Reader’s Question:

I have a DWI conviction here in Clifton, New Jersey and I’m working my way to clear it. What could be the consequences if I don’t clear my DWI record?

Daniel

Clifton, NJ

Even a misdemeanor DWI charge in Clifton, New Jersey would show up on your criminal records so it’s good that you are working your way to clear it. Although, a felony DWI conviction is obviously more serious, an average person who would see your record would simply note “DWI” and that could limit your opportunities based on that fact alone. Let me also remind you that both the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) would have your criminal record on file so you need to clear both records for you to truly clear your name.

If you don’t clear your DWI record, that could easily affect your future job prospects and your housing situation, even your voting rights and educational loans. When prospective landlords and employers do a background check, they would find your DWI criminal record unless you work to clear it. You may also have difficulty getting an auto insurance but there are still some auto insurance companies willing to give you coverage like the one who could offer you online rate quote from this website.

Tags: auto insurance, DMV, drunk driving laws, DWI, DWI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

How many years does a DUI or DWI remain on your driving record in Irvington, New Jersey?

Beth

Irvington, NJ

The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) states that a person with a BAC of 0.08% or greater who drives a motor vehicle or a boat is considered to be driving under the influence (DUI).

Being convicted of a DUI is a serious violation, with heavy penalties including:

• Fines, fees and surcharges
• Jail time
• Community service

The mandatory fines and penalties associated with a drunk driving for a BAC .10% or greater are:

• loss of license for 7 months to 1 year
• up to 30 days imprisonment
• 12 - 48 hrs IDRC - Intoxicated Driver Resource Center
• $300 - $500 fine
• $100 to drunk driving fund
• $230 IDRC fee
• $100 to AERF - Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Fund
• $1,000/year (for 3 years) surcharge
• $75 to Neighborhood Services Fund

A DUI with a BAC of greater than .08% but less than .10% comes with penalties of:

• license lost for 3 months
• up to 30 days imprisonment
• 12 - 48 hrs IDRC - Intoxicated Driver Resource Center
• $250 - $400 fine
• $230 IDRC fee
• $100 to drunk driving fund
• $100 to AERF - Alcohol Education and Rehabilitation Fund
• $1,000/year (for 3 years) surcharge
• $75 to Neighborhood Services Fund

As for how long the DUI offense stays on your Irvington, New Jersey driving record, according to the New Jersey MVC in New Jersey a DUI conviction will stay a permanent part of your New Jersey driver record.

Tags: DUI, DWI insurance, traffic violation

Reader’s Question:

I need to get an auto insurance from another company because my insurance has been cancelled due to my drunk driving charge here in Passaic, New Jersey. Could you please tell me where can I buy my auto insurance after my DWI?

Vic

Passaic, NJ

There are a lot of options that you have to get the right auto insurance after your insurance policy has been cancelled because of your drunk driving charge in Passaic, New Jersey. You can purchase your auto insurance through insurance companies that sell through their own employees and through your local insurance agent, by mail, over the Internet or over the phone. You can also consult the state insurance department, friends or relatives, the yellow pages of your phone book for the names of insurance companies doing business in the state of New Jersey.

In most states, there are dozens, sometimes even hundreds of insurance companies to choose from, which depend on the type of insurance you are looking for. Just make sure that the auto insurance company that you will choose is licensed to operate in the state of New Jersey and has a good reputation about their service. It is so easy to get an online rate quote for great car insurance that you need and that is available though this website.

Tags: auto insurance, car insurance quotes, drunk driving insurance, DWI

Reader’s Question:

My son hasn’t learned his lesson and got charged for DWI for the second time here in Elizabeth, New Jersey. If he will be convicted, what are the penalties that he would have to face?

