Refusing a Breathalyzer in New Jersey and Disputing the Test Results

The next step is someone’s going to have to sit down and take this breath test. If someone takes the breath test and they “fail” by blowing a 0.08 or above they’re not necessarily doomed, and there are defenses to the reading on the test, right?

Any DWI attorney worth their salt will go through with a fine-tooth comb. But you have to know what you’re looking for.

Refusing to Take the Breathalyzer Test

Is it common in New Jersey that people are accused of refusing the breath test when they didn’t mean to refuse it?

There are multiple reasons why someone would refuse to take a roadside breathalyzer. Sometimes the officers are not fulfilling their job responsibility, and if a person wants to understand what they’re rights are they will just mark it down as refusal. Sometimes with an individual there are language barriers. There are age issues. There’s a lack of understanding of what they’re signing when they are consenting to it, and sometimes the officers will mark it as a refusal.

What Will Occur if Your Breathalyzer Results Are Over the Legal Limit

What happens if you blow over, are you charged, and what happens if you either are marked ‘refused’ or you do refuse? Are there any additional penalties in regard to your DWI charges?

If you refuse the breathalyzer, you are in the highest tier automatically, meaning that 0.10 or above.

A refusal will result in enhanced penalties.

Will You Be Incarcerated If Your Breath Test Results Are Over the Legal Limit?

Once you take the test and the police obtain a reading, do they put you in jail overnight, or what happens to you then?

It depends on what they believe is safe for the public. If you can have someone get you a ride, sometimes there’s a period where they require a period of sobriety if you can’t get a ride. So, they will detain you until they believe that it’s safe for the public if you are released.

Is Bail Required?

Will they force you to pay a bail bond to get out of jail, or do they just let you go?

Generally, there’s no bail set, because it’s a municipal court offense.

After You are Charged With a DWI, When is your Court Appearance?

Once someone’s been charged and detained and released, now what? What happens? What are the common events, and what are the timelines on them?

They will have an arraignment, an initial arraignment where they will formally enter their plea. It’s advisable that everybody enters a plea of not guilty.

Then it’s scheduled for another court date; it’s normally a trial date. On that date a few things can occur. The arraignment is generally a week to two weeks after the date of arrest. And the trial date is, dependent upon the court and the caseload of the court where the individual will have to go, but that will normally occur between a month to two and a half months.