Courts now requiring the prosecutor to provide proof that prior DWI conviction was not permissible and that Alcotest device had not been calibrated by coordinator Marc Denis, and to prove so to the defendant.
On November 28, 2017, the Supreme Court of New Jersey Ordered that:
1) In any proceeding in any court involving a prosecution, conviction or sentence for a DWI offense for which the offense date was between January 1, 2008 and September 30, 2016, it shall be the affirmative obligation of the prosecutor in that proceeding to determine whether or not the defendant provided a breath sample on an Alcotest device that had been calibrated by coordinator Marc Dennis, and to produce documentary evidence of that determination to the defendant and the court;
2) In any proceeding in any court involving a prosecution for an offense in which a prior DWI conviction constitutes a predicate offense to enhance the gradation or applicable punishment in that subsequent prosecution for another charge, or involving a sentence emanating from such a case that has been adjudicated, it shall be the affirmative obligation of the prosecutor in that proceeding to determine whether or not the defendant provided breath sample on an Alcotest device that had been calibrated by coordinator Marc Dennis in that prior DWI case, and to produce documentary evidence of that determination to the defendant and the court.
This requirement is on the State to provide this discovery. It is unclear if this will have any effect on the present DWI as this appears to only affect the sentencing portion, but knowing whether your client is facing a 1st or 2nd conviction of DWI or possibly could pursue a PCR motion is vital to determining how you defend the present DWI arrest in municipal court. I expect the Supreme Court to provide more clarity on this issue in 2018.