27 Years In The Making: The Evolution Of New Jersey DWI Court And Police Practices

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.