A friend of mine who is from outside the state visited us this summer but unfortunately charged with DUI here in Wayne, New Jersey. If in case he will be convicted for DUI, does that mean that his home state driver’s license would also be suspended?

Callie

Wayne, NJ

After your friend’s DUI arrest in Wayne, New Jersey, he would be bound by New Jersey DUI law when it comes to possible conviction for DUI. But even though that is the case, it would be very important to remember that his driving privileges do not arise out of a license issued in New Jersey since he is from outside the state. In other words, since he has an out of state license and was charged with New Jersey DUI, all that New Jersey could do is enforce his DUI case and limit his ability to operate a motor vehicle within New Jersey.

If he would be convicted for DUI, he would be subject to New Jersey’s penalties for conviction. But with regard to his license suspension, New Jersey could just revoke his right to operate a motor vehicle within New Jersey. The New Jersey Courts do not have authority to decide what would happen in terms of his license to drive in his home state. The impact, if any, that a New Jersey DUI conviction on his license in his home state is left to the Division of Motor Vehicles of his home state.

My niece has been recently charged with DUI here in New Jersey. She’s very close to me and considers me as her second parent. Because of that, I want to help her as much as I could in getting her out of this mess. What are the crucial first steps following her arrest?

Irene

Paterson, New Jersey

One of the most crucial concerns for your niece to think about is preserving her driving privileges with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). She has to go through the paper work that the police officer gave her after her DUI arrest. She should find a paper license which allows her to drive for a certain amount of days from the date of issue. In the state of New Jersey, she’ll have 10 days after the arrest to file for a DMV administrative hearing which the details is listed on that piece of paper. This would extend her driving privileges until the hearing actually takes place.

After she has successfully scheduled her hearing, she’ll then want to consider defending herself from being convicted. To do that, she should strongly consider hiring an experienced New Jersey DUI lawyer and learning everything she can on the subject of DUI law and how it will affect her.

She may also want to get information on how to save considerable amounts of money on everything from auto insurance and court costs as well as enabling her to clear her DUI records. To do this, she can seek the advice of a legal expert who specializes in DUI.

My sister was charged with DUI after being pulled over for speeding and crossing the center line here in New Jersey. She failed the FST’s administered on her. She admitted to me that she took illegal drugs that night. The blood test at the local hospital did not show any cocaine was in her system. How come the police still charged her?

Nash

Newark, NJ

New Jersey DUI law for drugs may sometimes be tricky. But just to clarify some things, a person can be charged with DUI in New Jersey if caught driving with a ‘hangover,’ but a different kind of hangover, drug hangover that is. Drivers can be charged with DUI even if the drug is no longer actively in the system but the driver is still feeling its after-effects.

Driving under the influence of drugs has traditionally been interpreted as applying to when the substance is pharmacologically active in a person’s system. But it was expanded in the recent appellate ruling, which was prompted by the following DUI case in New Jersey.

The blood test on your sister may not have shown any cocaine was in her system but it can reveal that she was still ‘high’ from the drug. Cocaine only remains in the system a few hours after ingestion but the blood test may reveal traces of a metabolite of cocaine.

You may think you can waltz into court all by your lonesome and save your day, but these cases aren’t as simple as they may seem in your imagination. There are a lot of things an NJ DUI lawyer can help you with. For example…

• Get you some education.

Come on, how much do you really know about your state’s DUI law? An NJ DUI lawyer can give you the specifics–what consequences you’re up against, your chances, the laws, and so on.

• Defend you.

An NJ DUI lawyer knows better than you which direction to come from when defending you in court, and is more able to get you off with lighter consequences than you would be able to do alone.

• Handle things.

Your DUI lawyer can take care of all of your paperwork, fees and fines, scheduling court dates, filing, making calls to the right people…stuff you would otherwise have to do on your own while holding down a job and whatever responsibilities you have.

You might (or might not) need a  NJ DUI lawyer if…

• you don’t know what’s going on. DUI law is big stuff, and if you don’t get it, or don’t want to spend time learning it so you can represent yourself, you may need to hire a lawyer.
• you need to understand what will happen to you if you are convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• you need to understand the process of fighting a DUI conviction or lessening your sentence.
• you are working for a license which a criminal conviction could keep you from getting.
• your job requires bonding.

• Go to the library.

The library is an excellent source of information. While you don’t need to know DUI law backwards and forwards, checking out a book on your state’s laws and skimming some of the most important content can give you some basis, when you go to your New Jersey DUI lawyer consultation, so that you can know if the person you are talking to is really knowledgeable. You have no idea how many people have been screwed over by lawyers who didn’t know their stuff.

• Check the yellow pages.

If you’re hurting for a place to FIND a lawyer, just check the yellow pages. There are plenty of lawyers in there, but don’t jump to the assumption that they’re the best just because they have a full page ad.