DWI Information

No, upon conviction for DWI in New Jersey, your license will be suspended for the period ordered by the judge.

You’ll be required to attend counseling, educational classes, or even substance abuse treatment as part of the Intoxicated Driver Program, and a failure to successfully complete prescribed programs can result in a recommendation to the MVC that your license remain suspended even longer.

Your best course of action when you’ve been arrested for DWI in New Jersey is to count on an experienced legal defense from attorney Matthew Reisig.

He’s handled more than 1,001 DWI cases that resulted in acquittal, and has argued DWI law in front of the New Jersey Supreme Court.

When you’re facing DWI charges, you need an advocate who can win. Call Matthew Reisig today at 732-625-9660.

Police may try to get you to perform three types of standardized Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs), and even ask you additional questions that amount to non-standardized FST.

In some cases, police appear to use the FST process in an abusive way, where you successfully complete a round of tests and the officer insists you do them again, until eventually you fail and are arrested.

From a defense perspective, this behavior may give us grounds to argue that the arrest was inappropriate.

While refusing a Field Sobriety Test isn’t the same as refusing a chemical test in New Jersey, you will almost certainly be arrested if you refuse the FST.

How you choose to proceed from the time of arrest will have a big impact on your ability to drive in the near term.

You should strongly consider consenting to chemical testing and fighting any adverse finding in court, as you can be convicted of Refusal for declining tests, and you can be convicted of DWI even without FSTs or chemical testing.

Don’t fight DWI charges alone. Attorney Matthew Reisig has helped more than 1,000 clients win against DWI charges in New Jersey, and he can help you.

Call 732-625-9660 today for a free consultation.

As part of your DUI/DWI sentence, you’ll have to report to the IDRC in your county for evaluation over a given period of time.

While there, you’ll meet with a counselor, fill out forms, and attend educational sessions. IDRC will determine what additional interventions may be necessary, from in-patient substance abuse treatment to self-help programs and groups.

And of course, you’ll pay the IDRC for their help.

How long you’ll be at the IDRC depends on whether this is your first conviction for drunk driving. First offenders should expect at least 12 hours in the IDRC served over a couple of days, while second offenders are detained for 48 hours in regional IDRC centers for more intensive evaluation.

These are consequences of conviction. Matthew Reisig has defended more than 1000 people charged with DWI in New Jersey and won.

Call 732-625-9660 today for a free consultation.

The Intoxicated Driver Program (IDP) is a series of mandatory interventions for people convicted of DWI in New Jersey.

Each county in the state has an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center (IDRC), which evaluates each case to determine appropriate action.

You may be ordered to attend drug or alcohol abuse treatment, for instance, and your participation will be monitored.

Upon completion of IDRC-directed programs and subsequent evaluations, the IDP will make a report to the MVS recommending that your license be restored, or, if you have failed to follow IDRC instructions, to continue with your license suspension.

IDP only comes into play if you are convicted of drunk driving in New Jersey. It doesn’t have to happen.

Call Matthew Reisig at 732-625-9660 for a free consultation with one of New Jersey’s most experienced DUI/DWI defense lawyers.

If you’ve recently been arrested for DWI in New Jersey, you’re probably trying to make sense of what just happened and what comes next. One of the most important pieces of evidence in a DWI case is often the Alcotest—New Jersey’s breath test machine. But what many people don’t realize is that this machine isn’t perfect. In fact, it has a long history of software and reliability issues, and those problems have reached the New Jersey Supreme Court not once, but twice.

The Alcotest Isn’t Foolproof

While the Alcotest is still in use across the state, its software flaws have been the focus of serious legal challenges. In the first major court case, New Jersey’s highest court acknowledged that the machine had known software problems. These issues affected how the device calculated and reported blood alcohol concentration (BAC). The court ruled that the state needed to address these problems before continuing widespread use.

Later, in a second case, the court found that the device’s limitations could unfairly impact certain groups of people, including those with particular medical conditions or unique physiological characteristics. As a result, the court created exceptions to protect people who might otherwise face wrongful convictions due to design or software flaws.

So while the Alcotest is still being used by law enforcement, these rulings make it clear that the machine’s results are not always reliable and must be challenged when appropriate.

Strict Rules Must Be Followed

In New Jersey, every breath test must follow strict legal protocols. That includes how the machine is maintained, how the officer administers the test, and how the results are handled. If any part of the process is done incorrectly, the results may be inadmissible in court—which could drastically improve the outcome of your case.

The idea that a DWI arrest automatically leads to a conviction is simply not true. Many cases are successfully challenged, especially when chemical testing was not properly conducted.

Why You Need an Experienced DWI Attorney

Challenging breath test results—especially those involving the Alcotest—requires deep legal knowledge and hands-on courtroom experience. That’s where Reisig Criminal Defense & DWI Law stands out.

Led by attorney Matthew Reisig, the firm has built a reputation as one of New Jersey’s most successful DWI defense law firms for nearly 30 years. Reisig has personally defended over 1,400 DWI cases, including many involving faulty breath test results, improper procedures, and weak evidence.

He knows how to identify flaws in the case against you, file motions to suppress unreliable evidence, and challenge the use of Alcotest results when protocols haven’t been followed correctly.

Protect Your Future

A DWI conviction in New Jersey can mean license suspension, heavy fines, insurance hikes, and even jail time. But it doesn’t have to end that way. You have the right to fight back—and you don’t have to do it alone.

If you or someone you know has been charged with DWI, don’t wait. Contact Reisig Criminal Defense & DWI Law today. With nearly three decades of proven results, they’re the firm you can trust to defend your rights and protect your future.

Even though New Jersey DWI isn’t a criminal matter, when it prosecutes a drunk driving case, the state is still held to the standard of Guilty Beyond Reasonable Doubt.

This is a powerful strategic element in DWI defense, because it leaves open many avenues of that a good lawyer can explore to cast doubt on the state’s claims.

With an experienced DWI attorney, evidence like field sobriety tests and even breath testing can be successfully challenged.

All testing protocols require strict adherence to legal standards of use and interpretation, and the fact is that in many cases, it can be demonstrated that those protocols weren’t met, calling critical prosecution evidence into question.

When you’re facing DWI charges in New Jersey, don’t take chances with your future. Matthew Reisig is one of the state’s most experienced DWI defense attorneys.

Call 732-625-9660 today for a free consultation.