New technologies are always quickly integrated into law enforcement work, so it is important to think about the role they might play. This article does just that for Driving While Intoxicated charges in New Jersey, including:

• How AI might be integrated into DWI work.
• Possible legal pitfalls and benefits to increased AI use in law enforcement.
• Other new or upcoming legislation that will impact DWI charges.

Is AI Ready To Be Integrated Into DWI Enforcement?

At the speed at which Artificial Intelligence is being developed, we are almost ready for its integration into DWI law enforcement.

Current literature indicates that some body camera companies have employed AI programming to assist the officer in writing a report. Based on available information, AI is apparently able to take into account video and audio footage and put together a report for an arresting officer who would presumably need to review the report for accuracy before submitting it.

While such AI applications may cause reduced officer attentiveness when writing up police reports, this technology could also help preserve evidence and help identify any inaccurate testimony offered by police.

Are There Any Major Recent Or Upcoming Changes To DWI Laws In New Jersey?

There is a new potential law, Bill A5411, that has made its way through the New Jersey legislature and may be signed soon, that will eliminate driving license suspensions, provided you agree to have an interlock device installed in your vehicle.

This bill, if signed into law by the Governor, will no doubt be an interesting development for DWI defense in New Jersey and can make retaining driving privileges much easier for those facing DWI charges.

Want a DWI defense attorney up to speed on the very latest trends in law enforcement? Call us.

For more information on the future of New Jersey DWI law, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (856) 429-2323 today.

The bill ¹ discussed above was enacted into law on April 3, 2025. For further details, click here.

Where and who pulls you over for suspected drunk driving matters more than you might realize. This article dives into the topic of location and agency relevance for DWI stops in New Jersey, including:

• Why it matters which agency pulls you over for erratic driving in New Jersey.
• How location affects DWI cases and arrests in New Jersey.
• How timing, such as holiday seasons, can affect your arrest chances.

Does It Matter Which Agency Pulls Me Over (Highway Patrol Vs. Local Vs. Sheriff)?

When it comes to Driving While Intoxicated investigations, it can matter a great deal which police or law enforcement agency is involved. Generally, the better trained in DWI matters an officer is, the more likely you are to face legal challenges with your case.

Local Police:

Your DWI case could be more likely to be resolved in your favor if it is handled by local law enforcement, as such local officers typically have far less training on DWI-specific matters. However, this depends on the police department and whether their officers have completed specialized training programs.

State Police:

Generally speaking, the New Jersey State Police are fairly well-trained in DWI detection and standardized field sobriety testing. For the most part, state troopers will go through at least a five-day training course outside of their academy, training which specifically involves the detection of alcohol or drug-impaired drivers.

Some will have done more specialized training, which could involve Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) training or Advanced Roadside Impaired Driving Enforcement (ARIDE) training. Both of those training programs are focused on drug-involved driving offenses for the local police department.

Attorney Kevin Leckerman is a highly experienced New Jersey DWI defense lawyer who has handled thousands of impaired driving cases. If you need to get DWI charges against you lowered or dropped, he has helped clients achieve this outcome since 1998.

No matter where you have been pulled over or arrested in New Jersey, contact Leckerman Law, LLC. today to schedule an initial defense consultation.

The Sheriff’s Department:

In general, the Sheriff’s Department is not as well-trained as local police departments or state police. Many sheriff’s departments have officers who are unaware of the standardized field sobriety testing procedures or the telltale signs of intoxication. As a result, it can be easier to defend your case if you have been stopped by a Sheriff’s Department.

Port Authority Officers:

Many Delaware Port Authority officers who handle traffic coming into southern New Jersey receive fairly extensive training, especially when compared to Sheriff’s Department officers. As a result, it can be more difficult to defend your case successfully if you are stopped by these well-trained officers.

Who Will My Attorney Use As A DWI Expert For My Defense?

DWI experts are almost all former state troopers or local police officers who have become private defense expert witnesses. When employed by the State, they were responsible for training fellow police officers in DWI detection, field sobriety testing, and the operation of breath testing devices.

