Operation: What is the definition of “Operate” by the New Jersey DWI Statute?

Introduction

This post will refer to New Jersey’s drunk driving law as driving under the influence (DUI), driving while intoxicated (DWI), and—without intending to be redundant—drunk driving. But forget the word “driving” because the statute defining the offense does not use that word. And forget about placing the motor vehicle in “drive” as a prerequisite for this offense. Instead, the statute sets forth penalties for a person who operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, narcotic, hallucinogenic or habit-producing drug, or operates a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or more by weight of alcohol in the defendant’s blood. Read more

What is a Motor Vehicle under New Jersey’s Drunk Driving Law?

In New Jersey, if you aren’t operating a motor vehicle, you aren’t driving drunk!

Hope springs eternal. And this hopeful thought probably crosses the mind around 2 a.m. when one needs to get home from the bar. Nevertheless, as this post will demonstrate it is not entirely accurate. Indeed, New Jersey’s drunk driving statute imposes penalties on a person who operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor, narcotic, hallucinogenic or habit-producing drug, or operates a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more by weight of alcohol in the the person‘s blood.¹ Read more

New Jersey Motor Vehicle Code Definitions, N.J.S.A. 39:1-1

New Jersey Motor Vehicle Code Definitions

As used in this subtitle, unless other meaning is clearly apparent from the language or context, or unless inconsistent with the manifest intention of the Legislature, these are the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Code Definitions:

A

Alley means a public highway wherein the roadway does not exceed 12 feet in width.

Authorized emergency vehicles means vehicles of the fire department, police vehicles and such ambulances and other vehicles as are approved by the chief administrator when operated in response to an emergency call.

Autocycle means a three-wheeled motorcycle designed to be controlled with a steering wheel and pedals in which Read more

Arraignment, R. 3:9-1

We all have bad days. But it seems to me we invariably react in one of three ways to the bad days of others: empathy, apathy, or judgment. And judgment seems to be the most popular. For example, an Atco man will soon make his first formal appearance in the Gloucester County Superior Court for his arraignment involving two separate cases. One case involves an alleged assault by auto and heroin possession. I would submit the day of the collision was a bad day for him. But what is your reaction to this? How does it make you feel? Read more

Refusal to Submit to Breath Test, N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a

This week Jersey City cops charged a local firefighter with refusal to submit to a breath test, among other offenses. The cops claim he drove a 2005 Cadillac Escalade through an intersection they had closed due to a four-car collision. Additionally, they claim he sped through the area and ignored orders to stop. They also claim he drove around a marked police car with its lights on. Furthermore, he almost clipped two police officers investigating the motor-vehicle accident. The firefighter allegedly had glassy, dilated eyes, could not speak full sentences, and could not complete the field sobriety tests. Read more

Justifications For Punishment

The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience…
Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., The Common Law 1 (1881).

The Hopatcong cop charged with simple assault after his encounter with an air horn wielding individual in a bunny costume has made the news again. If nothing else, this will provide a case study, an object lesson if you will, in the justifications for punishment. I learned this in law school, so you might want to pay attention.

Apparently, the Sussex County First Assistant Prosecutor recently charged the officer with harassment, too. Indeed, one might say the government is providing the officer with on the job training for something that the criminals already know—don’t get caught. And let’s be candid. Read more

The Fourth Amendment and the Right to Be Secure in Your House

This past weekend, a police tactical unit forcibly entered a Gloucester Township home, per nj dot com. In their inimitable fashion, the cops broke open the garage door Sunday morning with a robot. But was this absolutely necessary? After all, according to the media, the cops destroyed the private property despite having full access to family members who lived there. Indeed, after a juvenile had called the police earlier that night, everyone left the house. Furthermore, the family members went directly to the police to file complaints. But about two hours after everyone left, a neighbor heard the man banging on the front door Read more

CDS Distribution in a school zone, N.J.S.A. 2c:35-7

Winslow Township cops arrested two people on drug charges and a third on weapons offenses after a weeks-long investigation. Narcotics officers executed search warrants at two homes following investigations into drug sales there. And they allegedly found cocaine, oxycodone, marijuana, packaging materials and more than $1,600 in cash. Additionally, they allegedly found a loaded 9mm handgun and a defaced .22-caliber rifle in a vehicle. Consequently, the cops charged the various people with CDS distribution in a school zone, and the following crimes:

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