A common traffic case in the Municipal Courts of New Jersey is a driver being accused of Driving a Motor Vehicle while their Driver's License is Suspended or Revoked. Thousands of individuals are currently on DMV's suspended or revoked list. If these drivers are stopped by the Police while driving or operating a motor vehicle, they will be issued a summons for Driving While Suspended. There are numerous reasons a person can have their driving privileges suspended or revoked. Depending upon the cause of the suspension or revocation, a conviction for Driving While Suspended may subject a driver to enhanced court penalties including a Fine of up to $1,500, additional License Suspension and Registration Suspension of up to 30 months (i.e. 2.5 years), and imprisonment in the County Jail of up to 180 days (i.e. 6 months). After Court, upon a guilty plea or conviction, the violation is recorded on a person's driving record and additional financial penalties or collateral consequences begin. Often, the economic sanctions imposed by the DMV and Insurance Companies greatly exceed those imposed by the Court. The DMV in New Jersey has a surcharge system and will impose a mandatory total assessment of $750.00 for a Driving While Suspended violation. More importantly, the violation carries 9 insurance eligibility points, which is the same as drunk driving (i.e. DWI or DUI) and driving without liability insurance. Therefore, an insurance company may treat the individual as a high risk driver and penalize him or her accordingly with higher premiums.
The following is a classic example of a case in Municipal Court where the results in Court appear good, but the long-term financial effects are harmful. A driver appears in Court because he or she was issued a ticket for Driving While Suspended as is normally charged under the general provision of the law. Apparently, the driver was on the suspended list for failure to answer or pay a parking ticket. The driver's lawyer demonstrates to the prosecutor that the parking ticket was paid and that the driver's license is now restored. Therefore, the prosecutor is willing to plead down the ticket to a subsection under the same Driving While Suspended law, which only carries a small Court penalty of $139.00. The lawyer and driver think that the plea bargain is a good deal and gladly accepted it. The problem with the "deal" is that the driver is still facing the exact same financial sanctions after Court (i.e. insurance problems and a $750.00 DMV surcharge) that the driver was facing originally. This begs the question: Why would anyone take that deal? The answer is lack of knowledge, training, and experience. It also begs the question: Are there better options available? The answer is YES! The alternative options are often accepted by prosecutors and granted by Judges. They are creative plea deals because they involve a similar reasonable fine in Court, but more importantly do not carry the same after-court economic burdens and financial obligations to the driver. One of the options does not even get recorded on the driving record of the driver and potentially saves the driver thousands of dollars.
In sum, Driving While Suspended should be handled as a serious case because of the potential consequences. A knowledgeable, properly trained, and experienced defense attorney is aware of the legal defenses and options available to protect the rights of the driver.
Vache Edward Bahadurian, Esq.
201-996-1161
http://www.veblaw.com