The DWI experts my law firm calls on are absolutely the most knowledgeable and best trained with regard to field sobriety testing and breath testing. It is a major advantage for you to have a defense attorney who has connections with exceptional and respected DWI experts.

Does Location Or Timing Affect My Likelihood Of Being Pulled Over?

There are certain days when you will certainly see many police officers along a specific stretch of road. This is especially true when State Police have been sent out to conduct speed traps or DWI sweeps. You may see a number of State officers patrolling a particular road one day, only to find it barren of Trooper presence the next day.

During major holidays, you will certainly see more State Troopers on the road in general. And if a local bar is known to have a number of intoxicated drivers leaving at a specific time, local police attention will tend to be drawn to that establishment. Finally, in small jurisdictions with a low crime rate, you are more likely to see officers out on weekend nights searching for possibly impaired drivers.

No matter where, when, or who pulls you over for DWI, you need a good defense lawyer.

For more information on New Jersey DWI stops and arrests, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (856) 429-2323 today.

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) is a charge most commonly associated with drunk driving, but drug use, even legal drugs, can cause impaired driving and lead to a DWI arrest. This article discusses these cases in New Jersey, and the importance of Drug Recognition Experts (DRE) to reach convictions, including:

• The most common drug-related DWI cases in New Jersey.
• Why proving drug impairment has become complicated in New Jersey, even for DREs.
• Why a police officer may ask you for a blood or urine test after a suspected drug stop.

What Drugs Are Most Prevalent In Recent New Jersey DWI Cases?

Recently, my law office has seen a large number of DWI cases involving marijuana, prescription drugs, and heroin. When heroin is involved in a case, there may also be small quantities of fentanyl detected in blood or urine samples, as well. But generally speaking, it is more likely that only one drug or substance will be alleged in a New Jersey DWI case.

What Does The Prosecution Need To Prove For A Drug-Related DWI Conviction In New Jersey?

To convict you of a DWI in New Jersey, the State must prove that you were under the influence of a drug and present evidence that this drug caused impairment. This is usually established through police observations and later blood or urine tests.

However, it is not enough for The State to show that you had a drug in your system and that there were some signs of impairment. The State must actually prove a causal connection between the driving infraction, the officer’s observations, and the presence of a drug. However, the state does not have to show that a specific drug ingested caused the impairment.

This might seem complicated, but it can be essential to your defense. These are legal nuances your lawyer can help you navigate, and it is crucial to have an experienced attorney to help you fight these charges.

Attorney Kevin Leckerman is a devoted and creative DWI defense lawyer who has handled countless drug-related impaired driving cases in New Jersey. Since 1998, he has helped thousands of drivers get the charges against them lowered or dropped and is an ardent defender of drivers’ rights in the face of police misbehavior.

If you have been arrested for drug-impaired driving in New Jersey, contact Leckerman Law, LLC. today to schedule an initial defense consultation.

Why Are Drug DWIs More Difficult To Prosecute Or Defend Now Than Before?

A recent case decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court, The State of New Jersey v. Olenowski, has required that the state draw a link between the infraction, the observations of impairment made by the arresting officer, and the drug use.

The State of New Jersey v. Olenowski case specifically concerned drug recognition experts (DREs), officers specially trained to determine whether a driver is under the influence of drugs. In the past, the State could use a DRE’s opinion to make a causal connection between impairment and drug use. Since this case, however, while the DRE can give their opinion as to whether there were indications of drug use and which drug these signs would be related to, this opinion alone can not lead to a conviction.

Instead, the State must now show a link between the opinion of the DRE, the substances found in your blood or urine through a laboratory test, and the observations of the arresting officer. Only by taking all those factors into account can a judge find you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of a drug-related DWI. This is a very high burden that the State has to meet, making it far more difficult for them to prove a causal link and, therefore, more difficult to make a conviction.

Will My Arresting Officer Be A Drug Recognition Expert?

