N.J. Supreme Court passes ruling stating that DWI suspects don’t have right to jury

TRENTON – According to the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling, DWI suspects don’t have the right to a jury trial.

Although a drunken driving charge in the state of New Jersey is not considered a criminal offense, anyone accused of a DWI will have to face jail time and steep fines for any repeat offenses. The ruling was passed Thursday in a 5-1 decision which stated that punishments for repeat offenders aren’t serious enough to trigger a jury trial.

At the same time, courts warned lawmakers that penalties for DWI offenses have reached the “outer limit” of punishments for a non criminal offense.

The Supreme Court ruling was based on the case of James Denelsbeck who demanded a jury trial after he was accused of DWI. However, a municipal judge denied the request and Denelsbeck was convicted of DWI.

According to Denelsbeck’s attorney, he will appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court as he is very disappointed.

News Source: www.pressofatlanticcity.com