What happens when someone is arrested and charged with a crime?
When someone is arrested and charged with a crime, law enforcement follows a protocol that includes reading Miranda Rights.
With the summer season already in full swing and the Fourth of July just around the corner, experts say the number of highway travelers is expected to break all records this year.
Nearly 71 million Americans plan to travel this holiday season — that’s a 5% increase from last year and 5.7 million more than pre-pandemic numbers — so it’s more than likely that travelers will see an increase in the number of patrol cars on the road. As in years past, the New Jersey State Police will likely deploy dozens of officers to keep everyone safe as they make their way to their destinations.
With busy roads and increased patrols, the question may arise: What do I do if I get pulled over by a police officer? What are my rights as a New Jersey citizen? Can they stop me because I hung my recently donated graduation tassel in my rearview mirror?
Before you get behind the wheel, you should know your rights as a driver in New Jersey.
For what reasons can the police arrest you in New Jersey?
You’re driving along the Garden State Parkway with friends, driving along the coast, when you see the flash of police lights in your rearview mirror. In what seems like seconds, a cop is already at your door.
But what did you do wrong?
Police in New Jersey must have “reasonable suspicion” that a violation has been committed to arrest you. This includes visible violations such as speeding, running a red light, failing to yield the right of way, talking on a cell phone or not wearing a seat belt or equipment violations, including broken taillights or non-functioning headlights.
If an officer randomly checks a vehicle for violations, such as an expired license plate or vehicle registration, to see if the car is stolen, or to see if there is a warrant out for the driver’s arrest, this is constitutionally permissible, as there is no privacy issue.
Can police in NJ ask you to get out of your car during a traffic stop?
Yes. It is at the discretion of the officer to order someone to exit a vehicle.
Do you need to show your ID to the police in NJ?
Yes, if you are arrested because of reasonable suspicion that you may have committed an offense. Under state law, drivers are required to present their driver’s license, proof of insurance and vehicle registration to an officer upon request.
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Can the police in NJ search your car?
Only under three conditions: with a warrant, with the driver’s permission or with probable cause.
Any search of a motor vehicle during a traffic stop without a warrant is unreasonable, but if an officer can see contraband in plain sight or the officer can smell the contraband coming from the vehicle, he likely has grounds to search.
State law allows an officer to conduct a search without a warrant under exigent circumstances, such as if he/she suspects there is a danger to the officers or the public.
Can you refuse a breath test?
That is not possible, unless you want to receive additional penalties, such as a longer driving ban and more fines.
Under the state’s legal doctrine of implied consent, all drivers must consent to chemical testing (blood, breath, or urine) to determine the presence of drugs or alcohol when arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence.
And other actions, such as simply not responding to an officer’s request, consistently avoiding or delaying the test, providing too short or weak a sample, or providing only one of the two required samples, which are done to ensure accuracy, are essentially “no’s” in the eyes of the law.
Drivers could face additional penalties on top of the consequences of a drink-driving conviction, including up to an additional year of driving ban.
Can you be pulled over in New Jersey for failing to let a pedestrian cross the street?
That’s certainly possible, and so are pedestrians.
Drivers who violate New Jersey’s Stop and Stay Stopped law face a $200 fine, 15 days of community service, and two points on their license. Pedestrians who fail to yield to motorists anywhere except in crosswalks and unmarked crosswalks at intersections can be fined $54 and may be required to perform community service.
These are the laws:
- Drivers must stop and remain stopped while a pedestrian is in a marked crosswalk or at unmarked crosswalks at an intersection, except at crosswalks where traffic is controlled by police officers or traffic control signals, or where prohibited by municipal, state, or national regulation.
- Drivers must stop for pedestrians crossing at the adjacent crosswalk where the motorist is turning right from a red signal, stop sign or yield sign.
- Pedestrians must give way to drivers at intersections where pedestrians do not have a green signal and where drivers do have a green signal.
- Pedestrians must yield to motorists when crossing a road at any point other than within a marked or unmarked crosswalk at an intersection.
- When a vehicle stops to allow a pedestrian to cross the road, the driver of another vehicle approaching from behind must not overtake or pass the stationary vehicle.
- A crosswalk with a “Go” or green signal has priority over all vehicles, including those turning.
- No pedestrian shall suddenly leave a curb or other place of safety and walk or run into the path of a vehicle so close that it is impossible for the driver to yield.
Can you get pulled over for tinting windows? Or hanging stuff on the rear view mirror?
It is best to move the graduation tassel to another location in your car, as hanging it or any other small object from the rearview mirror is illegal in New Jersey. Once the police have reason to pull you over for this minor offense, it could potentially lead to much greater consequences, such as finding drugs or suspecting you may be under the influence.
NJ law states: “No person shall operate a vehicle so constructed, equipped or loaded as to unnecessarily obstruct the driver’s forward and lateral vision.”
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in 2009 that a pair of small, 3.75-by-3.75-inch boxing gloves hanging about 7.5 inches from a defendant’s rearview mirror gave an officer sufficient reasonable suspicion to stop the defendant’s car. The stop ultimately led to the discovery of drugs in the defendant’s pocket.
Window tinting on vehicles is tricky because it relies on the percentage of visible light transmission, which is essentially the amount of light that can pass through both the film and the original car windows. Essentially, state law does not allow window tinting on the windshield and both front windows, but you can tint the back and rear windows. The windshield and/or front side windows can be tinted if you are medically exempt.
Email: [email protected]; Twitter: @LoriComstockNJH or on Facebook.
