Legal Question in DUI Law in New Jersey

Long story short - I got convicted of DUI (BAC 0.17) in New Jersey, went through 7 months without a driver�s license, and had to attend IDRC for 48 hours. IDRC sent me to an assessment because of my BAC being higher then 0.15 and my age (20). Assessment went fine, lady stated that she does not think I have a problem with alcohol and she would not recommend me for counseling. 4 days later I get a call from her saying that she�s going to reconsider her initial decision and in fact will recommend me for counseling. Here�s what I asked her and what she had to answer:

1. Do you think I have a problem with alcohol? � No/Not sure.

2. Why do you think I need counseling? � Because of your BAC level (this is the ONLY reason she gave me).

Now I paid $150 for this so called �assessment�, which was basically a waste of time and money because she didn�t do her job as a therapist, she just looked at the numbers and that is it. She�s trying to send me to counseling, which is going to run me additional $50-$100 and hour (total of 16 hours) and the most important thing is � I DON�T need it. I am a full time employed professional, fully support myself, own an apartment, have no previous history that would make me �look bad�, most importantly � I don�t have a problem with alcohol (occasional drink or two) and don�t do any drugs at all (prescription or illegal ones)

My question is � do I have a case that can help me get out of this? If not, can we make counseling free of charge? It�s not about the money; it�s just completely unnecessary and pretty much is a waste of everyone�s time - what kind of an idiot would want to pay for something like this?

And what if I refuse to go to counseling and try to win in court when there will be a hearing about me going to jail for non-compliance?

Any help is greatly appreciated.


Asked on 8/06/09, 6:33 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Gary Moore Gary Moore Attorney At Law

You have the right to challenge the assessment. I will be glad to assist you. You should give me a call at 201/342/7933.

Gary Moore

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Answered on 8/11/09, 7:04 pm


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