Fort Lee NJ DWI Lawyer

A first offense DUI/DWI can have a lasting impact on you or your loved one’s lives. A conviction for Driving While Intoxicated in New Jersey can carry severe penalties, including many collateral consequences that are often forgotten about such as potential job loss.  The Law office of Jonathan F. Marshall has ten (10) defense attorneys on staff, including three (3) former municipal prosecutors. Further, our firm has over two-hundred (200) years of combined experience.  Our defense teams is comprised of two (2) attorneys who are trained in administering the Alcotest Machine and one (1) attorney who are trained instructors in the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests.  Whether you were charged in Saddle BrookFort LeeElmwood ParkHackensackCentral Municipal of Bergen or Garfield with driving while intoxicated the team at The Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall can help you try to avoid your first offense conviction.  If you or a loved one has been charged with DWI please contact any one of our Bergen County Offices for a free initial consultation about your pending charges at 201-429-9783.

Charged with a First Offense DUI in NJ?

Potential License Suspension:

If you or a loved one is convicted of Driving While Intoxicated, depending on what the Alcotest Machine determines your Blood Alcohol Level {“BAC”} will have an impact on how long you lose your license for:

  • If convicted and your Blood Alcohol Content (commonly referred to as “BAC”) is .15% or higher, the Court must impose a license suspension of up to six (6) months.
    • If convicted and your BAC is less than .15%, a loss of license will be issued until you successfully install the Court ordered ignition interlock device (commonly referred as “interlock”) on their primary car. This still applies if there is no Alcotest and are convicted based off the police officer’s observations.
      • If convicted and your BAC was less than .15% but higher than .10%, the Court must order a mandatory seven (7) month interlock.
      • If convicted and your BAC was less than .10%, or is based off the police officer’s observations, the interlock only requires a three (3) month period of installment in your car.

First Offense Fines & Penalties:

The fines for a first offense Driving While Intoxicated can be high.  The Judge may impose a fine anywhere from $250 to $500.  In addition, there are also mandatory assessments that the Judge must impose, such as $75 for the Safe Neighborhood Fund, $100 for DUI Enforcement, $50 for the Victims of Crime Compensation Board and $100 as a DUI Surcharge.  The fines usually totally around $600.

Further, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, the Judge may impose up to thirty days in the Bergen County Jail and twelve to forty-eight hours in an Intensive Drivers Resource Center {“I.D.R.C.”}.  Although incarceration is not likely, the I.D.R.C. is mandatory and must be served before your license may be reinstated.

Bergen County NJ DWI Defense Attorneys

As you can tell the penalties for Driving While Intoxicated in New Jersey can be severe. If you’ve been charged with a first, second, or third offense DUI, then it is imperative that you speak to an experienced DWI attorney about your options. A former client of ours wrote that “right from my first call, I knew this firm was the one to hire. Staff was attentive, attorneys were smart, and my DWI was dismissed. Nothing else we could have asked for.”  If you have any further questions with regards to this offense or any other offense for that matter, please contact any one of our Bergen County Offices for a free initial consultation about your pending charges at 201-429-9783.