A Qualified New Jersey DUI Lawyer Knows the Importance of the Field Sobriety Test and the Establishment of Probable Cause

Your New Jersey DUI lawyer will carefully explain to you the importance of the results of your field sobriety tests and how the primary requirement for arresting a DUI suspect is dependent upon establishing probable cause for the arrest.  Field sobriety tests vary depending upon the circumstance under which you are stopped, but in general, they will involve one of the following tests.

• The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test – (checking the eyes).
• The Head Tilt Test
• The Finger to Nose Test
• The One Leg Balance Test
• The Heal to Toe Walking Test
• Reciting the ABCs
• A Counting Test

Your NJ DUI Attorney Will Help You Determine If Your Field Sobriety Test Is Incriminating or Not

An experienced NJ DUI attorney will be well-versed in investigating DUI police reports which are a part of your arrest record.  After completing a thorough analysis of the way in which your field sobriety test was administered and making sure that the results were appropriately interpreted by the police, your DUI attorney will have a good idea as to whether your arrest will hold up in a Court of law in New Jersey.

The first inquiry will be to determine whether the arresting New Jersey Police Officer is trained and certified in the administration of Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST).  Consisting of intensive classroom instruction, SFST certification provides police officers with tools to determine if your field sobriety test may be an indication of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.  Police officers look for the following issues during the SFST’s:

• Loss of your balance during the heel-to-toe walking test
• Whether you started to walk before you receive complete instructions on what you are to do during the walking test
• If you stop to steady yourself while walking the test
• If you do not touch heel-to-toe by missing the mark by one-half inch
• If you step off the line
• If you use your arms to balance yourself
• If you lose your balance or turn improperly
• If you take the wrong number of steps
• If you sway while trying to balance during the one-leg balance test
• If you use your arms for balance during the one-leg balance test
• If you hop to maintain balance during the one-leg balance test
• If you put one foot down during the one-leg balance test

How a New Jersey Drunk Driving Attorney Can Use the Field Sobriety Test to Defend Your DUI Charge

If the Field Sobriety Tests were not administered in the proper way, the results are compromised and possibly invalid. The SFST’s are the HGN, the walk-and-turn, and the one-leg-stand.  Other tests, such as the finger to nose, or head tilt test, are not standardized and have no known degree of reliability. Your New Jersey Drunk Driving Attorney will carefully scrutinize the circumstances of your DUI arrest, check out the credentials of the police officer that administered your field sobriety test, and challenge any suspect procedural elements of your test and the evaluations of the police officer’s observations.

How You Can Best Assist your New Jersey Drunk Driving Attorney

At your initial meeting with your New Jersey Drunk Driving Attorney, you can best assist your attorney by accurately reporting what occurred during your arrest.  According to NJ DUI Attorney Evan Levow, it is highly important to verify that “what the client indicated occurred, is what occurred in the officer’s report. If it’s not, that’s another thing to address in court to determine what really happened on the night or the day of the arrest.”  Your best defense will be what you can confidently and accurately report to your attorney so your attorney has an opportunity to investigate any and all contradictions in what you say happened and what the arresting officer wrote in his report of your arrest.

If you have been arrested in New Jersey for DUI, contact Evan Levow’s New Jersey DUI Defense Law Firm for a free DUI consultation.  A highly experienced New Jersey DUI attorney, Levow will evaluate your DUI case and offer valuable assistance in your defense.  To schedule your free consultation or to obtain more information about the firm, call 1-877-735-2288.

NJSA 39:4-50 is the statute that dictates New Jersey law in regards to drunk driving. As a traffic offense statute, a drunk driving violation is not a felony, not a misdemeanor and doesn’t require the arresting officer to fingerprint you or photograph you even though you are arrested and taken to the police station upon the issuance of a DUI charge.  Consequently, a DUI conviction in New Jersey will not result in you having to report a conviction to employers and others as a crime and will not show up on a criminal background investigation; however, the conviction will show up if you attempt to get a license in another state on your driving record. The conviction is not in a criminal database anywhere. For more information about how a drunk driving offense will affect a move to another state or New Jersey criminal background checks, ask your NJ drunk driving attorney.

Do I get a jury trial for my NJ drunk driving charge?

Since New Jersey treats DWI as a traffic offense, there is no jury trial for DWI charges in New Jersey.  Instead your drunk driving case will be heard and decided by a New Jersey Municipal Court judge.

