And they're off - New Jersey State Bar Association

THE BAR
REPORT
WEEKLY NEWS FROM THE NEW JERSEY STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
www.njsba.com
Breath test
refusal is not
a prior crime
State Bar Association
was friend-of-the-court
The New Jersey State Bar Association
cheered a recent decision of the
state’s highest court in a case with
wide-reaching ramifications about how
to treat a refusal to submit to a breath
test for drivers stopped under suspicion
of drunk driving.
The state Supreme Court ruled it was
excessive to jail a woman on a DWI
conviction since one of her earlier convictions
was for refusing to take a
breathalyzer test, not driving drunk.
[T]he bar association…
argued that treating a refusal
conviction as though it were a
DWI for the sake of sentencing
would place a defendant in
double jeopardy.
“The defendant’s prior refusal conviction
cannot be considered as a “prior
conviction” for purposes of her subsequent
DWI conviction,” wrote Judge
Edwin Stern for a unanimous court.
The state’s largest lawyers group
was a friend-of-the-court in the case,
which had broad implications, and
argued in support of the finding.
In briefs and at oral arguments, the
bar association urged the Court to hold
a prior refusal does not enhance a later
DWI sentence, since the statute is clear
on the issue. It also argued that treating
a refusal conviction as though it were a
DWI for the sake of sentencing would
place a defendant in double jeopardy.
The case revolves around Eileen
Ciancaglini.
In 1979, she was convicted of driving
while intoxicated (DWI). Eighteen years
later, she was convicted of refusing to
take a breathalyzer test.
The latest trouble arose in May 2008,
when she was stopped for traffic
offenses in Monmouth County. At the
time her blood alcohol level was .17,
more than double the legal limit,
according to court papers.
That fall, she pleaded guilty to DWI
Candidates tapped for leadership positions
Nominating Committee selects
Monmouth County lawyer as
next secretary
The New Jersey State Bar Association’s Nominating
Committee named a Monmouth County attorney as the
next secretary.
The selection means Angela White Dalton is on track to
become president in 2016.
The committee also tapped a host of others for leadership
positions in the state’s largest lawyers group, including
a number of new members for its governing body, the
board of trustees.
“The task was arduous due to the extremely high qualifications
of everyone involved, and it certainly is a reflection
on the enthusiasm and dedication of our members,”
said Joanne Kay, chair of the Nominating Committee. “I
was encouraged by the enormous interest and number of
bar association members showing an interest to serve.”
The committee made its selections after conducting a
series of interviews with the candidates earlier this month.
Unless a nominated position is challenged, those selected
And they’re off
Teams of high school students from
around the state converged on the New
Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick
last week.
They took part in regional competition
rounds of the Vincent J. Apruzzese
High School Mock Trial Competition.
The competition season began in the
fall and will culminate in semi-finals
and finals until one school is named the
winner this spring. This year’s fictitious
case examines the issue of driving
while distracted because of a hand-held
device. It involves a collision between a
student-pedestrian and a motor vehicle
driven by another student.
Established in 1982, the Vincent J.
Apruzzese High School Mock Trial
Competition has taught more than
83,000 New Jersey students the fundamentals
of our court system while
developing critical thinking and public
speaking skills. ■
Photos by Patti Sapone
will begin service in May at
the association’s Annual
Meeting and Convention in
Atlantic City.
Dalton, 41, said she was
pleased to learn she had
been selected to join the
ranks of the association’s
executives.
She grew up in Pine Hill.
Her father encouraged her
to pursue the law, a career
where she could help others
Angela White Dalton resolve conflicts.
“That vision became my
life’s ambition,” said Dalton, who lives in Howell Township
and practices in Red Bank.
These days Dalton does just that. As a partner with
Zager Fuchs P.C., she handles probate, guardianship and
chancery litigation as well as estate planning and administration.
See Candidates on page 29
High school mock trial regional competition heats up
See DWI on page 29

Visit www.njsba.com for details.