Rachel

Elizabeth, NJ

The first thing that you need to do now is to contact a DWI defense lawyer to help your son against his second DWI offense in Elizabeth, New Jersey. An experienced DWI lawyer would represent your son’s interests throughout the course of his DWI case. The DWI lawyer would be able to save your son’s freedom and driver’s license which will be suspended for two years if he gets convicted. At the end of the suspension period, he could make an application to the Chief Administrator of the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission for a license to operate a motor vehicle, which application could be granted at the discretion of the chief administrator.

The other penalty involved for a second DWI offense would a fine of $500 to $1,000. He will also be ordered by the court to perform community service for 30 days and shall be sentenced to imprisonment for a not less than 48 consecutive hours to 90 days, which shall not be suspended or served on probation. He will also be required by the court to install an ignition interlock device or shall have his registration certificate and registration plates revoked for two years.

Tags: driver’s license, drunk driving laws, DWI, DWI lawyer, DWI penalties

Reader’s Question:

A friend of mine was charged with DWI here in Paterson, New Jersey after failing the breath test that he took when he was arrested. What I need to know is that, what are the guidelines that the operator of the breath test machine needs to follow? I’d like to find out these things in case the operator made mistakes, maybe my friend can use it as his defense.

Elton

Paterson, NJ

There has been some reported errors over the years in the breath test machines and these errors could have committed at the time of your friend’s testing when he was arrested for DWI in Paterson, New Jersey. Police officers are supposed to follow certain guidelines that direct the operator on how to avoid mistakes due to temperature.

The simulator solution of the breath test machine has to be kept at 34 degrees centigrade, plus or minus .02; otherwise, it would give inaccurate results. An example is that a decrease of one degree would cause a 6.8 percent decrease in the amount of alcohol, providing an inaccurately higher blood alcohol content (BAC) reading for tested breath samples. The human factor would further render the results unreliable as an operator is supposed to check the thermometer attached to the simulator. The sample chamber also needs to be heated to exactly 50 degrees; this must be monitored by the machine’s computer. Lastly, if the breath tube was not properly heated to 50 degrees, condensation could form in the tube, capturing alcohol during a test. So it would be possible that alcohol residue would show up in later breath samples from a previous DWI suspect’s test.

Tags: blood alcohol content, breath test, DWI, DWI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

Hi, I just moved here in East Orange, New Jersey and I heard that there are a lot of cases of DWI crimes in this state. What are the risks of getting arrested for DWI in the state of New Jersey?

Mayette

East Orange, NJ

There are a lot of risks of getting arrested for DWI in the state of New Jersey. Intoxication could either be from alcohol or from other substances and it could even include certain prescription drugs. It doesn’t matter if a person feels that he could hold his liquor, if he is caught driving with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% or more, he would be in serious trouble. New Jersey DWI laws could be very specific, and police officers have vast powers in implementing them.

In East Orange, New Jersey, or anywhere in New Jersey for that matter, a driver could be arrested for DWI even without administering the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests. But in such cases, the state must prove that there was sufficient reason to take the person into custody. An officer could even arrest a driver for DWI who has an open liquor bottle in his vehicle, parked or otherwise. The probable cause here, which again the state must prove, would be the intent drive after consuming the intoxicant. A driver who realizes that he has consumed too much alcohol and decides to sleep it off in his vehicle could also be at risk of being arrested for DWI. In cases such as these, the problem would arise if the driver wakes up, he might think that he is sober and decide to drive, but the BAC could still be adverse.

Tags: blood alcohol content, DWI, DWI arrest, DWI lawyer, field sobriety tests

Reader’s Question:

Hi, I’m here in Clifton, New Jersey and there are so many things that I want to know about the justice system, especially in DWI cases. In a DWI case in New Jersey, what is the State’s burden of proof?

Chuck
Clifton, NJ

If you will be charged with DWI in Clifton, New Jersey, the State must prove your guilt “beyond reasonable doubt,” and that is the highest burden of proof in the justice system. The lowest burden of proof in a DWI case would be the probable cause. This is just like receiving a ticket that you disagree with (as opposed to not just liking the fact that you received a ticket). This level of proof means that you have a 50-50 chance that you violated the law, but is all the officer need to arrest you.