It is relatively unlikely that the officer who arrests you will also happen to be a drug recognition expert (DRE). Arresting officers will usually have to call in a DRE to do an extensive evaluation, which will take a couple of hours. And in rural areas or in certain stations, a DRE may not even be available.

If there is no DRE available, the arresting officer will have to reach out to an adjacent police department that does have a trained DRE on staff to conduct the needed evaluation. In such cases, there can be a substantial break in time between when the arresting officer observed you and when the DRE begins their evaluation.

For this reason, arresting officers may push for a blood or urine test to determine what substances are in your system.

Why Do Officers Try To Compel Urine Or Blood Tests Quickly?

The arresting officer or the DRE will try to get a urine or blood sample as quickly as possible to establish solid evidence of drug-related impairment. For many drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, and some narcotic analgesics, the effects will wear off within a shorter period of time than methamphetamines or even alcohol.

Therefore, to accurately find out the type and quantity of drug that was in your system, the police will want the sample taken as soon as possible. However, in New Jersey, a police officer cannot compel you to give a blood or urine sample without a warrant.

Be aware that an officer may try to circumvent the warrant requirement by pressuring you with informed consent warnings. In fact, there is a specific State Attorney General form sent to each New Jersey police department used to seek informed consent from you.

If this form was used in your case, your attorney may be able to question whether the consent you gave was, in fact, informed and whether the blood or urine samples that resulted can be legally used against you.

Have You Been Arrested For Drug-Impaired Driving In New Jersey? Call A Defense Attorney Who Can Help

For more information on Drug-related DWI laws and police behavior, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (856) 429-2323 today.

With the legalization of Marijuana in New Jersey, it is a good time to review the current state of drug-impaired Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) laws and procedures. Knowing the differences and procedures between different DWI scenarios might, after all, make all the difference in your defense. This article covers:

• The kinds of drug-related DWI charges are being seen in New Jersey under the new laws.
• How Drug-related DWI cases and alcohol-related DWI cases differ and interact.
• How prescription drugs impact DWI claims and interact with other substances.

What’s New With Drug-Related DWI Cases In New Jersey?

In New Jersey, marijuana is now legal to possess and consume if you are 21 years or older. While there has been a mild increase in cannabis-related DWIs, most drug-related DWI charges involve other substances, from prescription medications to illegal opiates such as heroin.

We are also seeing an increase in cases where a client is alleged to be impaired due to a combination of cannabis and small amounts of alcohol. Their BAC is below the legal limit, but cannabis consumption leads the police to believe that they are impaired.

How Are Drug-Related DWI Stops Different Compared To Alcohol DWI Stops?

Police officers are all trained to look for signs of alcohol intoxication but are not necessarily trained on how to detect drug-related intoxication. For example, one of the first signs of impairment they will try to detect is the scent of alcohol. While scent can sometimes be used to detect cannabis, most other drugs do not leave perceptible environmental cues.

When an officer who has pulled you over believes that alcohol is involved, they are trained to look for specific signs of alcohol impairment to build a case. But this training (and even field sobriety tests) are meant to establish likely alcohol intoxication, not drug intoxication.

Secondly, there are no immediate breathalyzer tests for drugs as there are for alcohol. Finally, even if it is established that a drug is in your system through a blood or urine test, there is no determination in New Jersey as to how much of a given drug would render you legally intoxicated.

Attorney Kevin Leckerman is a dedicated DWI and DUI defense lawyer who has handled thousands of alcohol and drug-related impaired driving cases in New Jersey and Pennsylvania courts. Since 1998, he has helped countless drivers get the charges against them lowered or dropped and even helped shape DWI laws in New Jersey.

If you have been pulled over or arrested for drug-impaired driving in New Jersey, contact Leckerman Law, LLC. today to schedule an initial consultation.

How Do Officers Go About Detecting Drug-Related Impairment?

