How we help
A DWI charge in New Jersey is not a crime. It is a motor vehicle offence, heard in municipal court rather than before a jury — which sounds like the lesser thing until you look at what a conviction actually costs: your licence, an ignition interlock device fitted at your own expense, and surcharges billed by the Motor Vehicle Commission on top of whatever the court imposes.
Zirrith Law defends DWI and refusal charges in municipal courts across New Jersey. The same courts hear the traffic and local criminal charges a single stop often produces alongside it.
The date of the offence decides which rules apply
New Jersey has rewritten its drunk driving penalties three times in six years. L.2019 c.248, in force from December 1, 2019, revised the penalties and expanded the use of ignition interlock devices while shortening licence suspensions. L.2023 c.191 changed the interlock rules again, and L.2025 c.41 changed them once more.
Which version governs a case turns on the date of the offence, not the date of the hearing. A charge from a few years ago is not judged by today's rules, and most of what is written online about New Jersey DWI penalties describes some earlier version of the statute.
Charged here but licensed somewhere else
A driver licensed in another state who is convicted of DWI in New Jersey is surcharged all the same — the statute requires it whether or not you hold a New Jersey licence. It runs the other way too: a New Jersey licence holder convicted in another state of an offence substantially similar to New Jersey's DWI statute is surcharged here.
Our office sits on Forsgate Drive, the road serving interchange 8A of the New Jersey Turnpike, so a good share of the drivers charged near us are a long way from home. A New Jersey summons does not become someone else's problem because the licence in the wallet was issued elsewhere.
What we handle
- First and subsequent DWI charges
- Breath test refusal charges, which are charged separately from the DWI itself
- Ignition interlock requirements and licence consequences
- Related traffic charges arising from the same stop
- Drivers licensed outside New Jersey and charged here
- Appeals from municipal court to the Law Division of the Superior Court
Before your first appearance
- Bring the summons and every piece of paper you were given at the roadside.
- Note the date of the offence — it decides which version of the penalties applies to you.
- Do not assume what you have read online is current; the statute has changed three times since 2019.
- Speak to an attorney before the first appearance rather than after it.