Good evening adbole and thank you for your question. Please be
advised that I am not an attorney and I cannot give you legal advise.
However, I would like to present you with some information I have
found regarding your reckless driving charge and your alternatives.
First of all, if "Court Appearance Required" is checked on the back of
your ticket, you MUST appear in court at the time and place indicated,
even if you wish to plead guilty.
The following traffic offenses can often lead to large fines,
revocation of driving privileges, and jail:
N.J. Statutes 39:3-40 Driving with a suspended or revoked
license
N.J. Statutes 39:4-50 Drunk driving
N.J. Statutes 39:4-50.2 or -50.4a Breath test refusal
N.J Statutes 39:4-96 Reckless driving
N.J. Statutes 39:4-129 Leaving the scene of an accident
N.J. Statutes 39:6B-2 Driving an uninsured vehicle
Source: New Jersey DWI Defense Lawyer
( http://www.dui-dwi.com/new-jersey-dui-attorney-menzel/how-to-defend-simple-tickets.html
)
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39:4-96. Reckless driving; punishment
39:4-96. A person who drives a vehicle heedlessly, in willful or
wanton disregard of the rights or safety of others, in a manner so as
to endanger, or be likely to endanger, a person or property, shall be
guilty of reckless driving and be punished by imprisonment in the
county or municipal jail for a period of not more than 60 days, or by
a fine of not less than $50.00 or more than $200.00, or both.
On a second or subsequent conviction he shall be punished by
imprisonment for not more than three months, or by a fine of not less
than $100 or more than $500, or both.
Amended 1955,c.220,s.1; 1982,c.45,s.3; 1995,c.70,s.2.
( http://www.njlaws.com/careless_reckless_driving.htm )
= = = = = = = = = = =
1. a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, it
shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate a motor vehicle
in an unsafe manner likely to endanger a person or property.
b. person convicted of a first offense under subsection a. shall be
subject to a fine of not less than $50.00 or more than $150.00 and
shall not be assessed any motor vehicle penalty points pursuant to
section 1 of P.L.1982, c.43 (C.39:5-30.5).
c. A person convicted of a second offense under subsection a. shall be
subject to a fine of not less than $100.00 or more than $250.00 and
shall not be assessed any motor vehicle penalty points pursuant to
section 1 of P.L.1982, c.43 (C.39:5-30.5).
d. A person convicted of a third or subsequent offense under
subsection a. shall be subject to a fine of not less than $200.00 or
more than $500.00 and shall be assessed motor vehicle penalty points
pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1982, c.43 (C.39:5-30.5).
e. An offense committed under this section that occurs more than five
years after the prior offense shall not be considered a subsequent
offense for the purpose of assessing motor vehicle penalty points
under subsection d. of this section.
f. In addition to any fine, fee or other charge imposed pursuant to
law, the court shall assess a person convicted of an offense under
subsection a. of this section a surcharge of $250 which shall be
collected by the court and distributed to the Division of Revenue in
the Department of the Treasury as a New Jersey Merit Rating Plan
surcharge pursuant to subparagraph (a) of paragraph (2) of subsection
b. of section 6 of P.L.1983, c.65 (C.17:29A-35).
2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.
Source: Administrative office of the Courts ? State of New Jersey
( http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/legis/2004c69.pdf )
= = = = = = = = = =
According to New Jersey Administrative Code 13:19-10.1 Point assessment:
?Any person who is convicted of any of the following offenses,
including offenses committed while operating a motorized bicycle,
shall be assessed points for each conviction in accordance with the
following schedule??
A ticket issued under N.J Statutes 39:4-96 for reckless driving will
receive 5 points on your driving record.
( http://www.marainlaw.com/points.html )
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Taking into consideration what you stated in your question and what NJ
state law says, if it is your first offence, I would imagine your
fines to be as follows (calculating it on the high end):
If found guilty, a fine of $150.00 to $200.00 (or jail time, depending
on the severity of the charge.)
A court surcharge of $250.00
5 points on your record
In addition to the points and a fine you may well be facing an
overnight hike in your insurance rates for a number of years if you
get over a certain number of points. You could even lose your
license. If you lost your license, there is the possibility of losing
your job because of lack of transportation, etc. If you are sent to
jail, you could also loose your job. You need to take all these
things into consideration.
In my opinion, a reckless driving charge is not something you should
represent yourself on. With a lawyer helping you, you may get a
better deal because prosecutors can offer a plea deal. The more
serious the situation, the more you need an attorney to seek the best
result possible.
Attorney fees vary by state and practice area. The lawyers I work for
who defend drivers and insurance companies charge between $120 to $150
an hour. Though you may spend a bit of money having a lawyer
represent you, I think you will benefit in the long run because they
may be able to bargain with the judge to lower your points. This, in
turn, could save you the hike in insurance rates. Keeping your
license, as well as your source of income would be a big benefit too.
There are many attorneys on the Internet offering services for
Municipal Court / Traffic Tickets / DWI offences. Simply Google
searching ?New Jersey Municipal Court Traffic Tickets DWI Lawyer?
brings up several hits. You can contact a member of the Lawyer
Referral Service as well at:
( http://www.njsba.com/lawyer_referral/ )
Or try the lawyer search at Findlaw ( http://www.findlaw.com/ )
There are many lawyers out there who will give you a flat rate instead
of charging by hour. If you contact any lawyers, be sure to ask them
about this. Additionally, be sure to ask them if they charge for
consultations. Most attorneys will not charge you for the first hour,
however I have run across a few who do.
I hope this answers your question. If you would like clarification
before rating my answer, please do not hesitate to ask!
Nenna-GA
Google Researcher
Google Search Terms:
new jersey statute 39:4:96
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Clarification of Answer by
nenna-ga
on
16 Aug 2005 19:57 PDT
Hello again adbole!
The statute you asked about is as follows:
39:5-30.5. Penalty points; rules and regulations; authority to adopt
The Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles shall have the
authority, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968,
c. 410 (C. 52:14B-1 et seq.), to continue to adopt rules and
regulations to determine the motor vehicle offenses for which penalty
points may be assessed under this act, and the amount of points to be
assessed for each offense and to adopt rules and regulations to
determine the motorized bicycle offenses for which penalty points may
be assessed and the number of points to be assessed for each offense.
Source: New Jersey Statute Database
( http://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/om_isapi.dll?clientID=292391924&Depth=2&depth=2&expandheadings=on&headingswithhits=on&hitsperheading=on&infobase=statutes.nfo&record={D88E}&softpage=Doc_Frame_PG42
)
?shall not be assessed any motor vehicle points?, I believe, is up to
the discretion of the Director of the Division of Motor Vehicles under
39:5-30.5.
However, it is my understanding that the current New Jersey law states:
?Any person who is convicted of any of the following offenses,
including offenses committed while operating a motorized bicycle,
shall be assessed points for each conviction in accordance with the
following schedule:
N.J.S.A. 39:4-96 Reckless driving ? 5 points?
Source: New Jersey Administrative Code, Title 13., Chapter 19., Subchapter 10.
( http://www.marainlaw.com/points.html )
I did find another document that states minimum mandatory fines and
penalties. Please refer to page 9 for N.J Statutes 39:4-96:
( http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/notices/reports/Minimumman2001sorted.pdf )
I hope this clears up any questions you may have.
Regards,
Nenna-GA
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