Rickards defeats DUI and Refusal in Middletown, New Jersey

The Law Office of Jordan B. Rickards recently represented a client charged with Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and refusal to submit to an alchotest (sometimes erroneously called a “breathalyzer”) in Middletown, New Jersey.  The client was allegedly found passed out in her car in the parking lot of a convenience store, the car’s engine off, the keys in her hand, and an open container of alcohol in the cup holder.  She allegedly smelled of alcohol, and refused the officer’s request to cooperate by taking an alchotest back at the station.

Rickards successfully argued that the State could not prove that she had operated the vehicle while intoxicated, therefore could not prove that she had committed a DUI.  For the same reason, the refusal charge was baseless, since the State could not show reasonable suspicion that she had operated the vehicle while intoxicated, which is necessary to justify the alchotest requirement.

As such, the DUI and refusal charges were dismissed, thereby saving the client a two-year loss of license and mandatory 48-hours incarceration for what would have been a second offense.