Unlike criminal offenses, the traffic offense nature of DWI means that there isn’t a time period in which an earlier conviction won’t matter to a current prosecution.
However, if more than ten years has elapsed since a first DWI, if you are convicted, the court will sentence you under the guidelines for a first offender.
The past DWI will still appear on your driving abstract and a future DWI will be treated as a third offense, but New Jersey’s ten year step down rule means that you get this small break if you’re convicted of a second DWI after a ten year period has elapsed.
You don’t have to be convicted of DWI in New Jersey. With appropriate representation, you may have more options than you realize, and may even be able to avoid prosecution entirely.
Call attorney Matthew Reisig at 732-625-9660 to talk to an experienced New Jersey DWI attorney free of charge.