This firm defends the full range of motor vehicle violations, for ordinary drivers and commercial drivers alike. We try the matters that warrant trial and resolve the rest in a way that minimizes the consequence today and the insurance consequence for the next three years.
Almost nobody is prosecuted for the fine. They are prosecuted, in effect, by everything the fine drags behind it — the points on the abstract, the surcharge that follows the points, the insurance repricing, the suspension, and for a narrow set of cases a criminal charge in the Superior Court. Paying a ticket by mail is a guilty plea. It is worth knowing what you are pleading to. For how points, surcharges and suspension actually work, see Points, Surcharges & Suspension.
Did your license lapse, or are you trying to get back on the road after a long suspension? Driving while suspended is not a parking ticket. A first offense carries a $500 fine; a second, $750 and between one and five days in the county jail; a third or subsequent, $1,000 and a mandatory ten days. On conviction the court also imposes or extends a suspension of up to six months, which is how a short suspension becomes a long one. N.J.S.A. 39:3-40. Where the underlying suspension came from a driving while intoxicated conviction or a refusal, the statute adds a further $500 fine, a one to two year suspension, and ten to ninety days in jail. Cause an accident resulting in bodily injury while suspended and the court must impose between forty-five and one hundred eighty days.
Driving while your license is suspended for a drinking-and-driving conviction is itself a crime. A person who operates a motor vehicle during a suspension imposed for a second or subsequent driving while intoxicated or refusal conviction commits a crime of the fourth degree, an indictable offense in the Superior Court carrying a mandatory minimum of one hundred eighty days in jail, with no parole eligibility during that term. N.J.S.A. 2C:40-26. This is not a municipal matter and it is not a ticket. An accident can cross the same line. Where a driver injures someone, assault by auto is a disorderly persons offense for bodily injury and a crime of the fourth degree for serious bodily injury, and each rises a degree when the driver was intoxicated. N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(c). Call us.
Have you been charged with speeding, reckless driving, careless driving, or a cell phone ticket? Reckless driving, N.J.S.A. 39:4-96, and careless driving, N.J.S.A. 39:4-97, can be serious matters when license suspension is permissible. On a speeding summons, N.J.S.A. 39:4-98, the point exposure turns on the differential between the posted limit and the alleged speed, and the difference between a fourteen-mile-per-hour and a fifteen-mile-per-hour allegation is not one mile per hour, it is points, fines, and surcharges. We evaluate every ticket against the differential, the point consequence, and your existing abstract, and we seek a dismissal or a no-point resolution when one is realistically available.
Were you in an accident, cited for driving without insurance, stopped in an unregistered vehicle, or charged with leaving the scene? Driving without insurance, N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2, carries a mandatory license forfeiture on a first offense, and leaving the scene of an accident, N.J.S.A. 39:4-129, carries its own suspension exposure independent of any points. These are the cases where the collateral cost dwarfs the fine. This firm resolves them regularly. And where the crash left you injured, the summons is only half the matter — see Personal Injury. Contact us today.
A commercial driver’s license lives under a stricter regime than an ordinary one, and a disposition that is favorable in municipal court can still be disqualifying for a CDL. If you drive for a living, that has to be part of the analysis before any plea is entered rather than after. Let us help you keep your livelihood.
Authority: driving while suspended N.J.S.A. 39:3-40; operating while suspended for a second or subsequent DWI or refusal, a crime of the fourth degree, N.J.S.A. 2C:40-26; assault by auto N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(c); unlicensed driver N.J.S.A. 39:3-10; speeding N.J.S.A. 39:4-98; reckless driving N.J.S.A. 39:4-96; careless driving N.J.S.A. 39:4-97; driving in an unsafe manner N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.2; cell phone use while driving N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.3; leaving the scene of an accident N.J.S.A. 39:4-129; failure to report an accident N.J.S.A. 39:4-130; driving without insurance N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2; failure to exhibit documents N.J.S.A. 39:3-29; driving an unregistered vehicle N.J.S.A. 39:3-4. Point and surcharge figures are those published by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. This summary is for general information only and is not legal advice. Consult counsel about a specific matter.