to contact an attorney in order to obtain legal advice. 
   
   
9. No defendant charged with DWI should be denied the opportunity to apply to the Court for a work license, which may be issued at the discretion of the Court upon consideration of the circumstances of each case.
   
   

10.  No defendant shall be arrested without the events leading up to the arrest and the breath test following that arrest being videotaped with a copy of that provided with discovery before trial. 
     

11. No defendant charged with refusal to provide a breath sample should be found guilty unless the defendant has been read a statement explaining his obligation to provide a breath sample, which is clear, understandable and in “plain English”, or the language spoken by the defendant, and unless he is provided at least ten minutes to contact an attorney to obtain legal advice. 

     

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