Hello sir! Interesting note is if the law mirrors ones from the surrounding states, there would be discretionary power with authorities to impose immediate revoking of the license. So if the majority felt like you, then they could handle it on a case by case basis. Thanks for writing!

Hey Gary! Really interesting option. I would suspect a version of the bill that takes that approach might have a great chance of succeeding. Thanks so much for commenting.

Hey Hookerman,

The way the laws in the surrounding states are written, authorities would be able to impose bail and immediately revoke the license of the person charged if they believe they are an immediate public safety threat.
This would be before trial. The wording of the poll matches one of the options currently being used by other states. It would rely heavily on the discretionary power of authorities to identify someone as a threat and remove that threat before repeating.
As it stands now, they are released pending trial.
What appears to be the catch 22 is that by criminalizing it, it opens the door to a jury trial which gives defense attorneys more ways to defend the charge. Interesting to say the least.
Thanks for commenting! And have a great weekend!

Anonymous, thanks for writing. So if I follow you correctly you want first time offenders to get a pass if they didn't hurt anyone? So what if someone who is sad and goes out and drinks too much and drives drunk for the first time wipes out an entire family in a crash? Since it was their first offense, should they get leniency? And then the relatives of those killed in in the DUI crash....they get sad and go drinking and crash their cars....because they are first time offenders should they get leniency as well?
Currently the only imposition on someone who drinks and drives is the branding of the record and a hit to the wallet/license impact. It is possible that if it is criminalized some of the other penalties might be adjusted as well.
Thanks for writing and for sharing your thoughts. Complex issue.

“Currently the only imposition on someone who drinks and drives is the branding of the record and a hit to the wallet/license impact.”

According to the NJ DMV site, violations for DWI can also include prison terms;

http://www.state.nj.us/mvc/Violations/dui.htm

Thanks for pointing that out Hookerman. I forgot to put it in the context of the conversation: speaking of first time offenders. And of course, there are exceptions to every rule. The majority of the time, the only penalty for a first time offender is a branding of the record and a hit to the wallet/license impact.

unfortunately, telling your sob story to us doesn't help you at all. You will need to rehearse it well so you can tell it convincingly to your future prospective employers. They are the only ones who are going to care. And the longer you go with a clean record, the less they will care.

Well, I think this is where the discretionary power of the authorities would come into play. If they abuse the immediate revocation of the license it won't hold up in court. Many police officers are working hard at self policing because they can't be everywhere. Threatening someone who was halfway to trouble might be a way to give them pause going forward.

What an ignorant statement. The news sensationalizes an Officer's arrest because you would not read the article if it said "landscaper arrested for DWI". Nice to generalize.

"In general" is a pretty serious statement Frank. You have any sort of reports you links you could share? Thanks for commenting.

In general, Frank just likes to say really dumb things to try and get people riled up. This is what is known as "trolling", or being a "troll'.

so what the majarity of you are saying is that someone connected to or working with or in law inforce today, do not drink, would never drink and drive,so then how is the statics showing likely in general,nobody ever in law inforcement has ever been arrested for drinking and driving,how is that possible,since everytime they get the free ride home then there should be period of probation for first offenders of 5yrs....bottom line,..with surcharges and fines leaning towards 5,000.00 its really only about the money!

I did a "news google" for most dwi's and while several stories came up about off-duty cops drinking and driving, there were even more stories about people named Frank drinking and driving... weird. You are right, I am amazed. I guess in general most drunks on the road are Frank's.

Who cares

Hello Richard,

We often share content when issues are state related. The site of origin is mine (Mendham-Chester) but felt it was worth sharing. It actually is posted in a lot more than just those few sites mentioned. Thanks so much for commenting thought. Would you be willing to shoot me an e-mail to talk about your family connection to Mendham? I am always looking for family history stories tied to the pre-revolutionary era. Would be a good read for my Patch as well as Morristown and Triboro. russ.crespolini@patch.com if you are willing to share. Thanks, and have a great weekend.

Now, that’s a grand idea! Although I’ve always suspected that ESL tutoring might be necessary. Either way, please let me know how I can donate.

I agree wholeheartedly! Jazzman is an embarrassment to himself and the entire state of New Jersey.

LV MOM:

If you make up your mind, be sure and let us know.