Driving While Suspended Lawyer East Windsor, NJ

Does New Jersey Allow for a Restricted License for People Whose Licenses Are Suspended?

One of the most serious traffic offenses in New Jersey is Driving While Suspended. If your license is suspended, keep in mind that there is no such thing as a restricted, hardship, or work license in New Jersey. That is true no matter why your license is suspended, whether because of a DWI conviction, nonpayment of surcharges, failure to pay a ticket, drug conviction, etc. There is simply no option for any sort of restricted license in New Jersey.

Have you been cited for Driving While Suspended in Mercer County, Burlington County, or Middlesex County, NJ? Then you need to contact an East Windsor driving while suspended lawyer immediately.

What Happens If Someone Is Caught Driving While Suspended in New Jersey?

Depending on the circumstances of the offense, the penalties for Driving While Suspended in New Jersey under N.J.S.A. 39:3-40 are varied. However, the basic penalties where there are no special sentencing enhancements are as follows:

For a first offense in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:3-40, you are subject to the following fines and penalties:

• $500 fine;
• Up to an additional 6 month suspension of New Jersey driving privileges;
• $250 New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Surcharge for 3 years, for a total of $750.

For a second offense in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:3-40, you are subject to the following fines and penalties:

• $750 fine;
• 1 to 5 days in the county jail;
• Up to an additional 6 month suspension of New Jersey driving privileges;
• $250 New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Surcharge for 3 years, for a total of $750.

For a third or subsequent violation of N.J.S.A. 39:3-40, you are subject to the following fines and penalties:

• $1,000 fine;
• 10 days in the county jail;
• Up to an additional 6 month suspension of New Jersey driving privileges;
• $250 New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission Surcharge for 3 years, for a total of $750.

There are certain circumstances which will enhance the penalties for Driving While Suspended under N.J.S.A. 39:3-40, such as having an accident in which someone is injured, regardless of whether you are at fault for the accident; being suspended for Driving While Suspended for a First DWI; or Driving While Suspended within 1,000 Feet of School Property. If you are charged with Driving While Suspended for a Second or Subsequent DWI, or a Second Driving While Suspended for a First DWI, you will be charged with a 4th degree indictable offense and will have to serve no less than 6 months but up to 18 months imprisonment.

If you are charged with Driving While Suspended, you should consult with an experienced defense attorney to assist you in obtaining the best outcome possible.

What Are the Aggravating Circumstances for Driving on a DWI Suspended License in Mercer County, NJ?

If your license is suspended for a DWI conviction, the act of driving is in and of itself the aggravating circumstance, and you are subject to much harsher penalties than if your license is suspended for some other reason, such as nonpayment of surcharges. If it is your first offense, you will be subject to all of the penalties for a first offense Driving While Suspended conviction as described above, and you are further subject to an additional 1 to 2 year license suspension, an additional fine of $500, and 10 to 90 days in the county jail.

Certain circumstances will turn Driving While Suspended for a DWI into a criminal offense, rather than just a traffic offense, in which case you would have to serve a minimum of 6 months in the county jail.

What Happens If Someone Is Arrested for a DWI While Their License Is Suspended?

If your driver’s license is suspended and you get arrested for DWI, you will be charged with the DWI as well as Driving While Suspended. The mere act of driving with a suspended license is against the law, but there is no specific enhanced penalty for being convicted of a DWI while your license is suspended for something else. If, on the other hand, you are arrested for Driving While Suspended while because of a prior DWI conviction, enhanced penalties, including mandatory jail time, would apply.

How Do You Advise Clients Who Want to Plead Guilty to Driving on a DWI Suspended License in Hamilton, New Jersey?

If they’re already our client, they have already taken the most important first step to potentially obtaining a better outcome in their case. These cases are difficult, but only an experienced defense attorney will know what defenses to look for, whether they will work, and how to obtain a better result in the event that they do have to plead guilty. For instance, while Driving While Suspended for DWI involves mandatory jail time, with an experienced defense attorney negotiating on his or her behalf, they might be able to serve that jail time on weekends, or at the Sheriff’s Labor Assistance Program (SLAP). Simply pleading guilty without the benefit of an attorney will afford a defendant none of those options.

Can Someone Avoid Jail Time for Driving While Suspended in Ewing, NJ?

Depending on how many times you have previously been convicted for Driving While Suspended, you may not have to serve time in jail. If it is a first offense, no jail time will be imposed. On a second offense, the judge must sentence you to between 1 and 5 days in jail, and on a third offense, to 10 days in jail. Sometimes a judge will allow defendants to serve the jail time on weekends, or to participate in SLAP, which is the Sheriff’s Labor Assistance Program. Additionally, some jails allow for day reporting, in which defendants are incarcerated during the day, but do not stay overnight at the jail. Day reporting is only an option in a county where the jail permits it, and the judge won’t have the discretion to order day reporting if the jail does not already allow it.

How Do You Assist Your Clients in Driving While Suspended Cases in Trenton, NJ?

In many circumstances, assisting a client charged with Driving While Suspended involves helping them isolate the reason that their license is suspended and advising them on how to get their privilege restored. In many cases, if a defendant’s license is restored by the time they get to court, the charge can be plea bargained down to something that does not involve jail time, high fines, surcharges, or additional loss of license. Sometimes, getting to the bottom of why someone’s license is suspended can be complicated, especially if many years have passed and the client isn’t quite sure if there are old tickets that haven’t been resolved, or how to go about getting the suspension lifted by a court that may have imposed a suspension based on a failure to appear or pay fines.

It’s important to retain an experienced attorney who can help navigate these issues and assist you in getting the best result possible with the least serious consequences. Contact The Scardella Law Firm LLC today by calling 609-372-5285 or by filling out this online form.