As it heats up outside many locals from Monmouth and Ocean Counties jump aboard their boats, sailboats, fishing boats, speedboats, catamarans, row boats, kayaks and canoes to have fun in the sun. But beware, after several hours of boating its effects on the body, such as fatigue, wave motion and heat exhaustion, which can make even the most prudent boater physically compromised or downright impaired. When these effects are combined with alcohol, it raises the likelihood that something will go wrong. When something goes wrong on water, it often goes quite wrong. The health effects mentioned have actually been proven to increase the effects of alcohol on the body with respect to sensory impairment. With the number of related accidents and fatalities, perhaps a Boating While Intoxicated or Boating Under the Influence public service campaign should be launched.

Nationwide each year, hundreds of boating deaths and injuries are caused by or in some way related to alcohol consumption. Authorities have determined that boating while intoxicated is just as dangerous as driving while intoxicated, if not, more so. Boats lack brakes, so there are no breaks to hit (and then pray). Further, open water is not equipped with traffic safety devices to guide your way, aside from buoy markers. The U.S. Coast Guard and New Jersey law enforcement will be on the look out for impaired boaters this summer on local lakes and rivers. Make no mistake about it if you are questioned by a member of the Coast Guard or police. Offenders can be charged with a DUI or DWI just as they could on land. Penalties include potential loss of all boat as well as automobile operating privileges for six months. The thinking is, if you can't be trusted with a boat, why should law enforcement trust you with a car.

As with all legal cases, details are significant. Further, civil suits may follow quickly. If you have been charged with a DWI/DUI for operating a boat while under the influence contact a defense lawyer immediately so that he or she can devise a legal strategy best suited to protect your rights.

Life is getting rougher on the cheating husband or wife, and divorce cases may just see an uptick. Technology has made it easier for a private investigator to catch a disloyal spouse in the act (of doing something disloyal), and the New Jersey Courts say that using a G.P.S. or global positioning system is legal.

A New Jersey judge recently ruled that it is not a violation of a person's right to privacy for a private investigator or suspicious spouse to install a GPS tracking device in a person's car. Private investigators can now freely employ this tactic to determine the whereabouts of cheating spouses, as well as to track debtors, suspects of insurance fraud, and more.

It is very likely the court would not have ruled this way if the police implanted, placed or installed the GPS device. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution protects Americans from unlawful searches and seizures. The law stipulates that police must obtain a search warrant based on probable cause before invading an individual's privacy. The reason that this right governs the police but does not extend to the private investigator is because the United States Constitution only protects Americans from those acting on behalf of the government, such as the police. It does not protect Americans from private citizens. The police would not be able to implant a GPS tracking device on your vehicle that they could use to track you without a warrant.

If you were charged criminally and the police have searched your private residence or workplace without a warrant you should contact a criminal lawyer immediately. Further, if you are the subject of any legal action based upon information gathered from such a GPS device, it would also be in your best interests to consult a lawyer to determine the strongest legal strategy.

Insomniacs beware! The medication that your healthcare provider prescribed to help you sleep could cause a phenomenon called sleep-driving. Driving while sleeping, by the way, is illegal, and not a good idea. Just imagine, you take your prescribed sleeping pill, get into bed to get some much needed and often elusive rest. Then, the next thing you know, you wake up in the morning with a motor vehicle traffic summons and a note with the location of where your car was towed on your bedside table next to you. Apparently, you have been charged with driving while intoxicated, DWI, but you have zero recollection of the event. The last thing you remember is going to sleep the night before.

If you or someone you know has experienced the scenario described above, you have experienced the phenomenon known as sleep-driving, an unfortunate side effect of many popularly prescribed sleep-aid medications. Some such sleep medications include Ambien; Butisol sodium; Carbrital; Dalmane; Doral; Halcion; Lunesta; Placidyl; Prosom; Restoril; Rozerem; Seconal; Sonata.

Courts are still divided on whether sleep-driving should fall under the category of driving while intoxicated, primarily because the driver never made a conscious decision to get behind the wheel. Legally speaking, and otherwise, this is an important distinction to make. The repercussions of such a conviction are as grave as if you were found guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol. If you have been charged with a DWI while you were under the influence of a prescription sleep-aid, or any medication, you should seek counsel immediately. Take every action to protect your rights.