New Jersey Criminal Defense Blog

Senator Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen) announced yesterday that the Senate Labor Committee will convene on May 5th to discuss problems with New Jersey’s $1.8 Billion worker’s compensation system, according to a published report in the New Jersey Star Ledger.

It was a series of reports in The Star-Ledger that prompted the special hearings. Those reports showed how bureaucratic delays, politics and poor state oversight have left thousands of injured workers waiting years for the relief promised by the New Jersey Workers’ Compensation system. The Star-Ledger series also found thousands of workers whose compensation benefits were delayed for years while insurers or state attorneys wrangled over the terms of their settlements or authorized medical treatment.

“It’s appropriate to take a close look at the workers’ compensation system to see whether it can be made more efficient,” said Sarlo. “The recent media focus on the system gives us a chance to see if we can make it a better, fairer program so nobody falls through the cracks.”

Continue reading "Senate Committee to Discuss Reform to New Jersey Worker’s Compensation System" »

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Posted In: Workers Compensation

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A recent article that appeared in the New Jersey Star Ledger illustrates the benefits of having a New Jersey DUI Defense attorney who can prepare a convincing defense using the specifics of the case.

Rodney Sanders, 39, was accused of third-degree assault by auto for allegedly causing a three-car crash on Route 22 in North Plainfield on July 31, 2007. The New Jersey Auto Accident, which occurred at about 11:40 pm, involved Sanders, who was traveling east on Route 22 when he tried to overtake a pickup truck, but struck the rear passenger side of that vehicle, police said. Sanders then struck a Newark woman’s car, forcing her off the highway, police said. The woman suffered back and neck pain and bruises.

Sanders’ blood-alcohol level was 0.23 percent, police have said, almost three times the legal limit, but according to Sanders defense team, the results of the Plainfield police officer’s drunken-driving test should not be admissible at trial. At the heart of the dispute, is the Alcotest machine that was used to record Saunders’ BAC level after the New Jersey car accident. The Alcotest machine is used to detect whether a driver is drunk, and the state Supreme Court last month ruled results from the device are admissible as long as police and prosecutors follow the safeguards outlined in the Court’s opinion.

Continue reading "Police Officer Accused of DUI Pleads Case in Court" »

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Posted In: DUI DWI Drunk Driving

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The verdict came in March 17: The New Jersey Supreme Court has approved the use of the new Alcotest 7110 breath-testing device -- as long as law enforcement and the manufacturer follow certain procedures. Under the court's decision, law enforcement must limit prosecutions to those who test within a certain accuracy range and check Alcotest's accuracy twice a year. The manufacturer must provide reasonably-priced training on using Alcotest to DWI defense attorneys and expert witnesses, and it must notify the public and the State Bar of New Jersey before changing the device.

The decision takes the device and many DWI defendants out of legal limbo. A group of DWI lawyers challenged Alcotest's accuracy in 2006, suspending the cases of thousands of DWI defendants and halting the device's rollout in four New Jersey counties. Now that the decision is in, local prosecutors and defense attorneys will work through their cases one by one, throwing out those that don't meet the Supreme Court's guidelines and finishing the others.

Continue reading "New Jersey Supreme Court Greenlights Alcotest" »

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Posted In: DUI DWI Drunk Driving

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A candidate for New Jersey's Senate seat found out last week what New Jersey DWI lawyers have been telling our clients for years: DWI convictions can haunt you long after you thought they were over.

Andy Unanue, a businessman who is heir to the family-run Goya Foods corporation, filed papers April 7 to run for Senate as a Republican. He faces a tough battle against incumbent Frank Lautenberg, in part because of some sticky questions from the media about his history with alcohol. According to the South Jersey section of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Unanue faces questions about coming to work drunk as well as a 1993 DWI conviction from Fort Lee.

The article says Unanue was cited for driving while intoxicated after police responded to a call from him. He told police that another driver had rear-ended his car and driven away, but when they arrived, they cited him for DWI. He acknowledged to the newspaper that he realized at the time that he'd had too much to drink, so he pleaded guilty. Keep in mind that Unanue was about 25 at the time, and is now 40 -- and still being asked about this DWI! Allegations have also surfaced that he came to work drunk on occasion during his days at Goya, and critics have pointed out that Ubanue doesn't currently live in New Jersey, although he says he intends to by the June 3 primary.

Continue reading "Fifteen-Year-Old DWI Haunts Senate Candidate" »

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Posted In: DUI DWI Drunk Driving

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