Challenging Drug-Related DWI Arrests And Drug Recognition Experts In New Jersey
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?
Marijuana, prescription drugs and heroin are the types of drugs that we have seen most recently in our cases.
Are Drug DWIs Usually Combined Or Single-Drug Cases?
Most cases usually involve the use of just one drug. Sometimes, when heroin is involved in a case, there may also be some fentanyl detected in a blood or urine sample. Generally speaking, however, it is more likely that the use of just one drug will be alleged in DWI cases in New Jersey.
What Does The Prosecution Need To Prove For A Drug-Related DWI Conviction In New Jersey
However, to convict you of a DWI, the state still has to prove that you were under the effects of a drug, and present evidence to establish that the cause of the impairment that you were dealing with was either due to narcotics, hallucinogenic, or habit-producing drugs.
Imagine that you were driving a vehicle “erratically,” and the police pulled you over to look for signs that you may have been impaired. For example, if your speech was slurred, your motor skills were impaired when trying to produce driving documentation, or your answers to their questions were a bit incoherent.
Then, the officer could decide to give a field sobriety test. If it shows poor balance, that might let the officer decide there is probable cause to arrest you and take you back to the station to give a breath sample.
Imagine now that the breath sample comes back as a point zero, 0% BAC. Alcohol was clearly not a problem. So, the next step would be to get consent for a urine or blood sample.
That sample will be analyzed at the state laboratory. Even if it comes back with evidence of a legal or illegal drug in your system, the state still has to establish that the observations made by the officer about your impairment were actually caused or linked to the drug that was found in your system.
Attorney Kevin Leckerman is a devoted and creative DWI defense lawyer who has handled countless drug-related impaired driving cases in New Jersey. Over nearly 30 years of legal practice, 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 today to schedule an initial defense consultation.
It is not enough for them to show that you had a drug in your system and that there were some signs of impairment. There actually has to be a causal connection between the observations and the presence of a drug to prove that the drug actually was the cause of the impairment. 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. A recent case decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court, State v. Olenowski, has required that the state draw a link between the infraction, the observations and the drug use. And that is something your lawyer can help you fight to avoid a conviction.
Why Are Drug DWIs More Difficult To Prosecute Or Defend Now Than Before?
After the Olenowski case, it has become difficult for the State to prove the impairment link for pretty much any drug.
The State v. Olenowski case specifically concerned drug recognition experts (DREs), officers specially trained to determine whether a driver is under the influence of drugs. It addressed the issue of whether DREs could use this training in order to give an opinion about whether the drugs caused someone to be impaired and unable to drive a vehicle safely.
By legal definition, for a conviction, the state must demonstrate that, through a lack of motor control and perception, the drug caused substantial deterioration or diminution of mental faculties or physical capabilities.
That is the legal terminology that needs to be used in order to show that a person is guilty of a DWI beyond a reasonable doubt. It essentially means that the drug must have made a significant impact on the judgment or control of the person driving a motor vehicle.
In the past, the state could use this drug recognition expert to make that causal link, but the Supreme Court has said that they cannot do so directly anymore. The DRE can, at most, give an opinion as to whether the observations made by the police officer and the DRE were indicative of drug usage, and what type of drug these signs would be related to.
For example, there might be a specific set of observations that a police officer or DRE would be making that are consistent with cannabis use, narcotic analgesic use, inhalant use, and so on, which is how the officer is trained to make these determinations.
Now, the state has to somehow show a link between the judgment of the DRE, what was found in the laboratory report, and the observations of the arresting officer. Only by taking all those factors into account can a Judge find somebody guilty beyond a reasonable doubt for the DWI.
This is a very high burden that the state has to meet now that the DRE can’t give an opinion as to whether a drug impaired the person’s ability to drive a vehicle.
Will My Arresting Officer Be A Drug Recognition Expert?
It is relatively unlikely that the officer making the arrest also happens to be a DRE. The arresting officers will usually have to call in the DRE to do an extensive evaluation that takes, typically a couple of hours. Often, a DRE will not even be available, especially in more rural areas. Some stations or sectors may not even have an officer on staff who’s trained as a DRE.
If there is no DRE, the arresting police officer would have to reach out to an adjacent police department that is known to have a trained DRE and request that the DRE intervene.
In those cases, there can be a substantial break in time between the point when the officer observed the driver operating the car and when the DRE actually starts the evaluation and concludes with an opinion about what drug the driver might be under the influence of.
This is also why officers will often push for a blood or urine test.
Why Do Officers Try To Compel Urine Or Blood Tests Quickly?
It is highly beneficial for the DRE or arresting officer to try to get a urine sample as soon as possible to establish solid evidence. For many drugs, including marijuana, cocaine, and some narcotic analgesics, the effects will definitely wear off within a shorter period of time than methamphetamines or even alcohol.
Therefore, to accurately find out the amount of drug that was in your system, they 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.
An officer can, however, try to circumvent the warrant requirement by persuading you to give the sample, such as with informed consent warnings. In fact, there is a particular State Attorney General form that’s sent out to each police department, which should be used in order to get informed consent from a driver. If that form was in use, then there are definitely legal issues concerning whether the consent was, in fact, informed, and whether that blood or urine sample result can be used against the driver.
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.