…but this is my first offense your honor, why do I get sentenced to jail. I won’t get arrested again… In New Jersey, some criminal and motor vehicle offenses have mandatory sentencing consequences that a Judge must impose. If you are convicted (or plead guilty) to those offenses, the Judge is required to impose the sentence even if this is your first offense. Mitigating factors can be argued by your lawyer to try to lower… read more →
You are driving over the speed limit. The car in front of you and behind you are clocking in at about the same speed as you, and the police pull you over. What are you guilty of? SPEEDING. The fact that others are doing what you were doing does not make it ‘legal’ for you to be driving over the speed limit too. Neither does the fact that the police pull you over and not them… read more →
The police need ‘Probable Cause’ to stop you. The Probable Cause basis can be something that you do like speeding, or an equipment violation. In New Jersey, the police can stop you for the headlights on your car not working, a cracked windshield, and many other types of equipment violation issues. Once you are stopped, they can observe the interior of your car, weigh your actions as the driver, and the actions of your passengers… read more →
In the great state of New Jersey, like most states, you are required to use your turn signal when you are turning out of your lane of travel. When you don’t, you give the cops “probable cause”, which is ostensibly a reason to stop you. Once the police have stopped you and are now alongside your vehicle, they can see inside your vehicle. They can also smell inside your vehicle any aromas of whatever you were… read more →
Drunk Driving charge stays with you for the rest of your life, and cannot be expunged. If you’re unfortunate enough to get one in New Jersey it will follow you to the DMV of any other State you go to. In some States, a drunk driving charge is both a Motor Vehicle and Criminal charge, and even a first conviction can result in you receiving a jail sentence, where you won’t have to worry about driving… read more →
Safe driving is smart driving: What you do while you are driving will be the basis for both the Court and the NJ MVC to determine whether you get to keep your drivers license if you are stopped and ticket for an infraction that requires a court appearance. As the driver, you are responsible for the safe operation of the vehicle. What a passenger or your navigation unit tells you to do is not a defense… read more →
Comedy, cute comments, opinions, sarcasm and jokes are fine when they are said in social groups or in their proper place. However, as much as a police officer might like a good joke as the next guy, he’s not interested in your sense of humor when walking up to your car holstered, and unsure of exactly what you have in mind. You might think breaking tension with a donut joke is a good way to… read more →
Driving while texting is not a smart idea. Not only unsafe but provides probable cause to being pulled over subjecting you to other motor vehicle or perhaps even crimimnal charges[/caption]DWT – Driving While Texting – gives the cops the probable cause to stop you even if you did not commit any other motor vehicle violation. Once you are stopped, anything the cops see or hear becomes admissible evidence as having been seized in ‘plain view’.… read more →
There are some things that are better left unsaid, like admitting once pulled over you were purposely and knowingly violating the law. Speeding creates the reason for a cop to stop you, and your ‘humorous’ — potentially misunderstood as sarcastic — admission makes it all but certain that you will be handed a ticket. Worse however is that if there’s a court appearance required the sarcasm of an answer to the police officer or the… read more →
The New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission is continuing to pursue drivers with multiple drivers’ licenses that were obtained by fraud. Using facial recognition software, the MVC is examining all of the photographs in their computer database. If you used false information to obtain a NJ drivers’ license after your real license was suspended, you will likely receive a notice from the MVC advising you that your licenses (all of them) will be suspended indefinitely until… read more →