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If you have been arrested for your first New Jersey DUI or DWI  you should know being convicted of or pleading guilty to New Jersey drunk driving  can result in loss of your driving privilege , your ability to obtain insurance in New Jersey at reasonable cost, and may possibly effect your ability to work.  If convicted of drunk driving for the first time in New Jersey penalties can vary based on certain factors, such as your BAC.

First New Jersey DWI offense with BAC of .08% but less than .10%:

• You’ll lose your New Jersey license for three month
• Pay a fine ranging from $250 to $400
• Mandatory 12 to 48 hour stay at an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC) with related fees
• Insurance surcharges of $1,000 a year for three years.
• You may also be required to spend up to 30 days in jail.

First New Jersey DWI offense with BAC of .10% or higher:

• You’ll lose your New Jersey license for seven months up to one year
• Face a $300 to $500 fine
• Have a mandatory IDRC stay of 12 to 48 hours with related fees
• Insurance surcharges of $1,000 a year for three years.
• You may also be required to spend up to 30 days in jail.

As you can see, there is a significant difference between the two levels of a first DWI offense in New Jersey, especially with regard to the period of New Jersey license suspension. With the help of an experienced New Jersey drunk driving lawyer these penalties may not have to be your fate. A free initial meeting can help you learn whether there may be challenges that can be made to the Blood Alcohol Reading, which may save you from an additional four to eight months of license suspension, or possibly result in the New Jersey DWI charge being dismissed completely. If you refused a chemical test it may work as an advantage in criminal court.

If you have just received your first NJ DWI offense, contact NJ DWI Attorney Steven M. Garber for a free phone consultation in New Jersey

The severity of penalties faced by someone charged with a Pennsylvania DUI depends not only on the number of previous convictions they may or may not have, but also on the amount of alcohol present in their blood when arrested.

- General impairment: BAC 0.08-0.099
- High rate of alcohol: BAC 0.100-0.159
- Highest rate of alcohol: BAC 0.16 and higher

First Time Offenders

BAC 0.100-0.159:

- Mandatory minimum 48 hours in jail
- Up to 6 months in jail
- $500-5000 in fines
- Alcohol Safety School
- Drug and Alcohol Assessment

BAC 0.16 and higher:

- Mandatory minimum 72 hours in jail
- Up to 6 months in jail
- $1000-5000 in fines
- Alcohol Safety School
- Drug and Alcohol Assessment

Second DUI Offense in Pennsylvania

If you are convicted of your second Pennsylvania DUI the law states there is mandatory jail time if the convictions are within 10 years, no matter how much alcohol was in your system. Also, fines can range up to $10,000 and you must install an ignition interlock device in your car for one year.

All in all when accused of a Pennsylvania DUI it is in your best interest to contact a Pennsylvania DUI lawyer. A Pennsylvania DUI attorney can get you a more lenient sentence or off the hook completely, it’s what they do.

Judge Barbara Buchanan sentenced a women to 180 days in jail with 170 days suspended. She was placed on supervised probation for two years and her license was suspended for three months.

Wert, 31, was charged following an Aug. 30 incident at the BNSF Railway crossing on Bottle Bay Road. Vicky Groeper happened upon Wert’s vehicle, but was unable to rouse her.

Groeper called dispatchers and Deputy Aaron Flynn arrived at the scene just as a train was bearing down on the at-grade crossing. Flynn reportedly used his patrol vehicle to push Wert off the tracks seconds before the locomotive barreled through the crossing.

Although it was her second drunken-driving offense since 2007, Wert pleaded guilty to a first-offense DUI and entered outpatient alcohol treatment. She subsequently released a statement thanking her rescuers.

She was sentenced on Nov. 7, according to court documents.

Bonner County Deputy Prosecutor Roger Hanlon proposed a six-month sentence, a standard recommendation for a second-offense DUI pleaded as a first offense. Hanlon also recommended supervised probation.

“She was still on probation for the first offense when this one occurred. She was 0.18 and unconscious on a railroad crossing,” Hanlon said.

Wert’s defense counsel, Bryce Powell, recommended 60 days in jail with 54 days suspended.

“The court can rest assured that this whole circumstance has made a profound impression upon her and she knows that she barely escaped death,” said Powell.

Wert declined to address the court when she was sentenced.

“This was obviously a very serious case. As you recognize – and everyone else does – it could have been incredibly tragic,” Buchanan said.
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A license suspension means you may not drive for the period of your suspension. Driving privileges are typically administered by a state agency other than the court system. It could be the Secretary of State, the Department of Motor Vehicles or another agency. If your license is suspended, the suspension will likely take effect immediately upon arrest, and not upon conviction.

Check your state’s laws. You, or your lawyer on your behalf, may be able to negotiate a limited suspension, meaning you may drive to and from work, but nowhere else.
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