The New Jersey Supreme Court will be hearing arguments today involving the infamous "unsafe driving" statute, often used in municipal court as a plea bargain to original charges like speeding, stop sign violations and red-light rolling.
The unsafe driving statute, N.J.S.A. 39:4-97.2, provides that an operator of a motor vehicle can plead or be found guilty of the offense and not be assessed motor vehicle commission (MVC) points in the State of New Jersey. However, this ONLY applies to the first or second conviction or plea.
In State v. Patel, decided by the Appellate Division last year, the Court ruled that a third conviction, regardless of the amount of time between the second and third offense dates, resulted in the assessment of 4 MVC points.
Despite last October's ruling in Patel, the language of the law strongly suggests that a driver should be allowed to take advantage of the no point provision if five years have transpired since the second guilty plea.
The defendant in Patel argues that the New Jersey Legislature intended to provide relief from motor vehicle penalty points on third offenses following a five year period from the second unsafe driving offense.
The decision will be published on this blog as soon as it becomes available.
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