CHANGES IN NJ DUI LAW MAY WORK TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

There have been recent changes in New Jersey’s drinking and driving, that can now benefit individuals charged with Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol.

While “plea bargaining” has long been prohibited in drunk driving cases in New Jersey, that is no longer the case. By order of the Chief Justice Stuart Rabner on February 23, 2024, plea bargaining is now allowed in drunk driving cases.

Furthermore, the prescribed penalties for drinking and driving in New Jersey have been amended, and apply to all arrests on or after February 19, 2024. The new law includes amendments that provide many advantages to DUI/DWI offenders for 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd offenses, as follows:

Early Installation of the Ignition Interlock Device

Under the previous law, Courts typically ordered the installation of an ignition interlock device (IID) when sentencing a defendant after the defendant pleads guilty or is found guilty. Under the new law, an interlock vendor may, without a court order, install an ignition interlock device in a vehicle that a person owns, leases, or principally operates if requested by a person who has been arrested for DUI/DWI before that person appears in Court. The defendant will then take proof of installation from the vendor to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC), along with documents that show the pending DWI and related charges and submit the forms no later than seven days after receipt of the documentation. Upon presentation of the charge documentation and installation proofs, the MVC will issue a restricted license to the defendant with a notation imprinted on it restricting the defendant to operate only motor vehicles equipped with an interlock device.

Benefits and Restrictions to Early Installation and Issuance of a Restricted License

There are many benefits (and certain restrictions) to early interlock installation and issuance of a restricted license which are a function of both prior offenses and the defendant’s blood alcohol level. They are as follows:

First Offenders Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a)(1)

• Blood alcohol content (BAC) of .08% but less than .10%:
  • NO FINE if the person possessed a valid New Jersey driver’s license in good standing at the time of the offense and maintained a license in good standing until the date of conviction.
• BAC of .10% or greater, but less than .15%:
  • NO FINE if the person possessed a valid New Jersey driver’s license in good standing at the time of the offense and maintained a license in good standing until the date of conviction.
• BAC of .15% or greater:
  • NO FINE and a THREE-MONTH LICENSE SUSPENSION coupled with a one-day credit against the suspension term for every two days the person has had the ignition interlock device installed. The license loss credits only apply if the defendant possessed a valid New Jersey driver’s license in good standing at the time of the offense and maintained a license in good standing until the date of conviction. The defendant will not be entitled to the credits if the drunk-driving case resulted in serious bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1 to another person. Note that following a conviction, a first offender whose blood alcohol concentration is 0.15% or higher must install and maintain an interlock device for not less than 12 months or more than 15 months.

Second Offenders Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a)(2)

Defendants are not subject to paying a fine and are entitled to a one day credit against the suspension term for every two days the person has had the ignition interlock device installed. These two benefits (fine and license-loss credits) only apply if the defendant possessed a valid New Jersey driver’s license in good standing at the time of the offense and maintained a license in good standing until the date of conviction. The defendant will not be entitled to the license-loss credits if the drunk driving case resulted in serious bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1 to another person.

Third Offenders Under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a)(3)

Defendants are not subject to paying a fine and are entitled to a one day credit against the suspension term for every two days the person has had the ignition interlock device installed. These two benefits (fine and license-loss credits) only apply if the defendant possessed a valid New Jersey driver’s license in good standing at the time of the offense and maintained a license in good standing until the date of conviction. The defendant will not be entitled to the license-loss credits if the drunk- driving case resulted in serious bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1 to another person.

Other amendments

1) Refusals - Interlock installation for a period of 9 to 15 months for a first offender (N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.17(a)(2)).

2) Commercial drivers and the basic license - In sentencing a person convicted of a first violation of [N.J.S.A. 39:3-10.13] whose blood alcohol concentration was at least 0.04% but less than 0.08%, the court shall not suspend the person’s basic driver’s license, but shall order the installation of an ignition interlock device in one non-commercial motor vehicle owned, leased, or principally operated by the offender, whichever the offender most often operates, which shall remain installed during the period that the person’s commercial motor vehicle driving privilege is suspended. N.J.S.A. 39:3-10.20(n).

3) Exclusions for Driving Under the Influence of Drugs - Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S.39:4-50, a person who has been arrested or convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a narcotic, hallucinogenic, or habit-producing drug or permitting another person who is under the influence of a narcotic, hallucinogenic, or habit-producing drug to operate a motor vehicle owned by the person or under the person’s custody or control pursuant to the provisions of R.S.39:4-50 or a person who has been convicted of operating a commercial motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1990, c.103 (C.39:3-10.13) shall not be eligible, based on the person’s installation of an ignition interlock device, for any waiver of the fine or for any credit against the period that the person is required to forfeit the right to operate a motor vehicle on the highways of this State.

LIMITATIONS: The early interlock option applies only to DUI alcohol cases and is reserved for defendants who had a valid New Jersey license in good standing on the date of the DWI offense. It is available exclusively to those people charged with driving while intoxicated by alcohol. It generally excludes those defendants who inflicted serious bodily injury on another person as a result of the intoxicated operation. Early interlock installation and issuance of the restricted license have sentencing benefits for all defendants, regardless of the number of prior offenses. Here are the procedural steps for defendants to follow: