If you are convicted of Driving While Intoxicated, or Refusal (to provide a breath sample), your license will be suspended. If you drive during that period of suspension, and you have previously been convicted of driving during that suspension period, you face mandatory jail time. In fact, you could be charged with a fourth degree indictable crime (felony) and face a mandatory minimum of 180 days in jail.
The New Jersey Appellate Court has just ruled that the 180 days must be straight jail time. In other words, the jail time cannot be split between jail time and a treatment program. The jail time cannot be served as a “weekends” sentence. Home Electronic Detention (house arrest) or County Supplemental Labor Service Programs will not be allowed as a substitute for the straight jail time either. The Appellate Division ruled on this issue in State v. Harris. The related statute is N.J.S.A. 2C:40-26.
If you have legal questions concerning your charges, do not hesitate to call Michael Mormando, Esquire at Attorneys Hartman, Chartered, in Moorestown, New Jersey at 856-393-6073.