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New Jersey Drunk Driving (DWI) Defense Series: Collateral Consequences of a DWI Conviction (7 of 7)

Copyright © 2012 Frank Luciano

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 01Nov2008 Word count: 405 Viewed: 396 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

This article continues and concludes the New Jersey Drunk Driving (DWI) Defense Series by describing the collateral consequences of a DWI conviction.

Apart from the penalties recited in the earlier volumes of the New Jersey Drunk Driving (DWI) Defense Series, there are other consequences for an alcohol-related offense, including the following:

1. If you are convicted of a DWI Offense or a Refusal Offense, you will pay a $3,000 insurance surcharge, payable at a rate of $1,000 a year. A third-time offender will pay a $4,500 surcharge, payable at a rate of $1500 a year. Your license will not be restored until this debt is paid and a failure to pay this debt will result in a monetary judgment against you, which can be obtained rather easily by the government.

2. You will receive a more severe or "enhanced" penalty on future motor vehicle violations that are not alcohol-related offenses. Thus, if you are convicted of driving on the revoked list where the underlying cause of revocation was a DWI Offense or Refusal Offense, the penalties will be increased significantly including a 10 to 90-day mandatory jail term.

3. A DWI Offense conviction will increase your costs in purchasing insurance. In fact, it may be a basis for your current insurance carrier to refuse to renew your policy.

4. If you are convicted of a DWI Offense, you are barred from filing a lawsuit against anyone for any injury or loss resulting from an accident relating to your offense.

5. A DWI Offense conviction, or your testimony at a DWI trial, can be used in any civil lawsuit that may follow from your illicit conduct, unless your record is sealed by an order of the court, which is a difficult remedy to obtain. Your guilty plea to a DWI Offense will be compelling evidence of your fault in a civil case.

6. If you are convicted of a DWI Offense and a verdict is returned against you in a civil case later filed against you for the injury you caused, you may not avoid your liability by filing a bankruptcy petition, an opportunity available to others whose negligent conduct caused personal injury or property damage.

7. If you are injured while driving drunk, your automobile insurance company may not be required to pay your medical bills, even if you are fault free. These circumstances are rather select, however.

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