Jersey DWI & Criminal Defense Law Blog : New Jersey Criminal Lawyer & Attorney : Thomas Martin Law Firm : DUI/DWI, Drug Possession, Felony : Freehold, Monmouth County, New Jersey

The Asbury Park Press newspaper has published the following article:

A Lakehurst toddler was found dead, still strapped in her car seat, in a park stream in Monmouth County on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said, and police were looking for her father, who was last seen with the girl.The body was positively identified as 2-year-old Tierra Morgan, who had been missing since Monday when her father, Arthur Morgan III, 27, picked her up for a court-approved visitation, police said. Morgan never returned the child to her mother, Imani Benton, 24, police said.

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A Monmouth County Crackdown on Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) will be in effect starting on Wednesday night and will continue throughout the Thanksgiving weekend. Starting Wednesday, the DWI task force will add additional DWI patrols in both Ocean Township and Brielle. These additional patrols will be specifically looking for people driving while intoxicated and/or driving while under the influence of drugs. Equally important,

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07/14/11 - As reported by CBS and the AP, the judge declared a mistrial today in former Red Sox, Blue Jays and Yankees baseball star Roger Clemens' perjury trial. The mistrial arose after US Attorneys showed evidence to jurors which had been ruled inadmissible by the Judge in pre-trial hearings. U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton metaphorically stated "Your Out" to the US Attorneys after he deemed that The Rocket could not be assured a fair trial after the US Attorneys showed jurors evidence against his orders. The mishap by the US Attorneys caused Walton to apologize to the jury for wasting their time and for having spent so much taxpayer money, only to have to abort the trial. It was nice of the Judge to apologize, but the real apology shouldn't come from the Judge or US Attorneys, but from Congress for creating this circus in the first place. The US Attorneys should have never have had to divert their resources from prosecuting terrorist cases and political corruption cases to handle this case. Thanks Congress!

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A question often asked by clients is “what’s the difference between getting PTI (Pre-Trial Intervention) and a “CD” (Conditional Discharge). Both programs are supervisory in nature and are referred to as diversionary programs. They are usually available to first time offenders who have no prior or minimal record (for PTI) and no previous convictions for drugs or drug paraphernalia for a (CD). In addition Pre-Trial Intervention or PTI is solely accessible in the Superior Court. It also only arises out of crimes; i.e. Charges of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th degree. As a practical matter you have little to no chance of getting PTI on a 1st degree crime and a slim chance for a 2nd degree crime. If the facts are right on a 2nd degree crime and the prosecutor doesn’t object then you could get PTI on a 2nd degree offense.

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Another factor that I believe went unmentioned and was critical to Ms. Anthony's acquittal on the more serious of the charges was the sequestration of the jury. For those that don't know, sequestration of the jury occurs when a Judge voluntarily or at the request of counsel isolates the jury in a hotel or other suitable location for the purposes of isolating the jury from undue influence and exposure from outside sources, i.e. Nancy "Dis" Grace and company. For instance,

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An Orlando, Florida jury has acquitted Casey Anthony of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee. She could have received a death sentence if she had been convicted of first-degree murder. or felony murder. Ms. Anthony faced the following charges: 1) First-degree murder; 2) Aggravated child abuse; 3) Aggravated manslaughter of a child; and 4) 4 counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer for lying a) that she worked at Universal Orlando in 2008; b) that she left Caylee with a babysitter named Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez; c) that she told Jeffrey Hopkins and Juliette Lewis that Caylee was missing;and d) that she received a phone call from Caylee on July 15, 2008. She was acquitted of the first three charges and convicted on part four and all its sub parts.

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In State v. Schmidt, A-35-10, a case decided recently by the Supreme Court, the Court held that potential drunk drivers who have received a proper warning, consented to a breath test and who then fail to provide an adequate sample, need not be given a second warning prior to being charged with a refusal to submit to an Alcotest. An offense which almost mirrors the penalties for DWI (N.J.S.A. 39:4-50).

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This weekend a Monmouth County DWI Task Force will be performing DWI checkpoints in the northbound lanes of Route 35 in an effort to detect drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs, police said. As such, if you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you can be arrested for driving while intoxicated; codified as N.J.S.A. 39:4-50. In the event you do not take the Alcotest (breath testing instrument), you will be subject to refusal. The DWI Roadblocks run from 11 p.m. Saturday through 3 a.m. Sunday along Route 35 North.

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Toms River- A "Jersey Shore'' show member, Ronald "Ronnie'' Ortiz, was indicted by an Ocean County grand jury on an aggravated assault charge under criminal statute N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1 et al. The assault arose from an episode of the MTV "reality" series. In it a Bayville was alleged to have been knocked unconscious. According to local reports Mr. Ortiz, 25,  was charged with one count of third-degree aggravated assault.

 The indictment states that Ortiz, on or about Sept. 4, 2009, in Seaside Heights, "did purposely or knowingly cause significant bodily injury to Stephen Izzo by striking in the face with a closed fist, causing him to lose consciousness.''

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