Other Questions Asked In DUI Cases

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What Should Someone Do If They Just Want To Plead Guilty And Get Over With The Case?

Even if a person thinks they are guilty, they still need legal representation because there may be some room for mitigation, there may be defenses they are not even aware of. The fact of the matter is if they want to plead guilty, they can and do it for free. They do not need a lawyer to do so. When people hire a lawyer, it is not a choice between winning and losing; it is a choice between fighting and rolling over. If you want to fight, you get a lawyer who is going to fight. You do not get a lawyer who is going to hold your hand and let you plead guilty. You can do that yourself.

What Happens To Your Driver’s License After A DUI Charge In New Jersey? What about Work Licenses or Hardship License?

There is no such thing as a work license or hardship license in New Jersey. There are basically two restrictive licenses:

One is the provisional license which is for the first year, when you are seventeen and you first get your license.

The other one is if you got a DUI conviction and you have the interlock requirement during that period for whatever amount of time after getting your license back, your driving privilege is restricted only to those vehicles with an alcohol ignition interlock. During the initial revocation period, you cannot drive for any reason whatsoever. However, there might be an overwhelming necessity that might justify your driving, but those cases are very rare.

What Is The Interlock Ignition System And Who Is Required To Have It?

Anyone convicted of a DUI is required to have an alcohol ignition interlock installed. Except for first offenders with a breath, either no breath test result, no blood test or a breath or blood test result less than 0.15%. Under 0.15%, the interlock requirement is discretionary with a judge for first offenders. If there is a breath test refusal case where a person refuses to do the breath test, they are required to have the interlock in every single case.

There is some disagreement about whether a person has to have an interlock installed during the period their license is actually revoked because the statute is just not written clearly enough. The statute was imported from jurisdictions that use interlocks as an alternative to revocation. In New Jersey, it has been imported strictly as an additional punishment. Therefore, it reads that a person must have an interlock even though they cannot legally drive, they have to have the interlock installed on whatever vehicle they principally operate.

The thing is that if you are going to abide by the law, nobody is going to be principally operating any vehicle during the period of revocation, so they do not need to bother with the interlock. That seems to be how New Jersey’s Motor Vehicle Commission is administering the interlock law. At the moment, no one is checking to see if people whose licenses are revoked for DUI get it installed immediately or Motor Vehicle Commission is requiring that a person show that a vehicle equipped with the interlock is available to them at the time they applied to get their license restored.

Get Answers to Other Questions Asked in DUI Cases or call the law office of New Jersey DWI Attorney John Menzel, J.D. for an Initial Consultation at (732) 218-9090 and get the information and legal answers you’re seeking.