If police officers do not find indicators of alcohol intoxication, they may believe that you are impaired by a drug. Drug impairment can be harder to determine, however, as there could be a variety of impairment signs for many different drugs. While an officer may be trained to identify signs of impairment for specific types of drugs, not all officers will have the same training or familiarity.

As a result, many police officers approach a suspected drug-related DWI stop lacking experience with certain drugs. One officer may be aware of the signs of methamphetamine use or intoxication, while another has no such familiarity and does not know what to look for. While that officer may suspect that something is off, they lack the training and experience to know what, exactly, is wrong with the driver.

How Is The Legal Limit For Alcohol Or Drugs For Driving Impairment Determined?

While decades of studies on alcohol have led state legislatures to set blood alcohol limits to determine if a person is impaired, few such studies have been done to better and uniformly understand how the human body absorbs, processes, and reacts to drugs. As a result, there is no equivalent for a BAC limit for legal and illegal drugs.

Further complicating matters, each person has a specific tolerance for a drug that their body has grown accustomed to, leading to reduced signs of impairment with long-term use. This is especially true when it comes to prescription drugs, making it harder to determine whether or not a person is impaired by the drugs in their system.

How Do Prescription Medications Lead To DWI Cases?

When you are prescribed certain medications, you may be told not to drive after taking them, often for a specific period of time, such as a month. This is especially true if the possible side effects of this medication include drowsiness, trouble concentrating, or blurred vision. During this time, if you are caught driving and admit to having taken this medication earlier, you could be charged with a DWI.

However, not all prescription drugs will automatically lead to signs of impairment. If you have been taking this medication for a long time, your body may become used to the substance, and the impacts of the drug may no longer impair you at all. What’s more, if the prescription drug in question is used to mitigate a physical or mental health issue, being under its influence could actually make you a far safer driver.

Having said that, you could still be charged with a DWI if this otherwise helpful medication interacts negatively with other legal or illegal substances in your system.

Will I Be Responsible If Prescription Drug Interactions Cause Impairment?

In New Jersey, there is no scheduled list of legal drugs that you can not combine. It is, therefore, up to you, with advice from your doctor and/or pharmacist, to determine whether there will be side effects from mixing prescription drugs so that you avoid accidental intoxication.

If legal drug interactions do cause impairment, it is your responsibility not to get behind the wheel of a vehicle. If you do drive while impaired by prescription drug interactions, you could certainly receive a DWI. A court will not accept the excuse of “I didn’t know”, as the burden is on you to understand how your medications work and how to use them safely.

Have you been arrested for drunk or drug-impaired driving in New Jersey? We can help!

For more information on drug-related DWI charges in New Jersey, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (856) 429-2323 today.

Not everyone realizes it, but the law changes and evolves over time, both in terms of laws, legal statutes and rules, and the practices of the police officers who enforce them. This evolution can be seen quite clearly in New Jersey’s Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) laws, and it is essential to understand how the law has evolved and how these changes impact your case. This article dives into this evolution, explaining:

• How the municipal court system that handles DWI charges has changed over the last 30 years.
• How New Jersey’s municipal DWI courts compare to Pennsylvania’s.
• Whether police behavior and new equipment, like body cameras, have changed DWI defense.

How Has The Court System That Handles DWI Cases Changed In New Jersey?

Until the early 2000s, municipal courts in New Jersey were far less regulated than they are today. Municipal court judges were free to rule their courts as they deemed fit, with little oversight from the administrative courts. In the 1980s, it was even referred to as the “Wild West of the law”.

Today, municipal courts are far more regulated, and judges are more aware of the law. This is important, as municipal court judges are part-time judges. They are appointed for a three-year term and do not have experience in every area of the law handled by their court. In fact, many of them come from a civil law background and lack any experience with criminal law, traffic law, or domestic violence law.

How Does The Municipal Court System In New Jersey Compare To Neighboring Pennsylvania?

New Jersey’s DWI courts tend to be fairly predictable and homogenous compared to Pennsylvania, and there is more consistency in how they are run.

