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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.

No, if you were convicted of refusal in the past but not DWI, the new arrest can only be charged at a first offender level.

While it’s generally not a good idea to refuse to provide a breath sample in New Jersey, this is a rare instance where a past refusal can be beneficial to a current DWI charge.

Keep in mind that you can be convicted of DWI even if you refuse to provide a sample for an Alcotest, and that the prosecution can use a refusal against you in court.

By arguing that you refused to provide a sample because you knew you were drunk, a refusal becomes a weapon to use against you.

The penalties for a first DWI conviction are serious, but less serious than a second refusal conviction.

When you’re facing DWI charges anywhere in New Jersey, call attorney Matthew Reisig right away at 732-625-9660 for a free consultation with one of New Jersey’s most successful DWI defense lawyers.

There are times when it can be appropriate to make a deal with a prosecutor, but you should never make that decision without consulting with an experienced New Jersey DWI attorney first.

One role the prosecutor has is to try to make you feel like the case is already decided and there’s nothing you can do to fight back, but in the vast majority of DWI cases, there are many ways to call the evidence against you into question, or even defeat it outright by proving that procedures weren’t followed, the stop was not legal, and many more.

Whether you choose to fight or not is ultimately up to you, but you’re doing yourself and your future a disservice if you don’t at least meet with a DWI defense attorney who can evaluate your case and give you the best advice possible.

Call New Jersey DWI attorney Matthew Reisig today at 732-625-9660 for a free consultation.

There are various ways that a DWI can be “enhanced,” so that a conviction will result in harsher penalties.

Some have to do with the elements of the DWI itself – a child was in the vehicle during the alleged drunk driving, the driver has a Commercial Drivers License and was driving a commercial vehicle, or the driver was under 21 at the time of the arrest.

The most common way a sentence is enhanced in New Jersey is simply if there has been a prior DWI conviction.

In that case, courts are likely to view you as a second offender, and apply a higher tier of punishment.

It is possible to beat a DWI charge in New Jersey.

Call attorney Matthew Reisig at 732-625-9660 today for a free consultation with an experienced DWI defense attorney.

You won’t get DMV points on your license if you’re convicted of DWI in New Jersey, but you’ll be facing a license suspension, the possibility of being dropped by your insurer, increased car insurance rates for years, plus fines, fees, and the risk of more significant punishment if you’re convicted of DWI in the future.

It doesn’t have to be this way. In New Jersey, there are many ways to contest a DWI charge.

Your biggest concern if you’ve been arrested for DWI anywhere in the state is finding the most experienced legal counsel you can get. When you call attorney Matthew Reisig at 732-625-9660, you’ll talk to an attorney who has defended – and won – DWI cases in every county in New Jersey, and argued on behalf of DWI defendants before the state Supreme Court.