The Bar Report Weekly news from the New Jersey State Bar Association
Capitol Report
BY TAMIKA WILSON
This is a status report on recently passed and pending legislation, regulations, gubernatorial nominations
and/or appointments of interest to lawyers. The report may also include information
about appearances of NJSBA representatives before legislative committees, and the involvement
of the NJSBA as amicus in appellate court matters. It is compiled by the government affairs
department of the New Jersey State Bar Association. Following each bill number is the sponsor’s
name, the NJSBA position, if any, bill description and status. Full and previous versions of the
Capitol Report with links to related text are available online at www.njsba.com.
Pending Legislation
CRIMINAL LAW
S-2684 (Stack) Prohibits possession of
machetes in certain circumstances. On
Feb. 7, the bill was introduced and
referred to the Senate Law and Public
Safety Committee.
S-2685 (Singer) Increases the penalty
for hindering the apprehension or
prosecution of an offender. On Feb. 7,
the bill was introduced and referred to
the Senate Law and Public Safety Committee.
ELDER AND DISABILITY LAW
S-2458 (Codey) Establishes assisted living
facility and comprehensive personal
care home resident rights. On Feb. 7,
the bill was released from the Senate
Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens
Committee and is awaiting Senate
vote.
FAMILY LAW
S-2690 (Greenstein) ✔ Establishes the
Domestic Violence Victim Protection
Pilot Program. On Feb. 7, the bill was
introduced and referred to the Senate
Judiciary Committee.
HEALTH AND HOSPITAL LAW
S-2543 (Singer) Requires certain
healthcare facilities and operators of
certain transient dwellings to maintain
agreements for bedbug eradication
services. On Feb. 7, the bill was
released from the Senate Health,
Human Services and Senior Citizens
Committee with a committee substitute
and is awaiting Senate vote.
JUDICIAL ADMINISTRATION
SR-105 (Gill) Expresses the sense of
the Senate that in the event the General
Assembly does not proceed with
impeachment, Justice Roberto Rivera-
Soto should resign as a justice of the
New Jersey Supreme Court. On Feb. 7,
the bill was introduced for first reading
without a committee reference and is
awaiting Senate vote.
LABOR AND EMPLOYMENT LAW
S-1730 (Norcross) Requires certain
public officers and employees to reside
in the state. On Feb. 7, the governor’s
conditional veto was received in the
Senate.
S-2680 (Madden) Changes the trigger
for extended unemployment benefits.
This bill implements an option made
available by recent federal legislation
that will permit laid-off workers in New
Jersey to continue to receive extended
unemployment benefits for much, if
not all, of 2011. On Feb. 7, the bill was
released from the Senate Labor Committee
and is awaiting Senate vote.
S-2692 (Bucco) Repeals all prevailing
wage laws. On Feb. 7, the bill was introduced
and referred to the Senate Labor
Committee.
LAND USE
S-2686 (Greenstein) Amends the State
Transfer of Development Rights Act,
and provides for impact fees and other
incentives for establishment of transfer
of development rights programs. On
Feb. 7, the bill was introduced and
referred to the Senate Economic
Growth Committee.
MUNICIPAL COURT PRACTICE
S-233 (Bateman) Decreases certain
motor vehicle fines. On Feb. 7, the bill
was released from the Senate Transportation
Committee and referred to
the Senate Budget and Appropriations
Committee.
S-2695 (Beach) ◆ Increases penalties
for failing to secure a child in a child
passenger restraint system or booster
seat while operating a motor vehicle.
On Feb. 7, the bill was introduced and
referred to the Senate Transportation
Committee.
WORKERS’ COMPENSATION
S-1662 (Bateman) Prohibits payment of
temporary disability benefits to incarcerated
individuals. On Feb. 7, the bill
was released from the Senate Labor
Committee and is awaiting Senate vote.
S-2609 (Turner) Provides for annual
adjustments in worker taxes paid into
the state disability benefits fund. On
Feb. 7, the bill was released from the
Senate Labor Committee with amendments
and referred to the Senate Budget
and Appropriations Committee.
