If You Have DWI Convictions, It Can Be Overturned: Middlesex Prosecutor

MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ — Middlesex County residents who were arrested and/or convicted of Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) in multiple New Jersey counties between 2008 and 2016 may be entitled to what the courts call "post-conviction relief."

This means their DWI conviction could be vacated or voided and cleared from their record, Middlesex County Prosecutor announced.

This comes following a court battle called State v. Eileen Cassidy (2018).

Former New Jersey State Police sergeant Marc Dennis, a coordinator in the State Police Alcohol Drug Testing Unit, was accused of falsifying records by not properly calibrating three Alcotest breath-testing devices.

The New Jersey State Police provides certification training and oversees the calibration of breath-testing devices for law enforcement agencies across the state.

Dennis was suspended by State Police in September 2016, and later sentenced to five years in state prison for using his NJSP identification card to get out of traffic stops post-suspension.

NJ Attorney General Matt Platkin said the calibrated Alcotests were used in more than 200,000 DWI convictions that are now eligible to be overturned. New Jersey Superior Court found that the sergeant’s failure to follow the established protocol negatively affected the scientific reliability of the breath tests and ruled that the results from those instruments are inadmissible in court.

The New Jersey Supreme Court found that any results from those Alcotest instruments that Dennis calibrated were unreliable and could not be used in criminal or municipal proceedings in the 2018 State v. Cassidy ruling. Residents who believe they may be entitled to relief may file a petition for post-conviction relief under Court Rule 7:10-2 with the town where they were convicted.

This applies to anyone who submitted a breath test in a DWI arrest in the following New Jersey counties where those Alcotests were used: Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Ocean County, Somerset County, and Union County.

"You may consult with a private attorney or municipal public defender, if available, to determine whether you are entitled to relief and/or what action, if any, you should take."

The public now has access to two documents that can help determine if you are entitled. The first is a spreadsheet of every breath sample given on affected Alcotest instruments between November 5, 2008, and April 9, 2016. The second is a database containing PDFs of the various affected calibration records. Both can be found here.

Have a correction or a news tip? Email sarah.salvadore@patch.com