New Jersey Car Accident Law Blog : New Jersey Personal Injury Lawyer & Attorney : Richard Schnoll : Cohn Lifland Pearlman & Knopf Law Firm : NJ Auto Accidents, Car Crashes

In New Jersey, state law prohibits drivers from talking to or listening to another person on the telephone, text messaging or sending an electronic message unless the driver is using a hands-free device. But even when using a cellphone hands-free, it is sometimes necessary to push certain buttons on the phone, for example to start a call, end a call or initiate some other function. Is it legal to do so? A recent NJ case considered that question.

In State v. Malone, the defendant was pulled over and given a summons when a police officer spotted him holding a cell phone and "pressing buttons" while driving his car. In the municipal court proceeding, Mr. Malone denied any wrong doing, arguing that he was not texting or sending electronic messages. He was found guilty. He appealed to the law division, which upheld the conviction. He appealed further to the Appellate Division.

The Appellate Division overturned the conviction since the statute provides for motorists to use one hand to "activate, deactivate, or initiate a function of the telephone". Since the State could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Mr. Malone was doing anything other than initiating a call, the conviction could not stand.

Bottom Line - In NJ, it's ok to dial and drive!

• Email This
• Print
• Comments
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In a recent case, State v. Korpita,  the Appellate Division affirmed a refusal to take an Alcotest conviction of a former municipal court judge who continuously belched for 75 minutes, effectively preventing the police officer from administering the test. According to proper Alcotest protocol, if a defendant burps before giving a breath sample, the Alcotest operator must wait twenty minutes before administering the test.

The defendant testified at trial that as he waited in the police station for the test his stomach started churning up and he started belching.  the police officers testified that he did not belch until the test was to be administered and did not belch after the officers decided to terminate the testing process.

The Appellate Division, in affirming the conviction, found the Municipal Court and Superior Courts' findings were reasonable under all the facts and circumstances presented.

Moral of the story - Belching may be good for the body but it is not a defense.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

In my last posting, I discussed some of the issues facing parents and their children resulting from underage drinking as prom season appoached.

Unfortunately, the message still needs to get out there. An article on the 1010 WINS website last Friday reported on the arrest of approximately 50 students from Morristown H.S. for underage drinking on a bus returning from a prom in NYC. Additionally, 5 parents were also charged with allowing juveniles to drink.  You can read the full story here http://www.1010wins.com/pages/4591425.php.

I'm sure that this is just one of many incidents that have and will occur in NJ and around the country as prom season wraps up.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (2)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link

Another prom season is here.  For parents, as well as their children, proms and other school celebrations pose potentially significant legal problems both civilly and criminally.  The NJ Code of Criminal Justice section 2C:33-17(a) provides that "anyone who purposely or knowingly offers or serves or makes available an alcoholic beverage to a person under the legal age for consuming alcoholic beverages or entices or encourages that person to drink an alcoholic beverage is a disorderly person"  For those of you unaware, the legal drinking age in NJ is 21.  Disorderly persons offenses are punishable by up to 6 months in jail and/or a fine of $1,000.

The law is not limited to those over the age of 21.  For example, if your adult child is under age 21 and serves alcohol in your house to his/her friends under age 21, he /she can be convicted under the statute.  Additionally, another section of the same law makes it a disorderly person offense to permit your house or office to be used as a location where alcohol will be served or made available to underage drinkers.

In 2006, a NJ couple were convicted under this statute for hosting a prom party for their daughter, knowing that alcoholic beverages would be available to persons under 21.  Their defense that they preferred to have the kids drink at their house rather than outside fell on deaf ears.

Lastly, parents should be aware that they face potentially large civil liability to third parties as social hosts if they provide alcoholic beverages to a visibly intoxicated underage drinker who then causes injuries to others through the use of a motor vehicle.  In fact, recent court decisions have held that parents and other social hosts can be liable to the underage drinker himself for injuries he sustains in a motor vehicle accident caused by the intoxiaction.

The substance of this post is adapted from an article I wrote that was published in The Community News on February 28, 2007.

• Email This
• Print
• Comments (1)
• Trackbacks
• Share Link