The highest burden of proof would be proving your guilt Beyond a Reasonable Doubt. One’s freedom is on the line and the judge should have a lot of evidence that you were really driving while intoxicated before they could find you guilty. This may seem simple, but it’s extremely convincing manner of making a jury understand just how much evidence is required before they could convict a person, thus branding them a criminal for the rest of their lives.

Tags: DWI, DWI lawyer, DWI trial

Reader’s Question:

I have a DWI charge in Passaic, New Jersey and I want this over and done with. Can I just plead guilty to the charge or I still have an option on this?

Prince
Passaic, NJ

I understand that you just want to plead guilty real quickly on your DWI case in Passaic, New Jersey just to get the case over with. But here’s the ultimate advice that I can give you-don’t plead guilty until you have at least carefully reviewed the discovery. You could be surprised as to the amount of errors that were made by the police in your DWI case so you have to review the discovery. For example, the breathalyzer certificates could have expired or the breathalyzer inspection certificates could indicate that the breathalyzer could have been malfunctioning around the time of your DWI arrest. Another instance is that the police reports could not substantiate that there was sufficient probable cause to justify the DWI stop of your case.

Also, you have to believe that there are many DWI cases wherein the paperworks are not prepared properly. Many police stations are overwhelmed with these paperworks and they just couldn’t keep up with the necessary information to convict DWI drivers. This would not be the case in all municipalities, but if you are a more fortunate DWI defendant, then the discovery and the paperwork could reveal that there are many viable defenses.

Tags: DWI, DWI arrest, DWI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

My uncle has just been charged with DWI here in Trenton, New Jersey. I’m doing some research to help him on his case and someone told me that there are certain things on the mouth that can cause to have higher blood alcohol content. Would you mind giving me an idea as to what these things are?

Mabel

Trenton, NJ

I don’t mind at all, Mabel, I’ll give you an idea about these things that cause higher blood alcohol content (BAC) so that you can help your uncle on his DWI case in Trenton, New Jersey. DWI breath testing machines ideally detect alveolar air of the deep lungs, which is loosely associated with blood alcohol level. But these breath testing machines could be “tricked” by latent alcohol in the mouth which is often caused by belching, burping or the recent use of cough syrup, breath spray, mouthwash or cold medicine.

When the breath testing machine gathers up the mouth alcohol rather than deep lung air, it would give BAC reading that is higher than the true BAC. This would become a particular problem for people who are arrested for DWI who have food impactions, dentures, denture adhesives, cavities, orthodontic work, braces or those who have food particles trapped between their teeth. All of these conditions actually tend to produce mouth alcohol.

Tags: blood alcohol, breath test, DWI, DWI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

My sister was recently charged with DUI here in Camden, New Jersey and she was told that she needs to get a DUI lawyer. How important is it to hire a DUI attorney who would defend her in her case?

Franklin

Camden, NJ

It is very important that you hire a DUI defense attorney to help your sister defend her DUI case in Camden, New Jersey. If she talks to a DUI attorney, the DUI attorney would analyze the facts of her DUI case and would give opinion about it. The DUI attorney can also discuss the approach that they could use to attack the case. The DUI attorney could be able to explain to her how he/she could protect her rights under New Jersey law, tell her what her options are and how the whole New Jersey judicial process works, so she would know exactly what happens.

Your sister would also learn how the DUI defense attorney would guide her through the court system and how he/she would champion her rights, using the attorney’s ingenuity and the options in the legal system to defend and protect your sister. The DUI attorney would review the complaint against her and would also go over the steps that were used to conduct the chemical and field sobriety tests against her to determine if they were valid and the DUI attorney would show her how the police officer’s testimony can be discredited.

Tags: DUI, DUI lawyer