Pleading guilty can be an easy way to get through the legal process surrounding a DWI arrest, but it comes with serious consequences that New Jersey DWI defense lawyer John Menzel will help you consider.
One minute you might be rolling home along Interstate 80, or just about to turn into your block, when that siren sounds and sends your day into a tailspin. Before you know it, you have failed a field sobriety test, which nearly anyone could fail under such stress, and are being hauled off to a station in Paterson, arrested for Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).
Maybe you had a drink or two, worse, maybe you told the officer, so you know that the breath or blood test will not exonerate you, as the officers are kindly reminding you. You might feel the odds are stacked against you, maybe this isn't even your first DWI, and they offer you a chance to get it over with quickly and avoid an expensive courtroom fight by just pleading guilty.
For some, this might even be the right choice, but not for everyone. And there is no way the police or the prosecutors offering it to you are going to be honest about what is in your best interest. To figure out whether to plead guilty or not guilty on a DWI, you need an experienced DWI defense lawyer. And in New Jersey, few can claim as much DWI experience as defense attorney John Menzel.
Once you plead guilty, you are officially convicted of the crime. That crime goes on your record, and you have to face the legal penalties appropriate for the crime. For DWI in Paterson, New Jersey, this usually means jail time, license suspension (or the installation of an Ignition Interlock Device), classes and counseling on alcohol or drug consumption, and a hefty fine.
As a bonus, because you have “cooperated” and pleaded guilty, saving the County and State of New Jersey the cost of your trial, they might be willing to alleviate some of those penalties. For example, you might get your jail time reduced, or served as probation, or both.
On the surface, this might seem like a pretty solid deal (especially if you believe you will be convicted anyway!), but there are hidden consequences for a conviction the prosecution has no obligation to tell you about. For example, the police will not tell you how the DWI conviction might impact your career, professional license, education, or family life.
If too many drivers in New Jersey, including in Paterson, plead guilty to DWIs each year, it is often because they are not even aware of the alternatives. Not all of these alternatives will be available to every driver, of course, so it is imperative to review your options with a skilled DWI defense lawyer before accepting any plea deal.
Driving While Intoxicated is not the only charge that can be levied against you; it is just one of the most extreme ones. There are lesser charges, such as reckless driving, or even a lower-tier DWI. As a result, you can avoid some of the potential consequences of the conviction by pleading guilty, just not to the DWI they want you to.
This is an especially attractive option if you are able to plead to a lesser charge that will not stay as long on your record, or that can even be removed entirely from it later through expungement. While such a move could save your career or prevent the worst outcomes, it still might not be the best outcome.
The police in Paterson are not going to tell you when their case is weak; on the contrary, they will be even more likely to want you to plead guilty. If they are missing key evidence, mishandled a test result, or know their legal grounds for stopping you were shaky, the police would love to get you to plead guilty and spare them the embarrassment (and expense) of losing in court.
But they are never going to tell you that this is an option, nor are you likely to know without the help of an experienced DWI defense lawyer. John Menzel has worked on thousands of DWI cases in New Jersey, and in many of them, identifying the errors in police behavior, procedure, or evidence has been enough to get them to drop the charges or lower them significantly.
After all, why plead guilty if you do not have to?
This is the most expensive option for both the State and for you, but it can sometimes be the most rewarding as well. When there are flaws in the case against you, but the police or prosecutors are not willing to drop their DWI case because of it, they might insist on pursuing the charges to try and pressure you into a guilty plea.
However, you do not have to let them get away with it. By working with a skilled defense attorney, who can build a strong defense and advocate for your rights, you may be able to win in court and get the charges dismissed by a judge or found innocent by a jury.
While no result can ever be guaranteed in court, fighting the charges and conviction may also give you better grounds from which to negotiate a much more favorable plea deal, circling back to the first option.
John Menzel J.D. | The serious help you need to beat the DWI charge you are facing.
The law’s protections only work if we are aware of them. Pleading guilty, and the plea deals that can accompany doing so, can sometimes be a very favorable tool for drivers in Paterson accused of Driving While Intoxicated. However, without proper awareness of the alternatives, this potentially helpful tool can become one more technique the State uses to shackle you when you might have been able to walk away scott free.
If you or a loved one has been arrested for drunk driving in Paterson or anywhere else in New Jersey and has been offered a possible plea, make sure you contact an experienced DWI defense lawyer first to ensure you are not signing away your future and freedom when you could have walked.
To secure a consultation with our firm, just call (732) 218-9090 or reach out online while there is still time before you sign anything.
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