If the police arrest you for a DWI or DUI in New Jersey, you can anticipate that your home state licensing authority will know about it. New Jersey signed on to the Interstate Driver’s License Compact (IDLC), which allows other IDLC states to share DWI and other driving infraction information. So, if you face a DWI/DUI conviction, you may be in for double trouble, in New Jersey and in the state that issued you your driver’s license. Since your troubles with a DUI or DWI may last for a long time, you will need help getting a top outcome to avoid the serious penalties and longer-term consequences in both states. At William Proetta Criminal Law, our team of accomplished DWI attorneys are uniquely trained and equipped to help clients with violations of New Jersey DUI/DWI laws and out-of-state DWI’s, among other serious traffic violations. We can help you figure out the best route to keep you from facing the looming trouble at hand when you have been charged with an out of state DWI in New Jersey. Contact our local Jersey City, NJ office for a free initial consultation with a DWI defense lawyer who can answers your questions and address your specific concerns right away. You can reach us anytime by contacting (201) 793-8018.
How New Jersey and Other States Treat DWI Charges
How complicated your DWI becomes depends upon whether your home state belongs to the IDLC and if they have mechanisms in place to suspend your driver’s license after a DWI conviction. All states but five—Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin—have signed on to the compact. If your driver’s license issues from one of those states, you may still have to worry about one of those states receiving notification of your conviction. New Jersey informs the entire nation of a driver’s DWI conviction. If your home state suspends a driver’s license after a DWI, you cannot drive there. But you also cannot drive in New Jersey either because a New Jersey court can suspend your license for as long as the law allows. In NJ, a first-time DWI conviction license suspension is only for the time it takes to install an ignition interlock system. For a second DUI charge or third-time drunk driving offense, the license suspension time is longer and the interlock still applies after your license has been restored,
Additionally, you do not want to get caught driving on a suspended license in New Jersey. If caught, you could pay $500.00 and lose your license for an additional six months, but that is for the first time. The second time you get caught, you could go to jail and pay $750.00. And if you are in an accident while driving on a suspended license, you could be imprisoned for up to six months. In your home state, the rules may be different. If the Department of Motor Vehicles in your home state has notice of your New Jersey DWI conviction, they may likewise suspend your license. Your attorney may be able to help you find out if your license is or will be suspended in your home state.
Out of State DWI Consequences in New Jersey
If you are convicted of a DWI in New Jersey, you cannot escape punishment by moving to another state. A DWI conviction in New Jersey means you must drive with an interlock ignition device (IID) that prevents you from getting on the road and driving drunk in your primary vehicle. The car will not start without registering your blood alcohol concentration (BAC). And it will not allow you to drive with even minimal alcohol in your system.
If it’s the First Time You have been Charged with Drunk Driving, here’s what the penalties are. If your BAC was between .08% and .10%, you can expect to pay up to $400.00 in fines, a possible jail term of 30 days, three months with an IID, up to two days in an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC), and a three-year $1,000.00 per year insurance surcharge. For a BAC of up to .15%, you face a potential $500.00 fine, a 30-day jail sentence, license revocation until the IID is installed and maintained for up to a year, up to two days in an IDRC, and the three-year surcharge of $1,000.00 per year. And if you blew over 0.15% into the breathalyzer, you could be driving with an IID for nearly two years, even after your license is restored.
If it is your Second DUI Offense, the consequences worsen. In these cases, your fines double, you will spend a mandatory two days in jail, at least two years license suspension, longer time in the IDRC, and a longer license suspension, three years on the IID, the three-year insurance surcharge, and seven years license suspension.
For a third offense, fines, surcharges, and jail time go up significantly. You also must perform 30 days of community service, and your license suspension lasts eight years.
If you refuse to submit to a breathalyzer test, your penalties are like those of the first, second, or third time DWI offenses.
Need an Out of State DWI Charge Lawyer in Jersey City NJ
Whether you are arrested for refusing to take a breathalyzer test or for a DWI, New Jersey’s laws may be different from your home state’s drunk driving laws. So, if you are caught driving through New Jersey and you live somewhere else, or you have an out-of-state license but live in New Jersey, you are going to need help. Hire a drunk driving defense attorney to review your case. Each arrest for drunk driving is a little different, which is why our attorneys look at each detail of your vehicle stop, field sobriety test, breathalyzer reading, and arrest to ensure the police or prosecution followed the law and did not infringe upon your constitutional rights or make errors that may rule out the use of key evidence.
An improper vehicle stop or illegal arrest may mean your case gets thrown out of court if not at first, then eventually, after we file a motion to have the evidence against you thrown out or the case against you dismissed. But even if the police stopped you for reasonable suspicion of violating traffic laws and the subsequent arrest was proper, we may still challenge a breathalyzer reading, especially if the reading is .08% or even lower. A poorly calibrated or maintained breathalyzer device or your size, weight, and length of time between drinking and driving may all be factors to challenge the legal limits for a DWI. By hiring an attorney at our Hudson County defense firm who has long defended drunk drivers and knows how to challenge the DWI charges against you, you can better your chances of clearing your license sooner and protecting your rights in the face of DWI consequences.
Do not risk complicating your post-DWI problems in two states. If you do not take care of your DWI in New Jersey and your home state, your legal problems may mount. Talk to one of our NJ Out of State DWI defense lawyers today by calling (201) 793-8018 for a free consultation.