Nominations
The following nominations were
referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee
on Feb. 7:
JUDGE OF THE SUPERIOR COURT
Keith Bachmann, of New Milford,
NJSBA member
Christine Farrington, of Wyckoff,
NJSBA member
Susan Steele, of Harrington Park,
NJSBA member
Gary Wilcox, of Harrington Park
Notices
The New Jersey Law Revision Commission
will meet on Feb. 17 to review the
following agenda:
1. New Jersey Adult Guardianship and
Protective Proceedings—Consideration
of a draft final report regarding
this uniform law.
2. Uniform Partition of Heirs Property
Act—Consideration of a draft final
report recommending that no
action be taken regarding this uniform
law.
3. Elective Spousal Share—Consideration
of a draft tentative report proposing
revisions to N.J.S. 2A:34-
23h., N.J.S. 3B:8-1 and N.J.S. 3B:5-3
to address problems that arise
when a litigant dies in the midst of
a divorce proceeding.
4. Pejorative Terms—Consideration of
a memorandum and draft introduction
to a tentative report regarding
the new pejorative terms project.
5. UCC Article 9 Revisions—Consideration
of a memorandum regarding
NCCUSL’s changes to UCC Article 9
(Secured Transactions).
6. New Jersey Debt-Management Services
Act—Consideration of a draft
tentative report and a memorandum
identifying outstanding issues for
commission action.
7. Title 39—Driving While Intoxicated—Consideration
of a memorandum
proposing changes to the
statutory sections pertaining to
driving while intoxicated to include
expanded use of the ignition interlock
devices as recommended by
recent studies.
8. Mortgage Recording—Consideration
of a memorandum proposing a
project regarding modifications to
the current system of the recording
of mortgages. ■
Key
The following symbols are used to
denote the New Jersey State Bar
Association’s position on legislation:
+ Support
* Oppose
◆ No position
✔ Under review: The bill is being examined by the
NJSBA and a final position has not been taken.
† Support with amendments
New Jersey State Bar Association
One Constitution Square
New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1520
732-249-5000
Richard H. Steen
Susan A. Feeney
Kevin P. McCann
Ralph J. Lamparello
Paris P. Eliades
Miles S. Winder III
Allen A. Etish
Angela C. Scheck
President
President-Elect
First Vice President
Second Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
Immediate Past President
Executive Director
Information in The Bar Report is compiled by
the New Jersey State Bar Association, which
welcomes tips and story ideas from its readers
and members. Contact Kate Coscarelli at
kcoscarelli@njsba.com or 732-937-7548.

The Bar Report Weekly news from the New Jersey State Bar Association
DWI
Continued from page 18
and a municipal court judge sentenced
her as a third-time offender
and ordered her to spend six months
in jail, revoking her license for a
decade. Judges are allowed to adjust
sentencing penalties based on prior
offenses.
Ciancaglini appealed and a trial
court judge said the 2006 refusal conviction
shouldn’t be counted the
same as a DWI conviction. That
judge sentenced her to 30 days in jail,
which she served. Her license was
also revoked for a year.
But in an October 2009 ruling, a
three-judge state Appellate Division
panel said the refusal should count,
and sentencing her as a three-time
DWI offender was appropriate.
At arguments before the high
court this fall, prosecutors argued
the appeals court ruling did not upset
precedent, rather it cleared things
up, especially for cases that involve
repeat drunk drivers.
That decision “harmonized the
case law in this area, closed a loophole
for defendants who violate the
drunk driving laws, and streamlined
recidivist sentencing in drunk driving
cases in a manner that promotes legislative
intent,” argued Mary Juliano,
an assistant Monmouth County prosecutor
in a brief signed by Prosecutor
Luis Valentin.
Ciancaglini’s attorney, Stephen
Pascarella, argued the appeals court
overreached and essentially created
new law. He also argued that since
Ciancaglini has already served her
sentence, it would be a violation of
double jeopardy to make her serve
the original, longer sentence a
municipal court judge ordered and
the appellate judges upheld.
