Effective, April 3rd, 2025, there was a sea change of law with respect to sentencing and license suspensions under the New Jersey driving while intoxicated statute, namely, N.J. S.A. 39:4-50. Essentially, if the Defendant is a licensed New Jersey driver in good standing and is not operating a vehicle under the influence of a narcotic, hallucinogenic, or habit-producing drug and there is no accident resulting in serious bodily injury, then s/he is entitled to a perpetual hardship license so long as an Ignition Interlock Device is installed. In addition, under the ignition interlock device installation statute, N.J.S.A. 39:50.17, all qualified alcohol driving offenders have the opportunity to obtain a two-for-one day credit against an alcohol-related license suspension following a conviction under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 for a first, second, and subsequent offense. Apparently, this newly enacted statute is the only statute in the entire United States, which allows all alcohol-intoxicated drivers to avoid a loss of driving privileges!
The procedure in New Jersey to obtain this perpetual hardship license is to obtain, pre-conviction, a restricted use driver’s license from the Motor Vehicle Commission, based upon proof of installation of the IID. It is highly recommended that a Defendant who is qualified for this restricted license, obtain, and present the restricted use license to the Court at the time of sentencing. On post-conviction, the Defendant continues with the restricted use license so long as s/he is in compliance with all other aspects of the court order, maintains the license in good standing, complies with the Motor Vehicle Commission’s IDRC requirements and pays the surcharge and reinstatement fees.
In addition, besides the two-for-one credit on the potential license forfeiture, a Defendant who qualifies and pre-installs the IID, prior to sentencing/conviction, will also avoid the payment of a substantial DWI fine, as much as $1,000.00. The Defendant, however, will still be required to pay all mandatory Court assessments and costs.
Refusals- N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4(a).
Under the current laws, there is still an open legal question as to whether or not the April 3rd, 2025 amendments would also apply to the refusal statute. Presently, there is no decisional law that supports that interpretation and, as such, it will require competent advocacy on a representation for concurrent refusal and DWI charges.
Post Conviction Relief
One of the interesting aspects of the new amendments to the DWI statute concerns re-sentencing under Municipal Court rule 7:9-4 because a Defendant may seek to take advantage of the credit that is provided against license suspension after having been previously sentenced. It will require an experienced municipal court/trial attorney to file a re-sentencing (PCR) motion with the court requesting a stay of license suspension and an application to apply retrospectively for a restricted use license, which is now available.
Constitutional Issues.
At the present time, since there is no decisional case law to interpret the new April 3rd, 2025 amendments, it is unclear whether or not out-of-state Defendants are entitled to the same credit availability upon installation of an IID for the NJ DWI. As worded, the DWI statute pertains solely to New Jersey licensed drivers in good standing. In addition, there has been no indication from the Attorney General of New Jersey with respect to an out-of-state licensed driver’s ability to attain this relief based on equal protection and/or full faith and credit. That being said, it would be provident for an out-of-state driver as well as a New Jersey licensed driver, in good standing, whom has been accused of a refusal and/or DWI in New Jersey to contact an experienced municipal court/trial attorney. My office is always available for a full and gratuitous consultation.
N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 Amendment
The amendment to N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a)(3) was signed into law by the governor on April 3, 2025, and reads as follows:
Any person who is required to forfeit the right to operate a motor vehicle over the highways of this State pursuant to this section may, in lieu of forfeiting the right to operate a motor vehicle, install an ignition interlock device and receive a one day credit against the period that the person is required to forfeit the right to operate a motor vehicle over the highways of this State pursuant to this section for every two days that the person has the ignition interlock device installed. A person shall not be entitled to this credit if the violation of this section resulted in serious bodily injury as defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-1 to another person. In addition, a person who has been arrested or convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of a narcotic, hallucinogenic, or habit-producing drug or permitting another person who is under the influence of a narcotic, hallucinogenic, or habit-producing drug to operate a motor vehicle owned by the person or under the person’s custody or control pursuant to the provisions of this section or a person who has been convicted of operating a commercial motor vehicle under the influence of a controlled substance pursuant to section 5 of P.L.1990, c.103 (C.39:3-10.13) shall not be eligible for this credit.
N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(i)(2)
This act shall take effect immediately, shall apply to any offense occurring on or after the effective date, and shall expire on January 1, 2029.