Re: City Crime - Kamp Wash DUI Asleep in car at light? 4/3/16 @ 3AM
Posted by:
"glove box defense"
()
Date: April 05, 2016 08:09AM
However, should a client irresponsibly drink and drive but then decide to responsibly pull over and sleep it off in the car or if one really was not driving, the following suggesÂtions could prevent that individual from being convicted of driving while intoxicated:
Park in a spot that is designated as such, i.e. in a parking lot or on a road where parking is permitted. Avoid parking on the shoulder of a major highway if possible.
Turn off the car and take the keys out of the ignition. Do not turn the engine back on unless you start to develop frostbite (at which point you must decide whether your license or your toes are more important).
Get out of the driver's seat. Sleep it off in either the front passenger seat or in the rear of the car (fogging up the windows is optional).
When approached and questioned by the police, do not make any admissions or statements of intent to drive in the near future.
Keep some empty beer cans in the trunk. The "glove box defense" allows attorneys to argue that there is doubt as to whether the driver became intoxicated before or after the vehicle was placed in park. It is always better to get convicted of Consumption of Alcohol in a Motor Vehicle, in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-51a, rather than Driving While Intoxicated. The former does not carry a suspension of driving privileges.