WARNING: Traffic Points Can Still Be Assessed If The Ticket Was Dismissed
Ooops! Points on your license can now be assessed against your driver history, raise your insurance rates and lead to a future suspension, even when the ticket has been dismissed in Municipal Court as part of a plea bargain. For instance, the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission (NJMVC) has started to assess points on traffic tickets that were deemed in court as dismissed via merger. This craziness originates from an unpublished Appellate Division case titled State v. Price. The Price opinion held that points connected with violations that are dismissed by way of merger into the more serious included offense survive the merger and should be assessed to a driver.
By way of example, say a person is charged with driving while intoxicated (the more serious offense-DWI is codified as N.J.S.A. 39:4-50) and reckless driving (the lesser included offense of DWI; which carries 5 points and is codified as N.J.S.A. 39:4-96) and after a consulation with an experienced attorney (who has throughly reviewed the discovery and filed all applicable motions), it is clear that there are no defenses to the DWI. Then in this instance, if a plea bargain is struck, the driver would plead guilty to DWI and the reckless ticket would be dismissed by way of merger (thus appearing to save the driver 5 points). However, under State v. Price, since the dismissal of the 5 point reckless ticket was by way of merger, then NJMVC will assess the 5 points; unbeknownst to the driver.
The proper approach for dismissing this ticket is by motion of the Prosecutor (State) for a directed verdict of not guilty; which should insulate your from NJMVC points.
