When you are pulled over for drunk or drugged driving, it can be an incredibly scary situation. Officers often put pressure on you to push you to do or say things that might not be representative of you normally and might make you appear drunk or jittery in a way that pushes them toward an arrest.
Our lawyers are here to fight the evidence and charges the police and prosecutors present, ideally getting your case thrown out or otherwise dismissed. In some cases, we might be able to reduce penalties or charges, but we must analyze the specifics of your case before we can determine the best course of action.
Call our DUI/DWI lawyers at Lombardo Law Group for a free case review by reaching out to us at (609) 418-4537 today.
What Happens at a Drunk Driving Trial in Collings Lakes, NJ
In many cases, the best way of fighting the charges against you is to demand a trial. Understanding how these trials work and what our DUI/DWI lawyers can do at the trial will be important in planning out your defense case and determining whether you want to pursue a plea deal or fight the case at trial.
Stages of Trial
Drunk and drugged driving cases start on the day of the arrest, with the defendant usually being taken to jail and given a chance to sober up before attending an “arraignment,” where they are presented with the charges they face. From there, bail is determined, and unless they caused a serious accident, the driver is usually released and given a court date.
At that return court date, you will often face some preliminary stages, but the case may progress quickly to trial, given that there is no preliminary hearing in NJ for misdemeanor or “disorderly persons” level offenses.
At trial, both sides give opening statements, the prosecution goes first and presents their case, then we present our case, and then both sides give closing arguments. From there, the judge decides the case and moves on to sentencing. This may take place at a later court date, but the penalties for DUI/DWI are usually set by statute and give the judge little reason to delay.
Bench Trials vs. Jury Trials
Note that we said that the judge makes the decisions in your case, not the jury. Drunk and drugged driving charges are a level of offense that is not considered a “crime” and certainly not an “indictable crime.” Any charges below an indictable crime do not get a trial by jury and are instead heard by a judge alone in what we call a “bench trial.”
The judge’s decision can be appealed for a trial de novo – a new review by a different judge – in many cases. From there, decisions can be appealed to appellate courts for review of legal issues and mistakes regarding admission of illegal evidence or other issues that might have given you an unfair trial. If we are successful in appealing your case, it often gets you a new trial.
Evidence Presented
The prosecution will often present a few important pieces of evidence, beginning with the officer’s testimony about what they saw (e.g., your driving), smelled (e.g., alcohol on your breath), and heard (e.g., your statements about how much you drank). Often, it is their word against yours unless they can back up what they say with bodycam footage or dashcam footage.
After arresting you, you will usually have your BAC (blood-alcohol concentration) tested with a breath test. These results are admissible in court and can be used to say exactly how much alcohol was in your system. If your BAC was over .08%, it is automatically a DUI/DWI. However, if it was under .08% or you refused the test and denied them a result, you can still be arrested and convicted, plus you will face additional penalties for refusing the test.
Blood tests can also be used with a warrant. These are common in drugged driving cases, as they cannot prove drug use with a breath test.
Police will also present evidence of your performance on field sobriety tests, but these tests are not always administered reliably and might not have admissible results. You can also legally refuse to perform a field sobriety test, and it is often better to deny them the evidence rather than trying to “prove” you were sober and ultimately giving them ammunition to use against you when you perform poorly on the test.
The police can also use anything you said against you. That means admitting you were coming from a bar or admitting you had a few drinks will often be strong evidence that it is difficult to challenge.
Can You Get a Plea Bargain with DUI/DWI Charges in Collings Lakes, NJ?
Up until 2024, it was NJ’s general policy that drunk and drugged driving charges could not be “plead down” or made part of a “plea bargain.” To plea down or enter a plea bargain for criminal charges means to accept an agreement where the prosecution agrees to give you a lower charge in exchange for your guilty plea, skipping the need for expensive trials and time on the court schedule.
Historically, NJ courts and the Attorney General did not allow plea bargaining with DUI/DWI charges, but this restriction was withdrawn in February 2024. Now, according to the amended version of N.J.S.A. § 39:4-50 and a new guideline, plea agreements can be made for drunk driving cases.
Often, this allows the defendant to plead guilty to another offense – usually something like reckless driving – to avoid the worst penalties associated with a drunk driving offense. Whether to offer a plea deal and what deal to offer is up to the prosecutor, but our lawyers often have room to negotiate, especially if there are other charges associated with this case, such as speeding tickets.
Typically, drug DUIs cannot be pled down.
Call Our DUI/DWI Lawyers in Collings Lakes, NJ Today
Call (609) 418-4537 for a free case review with the DUI/DWI lawyers at Lombardo Law Group.