Legal Question in DUI Law in New Jersey
DWI Surcharge Law in 1992 for out of state drivers
Question:
What was the law regarding surcharges in 1992 for out of state drivers convicted of DUI.
My husband received a DUI in 1992. He paid his fines and did took a class as required by the court. He was convicted while he was a resident of NC with a NC driver's license, and has kept his address information current with the state of NC ever since.
Neither the cort or his attourney notified him of any surcharges owed. He only heard about them recently (10 years later) when threatening letters started arriving.
Numerous letters and phone calls have been made to straighten this thing out. The State of New Jersey mailed him a notice of suspension from lack of payment of his surcharges. He did not have a New Jersey Driver's License when he was convicted, yet a NJDL # appears on these letters.
3 Answers from Attorneys
Re: DWI Surcharge Law in 1992 for out of state drivers
Unfortunately, you are stuck. It doesn't matter if your husband was an out of state driver. Surcharges apply to out of state drivers and must be paid, otherwise, NJ will suspend NJ privileges, and will convey that info to your home state, which will, in turn, suspend his privileges at home until restored by NJ. This is done through the Interstate Compact. An NJ DL is assigned to anyone who gets a motor vehicle violation in NJ. Sorry to give you the bad news. The only suggestion I can offer is, contact DMV, tell them you will pay the surcharge (if you can afford it) in a lump sum, as long as they will knock of the interest. That has worked for many people.
Good luck.
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Re: DWI Surcharge Law in 1992 for out of state drivers
I don't have enough information to answer all of your questions. However, as to your husband receiving notices from New Jersey's DMV, when he was convicted of DWI his driving priveleges in New Jersey were suspended for six months or more by the Court. When the record of that conviction was sent to DMV by the Court, DMV opened a file and issued the file a driver's license number since that is how its system works. So when DMV writes your husband it uses the license number it assigned him. I can't address the surcharge questions without further information. If you want to straighten this out, I truly suggest you contact an attorney in New Jersey. Good luck.
Re: DWI Surcharge Law in 1992 for out of state drivers
If the surcharge is from NJ, simply write to NJ and advise them that your husband never had a NJ Driver's License and that the surcharge is in error. He must however had been stopped in NJ for something and a NJ DL number issued. If he never drove in NJ, you have a defense and would not be liable for the surcharge.
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