In most municipal court, traffic, and even criminal matters, plea bargaining is a vital tool at the prosecutor and defense attorney's disposal. Plea bargaining allows the defendant to plea to a reduced charge in exchange for the state's dismissal of the more serious original charge. Your chances of receiving the most favorable plea bargain are obviously increased greatly by having an experienced NJ criminal defense attorney with you at court.
However, because of the strong political and policy forces behind NJ DWI-DUI law, there is no plea bargaining on a drunk driving charge in New Jersey. For example, reckless driving, a 5-pt ticket commonly issued along with a DWI, cannot be pleaded to in exchange for the state's dismissal of the DWI summons.
The only exception to this ban on DWI plea bargains is when the prosecutors feels that there is an evidentiary or proof problem with their DWI case. In such a case, the prosecutor may ask the defendant to simply stipulate that their was probable cause to arrest and then dismiss the charge.