Jeffrey Evan Gold, chair of the
Municipal Court Practice Section,
argued the case for the state bar. ■
Young Lawyers Division goes back to school
Attorneys James Bonalsky, Esq., Janet Costello, Esq., Christina Vassiliou Harvey, Esq., and
Matthew Streger, Esq. lead a discussion among law students and young attorneys at Seton
Hall Law School as to “Life After Law School.” The program covered various topics, including,
finding a job, how to interview, the importance of networking, and how to set up one’s own law
practice.
Candidates
Continued from page 18
Dalton has been active in the legal
community since earning her law
degree from Rutgers University School
of Law–Camden. She has served as
chair of the state bar’s Young Lawyers
Division and the Women in the Profession
Section, and is a co-chair of the
“I want to continue the
positive work of the state
bar association by
devoting myself to the
mission of the
association and its
members.”
–ANGELA WHITE DALTON
Judicial Administration Committee.
She is also active with the Monmouth
Bar Association and American Bar
Association. She is a former deputy
mayor of Howell Township; her term
ended in 2010.
As for her newest duties, Dalton said
she hopes to work on projects such as
those providing assistance to lawyers
struggling in the economy, giving them
the skills to handle diverse matters ethically
and zealously, and developing
more opportunities for members to
meet and interact.
“I want to continue the positive
work of the state bar association by
devoting myself to the mission of the
association and its members. I have
always actively participated in the
association for the betterment of our
profession, and I want to continue in
service to the bar by being in the leadership,”
she said. ■
The slate of candidates
Executive Committee
President-Elect
First Vice President
Second Vice President
Treasurer
Secretary
Board of Trustees
Atlantic
Camden
Cape May
Essex
Hunterdon
Middlesex
Monmouth
Ocean
Somerset
Sussex
Union
At-large
Section/Committee
Young Lawyers Division
Nominating Committee
At-Large
Kevin P. McCann
Ralph J. Lamparello
Paris P. Eliades
Miles S. Winder III
Angela White Dalton
Paul J. Gallagher
Arnold N. Fishman
J. Christopher Gibson
Gary Potters
Anthony J. Murgatroyd
Craig M. Aronow
John F. DeBartolo
Richard M. Sevrin
Michael McLaughlin
Francis A. Koch
Amirali Y. Haidri
William Ferreira
Mitzy Galis-Menendez
Fruqan Mouzon
Kenneth E. Sharperson
Daniel L. Weiss
Kimberly Yonta-Aronow (Women in the Profession)
Richard DeMichele (Bylaws Committee)
Bonnie Blume Goldsamt (Dispute Resolution)
Thomas H. Prol (GLBT Rights)
Michael Stanton (Family Law)
Steven W. Suflas (Labor and Employment Law)
Christina Vassiliou Harvey
Evelyn Storch
American Bar Association Delegate
Jonathan H. Lomurro (Young Lawyers Division)
Lynn Fontaine Newsome
Stephen M. Orlofsky
Anyone who wishes to contest a position, triggering an election, must submit a
petition. The deadline to file a petition is noon, March 21. Petitions should be
sent to Angela C. Scheck, Executive Director, New Jersey State Bar Association,
One Constitution Square, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1520.
LIVE
at the
LAW CENTER
A weekly calendar
All events are at the New Jersey
Law Center in New Brunswick
unless otherwise indicated.
TODAY, FEB. 14
9 a.m. Edler and Disability
Section Elder Law CLE
Roundtable meeting
TOMORROW, FEB. 15
9 a.m. Local Government Law
Section Board of Directors
Meeting
9 a.m. Land Use Law Section
Board of Directors Meeting
6 p.m. Family Law Section
Executive Committee dinner
meeting
7 p.m. New Jersey State Bar
Foundation Estate and
Federal Income Tax seminar
FEB. 16
6 p.m. Construction Law
Section CLE meeting
6 p.m. New Jersey Family Law
Basics CLE seminar
6 p.m. Insurance Law Section
business dinner meeting
FEB. 17
Minorities in the Profession
Section Black History Month
Reception ■