Last week, the NJ Attorney General set forth new guidelines for how NJ law enforcement should deal with criminal suspects that are in this country illegally.  Now, any NJ police officer who arrests someone for a serious type offense including any indictable crime or NJ DUI-DWI must inquire about the arrestee’s citizenship, nationality, and immigration [...]

This month, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released its 2006 Traffic Safety Annual Assessment of Alcohol-Related Fatalities.  In the United States 17,590 people were killed due to alcohol-related traffic accidents in 2006.   This number was only 12 less than 2005’s drunk driving death count. It is very interesting to note that PA and [...]

Many car accidents result in sprain/strain injuries of the neck muscles.   A sprain/strain injury has 2 parts. The Strain is an overstretching of the muscle and tendon.  The Sprain component is an overstretching and tearing of the ligament.  Sprain/strain injuries are graded on levels 1 through 3.   All 3 grades involve overstretching of the ligament [...]

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.   Name of Product: TOBY & ME Jewelry Sets   Units: About 14,000   Importer: TOBY N.Y.C., of New York, N.Y.   [...]

See the NJ DUI-DWI-DAI Chart here:  NJ DWI Chart.pdf Any NJ DUI-DWI-DAI suspect should be aware that there are other penalties or consequences of a NJ DUI-DWI-DAI charge.   These are sometimes called collateral consequences.   You should be consulting with an experienced NJ DUI-DWI-DAI lawyer so that you will be made aware of other possible consequences [...]

PA legislators are considering changing the already strict PA DUI-DWI-DAI law to help prevent repeat DUI-DWI-DAI offenders.  The bill would mandate ignition interlock systems to be installed on all first time PA DUI-DWI-DAI offenders’ vehicles.  Currently in Pennsylvania, ignition interlock systems are only required for 2nd, 3rd, or more PA DUI-DWI-DAI convictions. For those of [...]

One of the most ancient legal privileges is the spousal privilege.  Pennsylvania law still recognizes that a husband and a wife may refuse to testify against each other in a criminal proceeding – the privilege belongs to the witness spouse. Pennsylvania also recognizes that where “confidential communications” have been made by one spouse to the [...]

An interesting question was recently posed to the NJ Appellate Division.  New Jersey Motor Vehicle law states that if you knowingly are involved in an accident in NJ, you must stay and render assistance to any injured person and/or produce your identification and other papers to the other person involved in the NJ accident.  If [...]

Yesterday, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued notices on five (5) about dangerous children’s toys manufactured by Mattel, Inc. of the country of China.   The dangerous toys include: Batman™ and One Piece™ magnetic action figure sets. Hazard: Small, powerful magnets inside the accessories of the toy figures can fall out and be [...]

Northampton Township, Pennsylvania has published an article about this concern in its recent newsletter.   The Model Speed Zoning Law created by the National Motorists Association claim that speed limits should represent the maximum safe and reasonable speed on a highway during good traffic and roadway conditions capable of being traveled by the normally competent vehicle [...]

If you are bound by PA limited tort insurance and are involved in a Pennsylvania car accident, you may be considered PA full tort.  The Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code, Section 1705 states that if a person who causes or who is at fault of a PA accident and is also convicted of a PA drunk [...]

Last evening, I attended a NJ law seminar on collateral consequences of NJ motor vehicle violation/tickets and criminal charges.   Collateral consequences are types of effects or penalties that are not usually apparent to someone charged with an NJ traffic violation/ticket or and NJ criminal offense.  Examples of collateral consequences include: forfeiture of public office, loss [...]

In PA & NJ car accidents, the steering wheel can be considered a “blunt instrument” that can create serious bodily injury.  The one thing in common for virtually every driver is that they are holding on to the steering wheel during a car accident leaving their hands and wrists exposed to injury.  Carpal Tunnel Syndrome [...]

With some NJ traffic violations/tickets, the NJ police officer will check a box that states that a court appearance is required.   When this box is checked there is usually some special issue or problem with the case that needs to be addressed by the NJ municipal court judge. If the “court appearance required” box is [...]

After you are pulled over in Pennsylvania, whether it be in Bucks County, Montgomery County, or Philadelphia, etc., and the police officer believes that you have been drinking and driving, the police officer will ask you to take a blood alcohol test.  In the southeastern Pennsylvania, especially the Delaware Valley area, most police officers will [...]

When an NJ personal injury jury award appears to be way to high or way to low, the plaintiff or defendant can ask the NJ court to either raise the jury verdict or lower the jury verdict to make it fair.   In New Jersey, when a personal injury case jury award is too low, a [...]

In New Jersey, an auto insurance policy holder who opts for limitation on lawsuit threshold – verbal threshold – limited tort on their NJ car insurance policy can only recover for pain, suffering, and inconvenience, if he or she suffers one or more of the following injuries:         1. Death 2. Dismemberment 3. Significant disfigurement 4. [...]

Our new summer newsletter has been distributed to all present Saile & Saile LLP clients and firm contacts.    Articles in the newsletter include: 1.                  Bringing you up to speed!  (Saile & Saile LLP firm news). 2.                  Do you have enough auto insurance? 3.                  What you need to know about auto insurance. 4.                  Shopping for auto [...]

The NJ Appellate Division just ruled that police must read an additional paragraph regarding a refusal to submit to a NJ DWI-DUI test. Prior NJ law required that an NJ police officer read an extra statement if the NJ DWI-DUI suspect “ambiguously declines or conditionally agrees” to take the breath, blood, or urine test. See [...]