A breath alcohol content (BAC) of 0.08% or higher is considered “per-se impaired”.   New Jersey also enforces lower BAC levels for commercial drivers and for driver’s under the age of 21. In addition, New Jersey DUI law mandates that you if you refuse a breath test to check your blood alcohol content level, you face two charges when your case comes before a New Jersey judge (both a DUI charge and an Alcotest refusal charge).  Refusal cases are very complex.  It is never a foregone conclusion, however, that automatic convictions will happen in refusal or DWI cases.  Your NJ drunk driving lawyer will explain all these factors to you at your initial consultation.

Penalties for Drunk Driving Convictions will be Explained by Your New Jersey Drunk Driving Attorney

Drunk driving offenses in New Jersey are serious offenses met with equally serious consequences that increase depending on the number of times you are convicted of a drunk driving offense.  Below is a summary of typical drunk driving penalties in New Jersey.

1^st Drunk Driving Conviction Penalties 

• Up to 30 days in jail
• $250-$400 fine if your BAC is under 0.10%, or $300-$500 fine if your blood alcohol level is 0.10% or above
• 3-month license suspension fine if your BAC is under 0.10%, or 7-12 month suspension if your blood alcohol level is .10 or above
• installation of an ignition interlock system on your vehicle if your BAC is 0.15% or above (usually after license suspension is complete and at your own expense)
• A minimum $325 fines and assessments
• $3000 surcharge to the state, payable over 3 years
• separate automobile insurance surcharge for 3 years
• 12 hours (2 days at 6 hours per day) of attendance at an intoxicated driver resource center (IDRC)

2^nd Drunk Driving Conviction Penalties

• 2-90 days in jail
• $500-$1000 fine
• 2-year license suspension
• installation of an ignition interlock system on your vehicle for 1 to 3 years
• A minimum $325 fines and assessments
• $3000 surcharge to the state, payable over 3 years
• automobile insurance surcharge for 3 years
• 30 days of community service

3^rd Drunk Driving Conviction Penalties

• 180 days in jail – 90 days can be served in-patient
• $1000 fine
• 10-year license suspension
• installation of ignition interlock system on your vehicle for 1-3 years
• $325 minimum other DWI fines and assessments
• $4500 surcharge to the state, payable over 3 years
• separate automobile insurance surcharge for 3 years

Your New Jersey drunk driving lawyer should inform you that all DUI convictions also include: 1) A $100 surcharge for the NJ drunk driving enforcement fund; 2) $100 intoxication driver program fee; 3) $75 Safe Neighborhood Fund fee; 4) $50 violent crimes compensation fee; 5) court costs – totaling $325 or more.  To get your driving privileges back, you must also pay a $200 motor vehicle restoration fee

New Jersey Courts are very strict with convicted DWI offenders: Hire a Qualified New Jersey DUI attorney to Challenge the Arrest

When considering the appropriate sentencing for a DUI, the New Jersey court has a “look back period” in which the court is allowed to consider a previous DUI conviction when assessing what penalties should be applied to a particular case. A complicated calculation, this look back period will be investigated by your New Jersey DUI lawyer to see if your case will be affected by any previous DUI charges. According to New Jersey DUI lawyer Evan Levow, when initially evaluating a DUI case, “it’s important to determine what factors apply, what situations apply in a given circumstance, and what needs to be effectively challenged,” and one of those factors is whether the look back period applies to your case.  In essence, New Jersey courts can consider prior convictions that occurred less than 10 years before the second conviction.  A second drunk driving violation that occurs more than 10 years after a previous one is treated as your first violation and will be penalized as a 1^st drunk driving conviction. Governed by static and specific penalties, a plea of guilty, not guilty or a plea bargain in New Jersey will always result in the same penalties.  Don’t try to go it alone if you have been charged with DUI or DWI in New Jersey. With little leniency toward drunk drivers, New Jersey courts are best approached with an experienced New Jersey DUI lawyer on your side.

Contact an Experienced New Jersey DUI Attorney

Finding yourself facing a drunk driving charge is never easy.  But, with the assistance of an experienced New Jersey DUI attorney, you stand a better chance of having a positive outcome to your case than going it alone or with someone who doesn’t understand the intricacies of the NJ DWI laws. Evan Levow’s New Jersey DUI Defense Firm offers free consultations for those facing a DUI charge. An experienced, highly-qualified New Jersey DUI attorney, Levow can be reached at 1-877-735-2288.