New Jersey Criminal Lawyers Blog

With over 75,000 year round residents, Brick Township, New Jersey is a large municipality in Ocean County. Encompassing just over 32 square miles and containing three municipal oceanfront beaches, Brick Township is also large in size. Brick Township is close in proximity to Point Pleasant Borough, Point Pleasant Beach, Brielle, Wall Township, and Toms River. Traffic flows through Brick Township on the busy roads of Route 70, Route 88, Brick Boulevard, and a portion of the Garden State Parkway. As a result of Brick's close proximity to many beachfront towns, Brick Township saw an estimated 313 DWI, DUI, and refusal charges written by police officers in 2010.

Refusal charges have evolved in Brick Township and all throughout New Jersey from years past. Refusal in the past could be used to mitigate the penalties of DWI and DUI. If an individual knew that he was severely intoxicated, he could simply refuse, denying the police officer valid and admissible proof needed at trial for a DWI or DUI conviction. The apparent intoxicated motorist faced penalties much less severe than those of DWI and DUI per se violations.

Today, however, this is not the case. Lawmakers have moved to a stricter standard to reduce the amount of drunk drivers on New Jersey roads. Refusal charges in Brick Township and all of New Jersey carry very harsh penalties almost identical to those of per se DWI and DUI violations with the added burden of the installation of an ignition interlock device. In fact, a first refusal charge will result in the same penalties as an upper tier, first DWI or DUI conviction. Essentially, if you refuse to take a chemical test, the State presumes that you would have blown a 0.10% BAC or above as if you had in fact been tested.

If a Brick Township police officer suspects a motorist of DWI or DUI and wishes the individual to submit to a chemical test, he must read a standard statement outlining the individual's rights and obligations regarding the test. After the officer reads the lengthy statement, he must then ask the individual to submit to the chemical test. If the individual answers with a clear "no", then he/she will be charged with a refusal. If the individual replies with an ambiguous answer, the officer is then required to read an additional legal warning and ask again. If the individuals reply to the second statement is "no" or ambiguous, a refusal may then be charged. To be convicted of a refusal, the State must simply show three things: (1) that an individual was driving a motor vehicle on a public or quasi-public road; (2) that the individual appears to have driven a vehicle or intended to drive a vehicle while intoxicated; and (3) that the individual was requested to submit to a breathalyzer examination/chemical test and refused. As the law is designed, it becomes much easier for the State to convict an individual for a refusal than it is to convict for a DWI or DUI. Given the fact that the penalties are just as severe for refusal as they are for DWI and DUI, you could be making it very easy for the State to remove you from the road.

In addition to a per se refusal, you could even be charged with a refusal if you agree to submit to a chemical breath test. Since the Alcotest® 7110 breathalyzer (use of this device is mandated by the State) is a sensitive device that requires the operator to administer the test very carefully, there are many factors that can render it incapable of obtaining a reading. In order to obtain a proper BAC reading, a certain volume of air must be blown into a tube. If the proper amount is not introduced into the machine, the Alcotest® will not take a reading. Other factors such as moving the tube too quickly or failure to change the mouthpiece after each individual can invalidate a breath test. If you are being administered a breath test and are incapable of breathing the proper volume of air into the machine, you might be charged with a refusal. If there is a medical reason such as asthma or some other pulmonary disorder that you cannot blow the proper volume, evidence of such may be introduced and examined at trial. If, however, the operator or officer believes that you are not making a good-faith effort to perform the test, you could be charged with a refusal. The penalties for refusal include: loss of license for up to 1 year, fine of up to $500.00, the requirement to install an Ignition Interlock Device, program and fee requirements of an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC), and other fines and penalties.