JUDICIAL PANEL TO REHEAR OVER 20,000 DWI CASES IN NEW JERSEY

On Monday, August 5, the Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court created a 4-judge panel to hear Post Conviction Relief Applications in over 20,000 DWI cases that were prosecuted using botched blood alcohol readings. The panel will consist of retired Judges Robert Fall, Linda Baxter, Stephan Hansbury, and Robert Reed, who will sit as Municipal Court Judges with statewide jurisdiction. In 2018, the Supreme Court ruled in State v. Cassidy that the blood alcohol readings in 20,667 DWI cases were inadmissible, after accusations came to light that Trooper Marc Dennis had calibrated Alcotest machines in several counties in New Jersey using an incorrect thermometer. Defendants who pled guilty to DWIs based upon Alcotest readings from these machines are entitled to withdraw their previously entered guilty plea, and have the case heard anew.