A refusal charge is written when an intoxicated motorist refuses to submit to either a breath, blood, or urine test to determine their BAC. If the Lavallette Police Officer has reason to believe that you are intoxicated, he must read you your legal rights on a standard statement that outlines your responsibilities to take a chemical test and then ask you if you will submit to a breath test. If you answer with a clear “no” you will be charged with a refusal. If your answer is ambiguous, he is then required to read you an additional legal warning and ask again. If you refuse to provide an ambiguous answer that is anything short of a clear and resounding yes you will be charged with refusal.
New Jersey is known to have some of the strictest drunk driving laws in the nation. One such law is every driver’s inability to refuse to provide samples when suspected of drunk driving. All drivers on public roads, streets, or highways are deemed to have given their consent to the taking of breath samples for the purpose of chemical testing to determine their blood alcohol content.
If you are charged with refusal instead of a DUI or DWI then you will face even harsher penalties then if you had consented to a breath test and received a DUI. A first refusal offense requires the court to mandate the installation of an ignition interlock device in your car. This device will block you from starting your motor vehicle until a clean breathe sample is provided. Even after you provide a clean sample and are allowed to start your car the device will intermittently ask you to provide further breath tests without notice. If a a breath sample with alcohol is provided it will be recorded and the cars sirens and horns will sound until the engine is turned off. You will be required to explain how and why an unclean sample was recorded; further penalties may result.
If a refusal charge is incurred while you were in a school zone, the fines can be doubled and the penalties can become more severe. The school need not be in session during the incident for you to be charged with a school zone violation. In fact, you could be charged even if students would not normally be in session.
If you have been charged with a DWI, DUI, refusal, or motor vehicle violation in Lavallette, contact the experienced New Jersey DWI lawyers of Villani & DeLuca at 732-250-0448 for a free initial consultation.