While each judge may, in theory, run their court in a slightly different fashion, or the court administrator may have cases heard in a different manner, the modern level of oversight in New Jersey allows for far more uniformity, which is immensely helpful for those accused of a DWI.

How Has Police Behavior On DWI Stops Changed In The Last 30 Years?

One of the most significant changes to how New Jersey law enforcement operates has been caused by body cameras. The legislature in New Jersey now requires that all officers wear body cameras on their shifts.

Generally speaking, the body camera must be activated and recording at the initiation of an investigation and can be deactivated once a person is in custody, though specific rules apply in different types of investigations.

For example, a body camera can be deactivated during a routine traffic stop once the ticket has been issued and the driver has left. When it comes to a DWI investigation, the officer’s body camera should still be turned on when you are back at the station and deemed to be safely in custody, so long as breath-testing procedures are still taking place. This includes the 20-minute observation period before breath testing begins.

Attorney Kevin Leckerman is a highly experienced DWI and DUI defense lawyer who has handled thousands of drunk driving cases in New Jersey and Pennsylvania courts. Since 1998, he has not only helped countless drivers get the charges against them lowered or dropped, but has even helped change and shape DWI laws in New Jersey.

If you have been pulled over or arrested for impaired driving in New Jersey, contact Leckerman Law, LLC. today to schedule an initial consultation.

What Do Police Officers Need To Record And Why During A DWI Arrest And Breath Test?

During DWI arrests, the officer’s body camera must generally be on until the end of the breath testing or a refusal of a breath test. As a result, it captures much more than just the initial traffic stop and arrest.

Body camera footage should show the officer asking you questions during the stop and providing you with Miranda warnings before questioning is conducted at the station. Body camera footage will hopefully show if you are standing up or sitting down, as such observations are part of the breath testing procedure and questioning procedures.

These elements are vital to the prosecution’s case in terms of how you behave at the station, how you answer questions, and your physical coordination. Correspondingly, this footage can also be important in your defense, as it can record…

• Whether Miranda rights were provided properly,
• Whether you waived Miranda properly,
• Whether the officer properly observed you before the breath tests,
• How you appeared, and whether your actions and behavior were consistent with intoxication or sobriety.

How Can Police-Worn Body Cameras Impact DWI Cases?

Police-worn body cameras can capture inappropriate actions carried out by police, witnesses, or even the accused driver. This is a massive improvement over just 20 years ago; such accountability is good for society in general, and we now get to see most of what goes on during a DWI stop and investigation.

Unfortunately, body cameras are not perfect and do not capture everything, especially if officers do not turn them on as soon as they reach a scene or if they turn them off too soon. A body camera, even when turned on, may not be positioned to capture what is going on directly in front of the officer. Audio can also be obscured in some way, making it difficult to hear what is going on.

Despite this, you should always assume that an officer’s body camera is turned on during a DWI stop and be especially careful what you say to police during the stop and while you are in custody.

Why Is It So Important To Say As Little As Possible During A DWI Arrest Or Stop?

Talking too much when pulled over or in custody can seriously harm your DWI defense lawyer’s ability to mount a strong legal defense. As a result, the only thing you should tell a police officer following an arrest is that you do not want to be questioned without your lawyer. This is a fundamental right every arrested person has, but far too many fail to exercise it.

Many people seem to believe that being as forthcoming as possible with police will help their case or inspire the officer to help them out of their predicament. This is almost never the case. The more you volunteer to a police officer, the more information they have that can be used against you.

Remember, officers have been trained to ask as many questions as possible to elicit incriminatory responses, and most are very adept at getting responses from you that can be used by the prosecution to get a conviction. The less you tell officers, the harder it will be for them to convict you.

In short, no matter how much DWI laws and police behavior may have changed in the last 30 years, you should still absolutely maintain silence when questioned by police and not answer their questions without an attorney present.

Have you or a loved one been arrested for drunk driving in New Jersey? We can help.

For more information on New Jersey DWI Laws And Charges, an initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (856) 429-2323 today.