When you get a DUI or a DWI, your license can be suspended. This means you’re not to drive at all until you get it back, whether you’re sober or not. If you are pulled over driving on that suspended license, you could face a number of punishments, including the following:
— A $500 fine– A prison term that runs between 10 days and 90 days– An expanded license suspension for the next one to two years– The revocation of your car’s vehicle registration
That’s just if you are pulled over in a routine traffic stop—for speeding, for example—and the police find that you’ve broken the law. If you’re caught because you are involved in and accident and another person has been hurt, the ramifications get even worse. There is then a mandatory jail sentence that runs for 45 days.
This is important information to know when you get your first offense. The terms do vary from one incident to the next, but the initial license suspension could be between one and three months.
From time to time, people are caught driving on a suspended license simply because they didn’t realize it was suspended. You may have accepted the punishment for the first offense without knowing the suspension was part of it or how to get your license back. Remember, not knowing the law generally will not get you out of the charges.
As such, if you’re facing these additional charges, you must know all of the legal defense options that you have as you go to court in New Jersey.
Source: New Jersey Division of Highway Traffic Safety, “Driving While Intoxicated,” accessed April 08, 2016
