State v Carrigan Mandatory 180 jail if driving while suspended while revoked for 2nd DWI

Mandatory 180 jail if driving while suspended while revoked for 2nd DWI even if DWI was prior to 2010. State v Carrigan 428 NJ Super. 609 (App. Div. 2012) N.J.S.A. 2C:40-26(b), which became effective on August 1, 2011, makes it a fourth-degree crime for a motorist to operate a vehicle at a time when his or her driver's license is suspended or revoked for a second or subsequent conviction for driving while intoxicated ("DWI") or refusal to submit to an alcohol breath test. Defendant was charged with that crime, upon being found driving a car in September 2011 while his license was suspended due to multiple prior DWI offenses. The trial court initially dismissed the complaint, concluding that the application of N.J.S.A. 2C:40-26(b) to defendant violated ex post facto principles, essentially because his ongoing license suspensions had been imposed before the statute's effective date. The Appellate Division reversed and concluded that a violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:40- 26(b) comprises a new offense based upon new conduct, and that the statute does not impose retrospective punishment for a prior offense. Hence, the law may be constitutionally applied to drivers with suspended licenses, such as defendant, who are caught driving after August 1, 2011, regardless of whether their DWI-based suspensions were imposed before that date.