Carteret Police make a lot of arrests for DWI. Many of these take place following traffic stops along The New Jersey Turnpike, Roosevelt Avenue and Port Reading Ave. If you are charged with a DWI in Carteret Borough, call now to speak with a Carteret DWI lawyer before you go to court for your first appearance.
After you are charged with a DWI in Carteret, you will be scheduled for a first appearance ("arraignment") before Judge Comba in the Carteret Municipal Court. Several prosecutors rotate. They include: William Feingold, Esq., Kenneth Lebrato, Esq., and Thomas Downs, Esq. Your appearance at this hearing may be waived if your attorney sends a letter of representation to the court. If you decide to appear by yourself, you should plead not-guilty and then consider hiring an attorney. It is sometimes possible to beat a DWI charge altogether. In other cases, the breath test or blood test results can be challenged. There are other defenses, all depending on the specific facts of your case.
The penalties for a dwi conviction in New Jersey are severe. For a first offense, you must lost your drivers license from 90 days to 1-year depending on your blood alcohol content and the facts of the case. Substantial financial sanctions can be imposed. You must attend the intoxicated driver's resource center. You must pay the DMV $1,000 surcharge every year for three years. You can also go to jail (usually unlikely). The penalties only get worse for second, third and subsequent offenses. A second offense carries a mandatory 30 days community service and jail. A third offense carries a driver's license suspension of 10-years and six months in jail.
