New Jersey Vehicular Offense Defense

Most New Jersey driving matters are Title 39 motor vehicle offenses heard in municipal court, and they are quasi-criminal rather than criminal. A serious injury or a death changes that entirely: the matter becomes an indictable charge under Title 2C, proceeding in the Superior Court. Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C. handles these matters. Call (888) 437-7747.

Where Title 39 Ends and Title 2C Begins

Title 39 codifies motor vehicle and traffic law, including driving while intoxicated at N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, reckless driving at 39:4-96 and careless driving at 39:4-97. Those are handled in municipal court without a jury. Where driving conduct caused serious bodily injury or death, the charge moves into Title 2C and is prosecuted as an indictable crime with the procedural protections and the exposure that implies.

Causation Is the Contested Ground

An indictable vehicular charge requires the State to link the driving conduct to the result. Where a collision involved road conditions, another driver’s conduct, a mechanical failure, or an intervening event, causation becomes a genuine issue rather than an assumption. Accident reconstruction, vehicle data, scene evidence and medical evidence about the mechanism of injury all bear on it, and none of that is available without prompt investigation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is drunk driving a crime in New Jersey?

Driving while intoxicated under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 is a Title 39 motor vehicle offense heard in municipal court, quasi-criminal rather than criminal, with no right to a jury trial. Where driving causes serious injury or death, separate indictable charges under Title 2C can follow.

Why does that distinction matter?

Because the classification affects collateral consequences, including how the matter is treated in immigration and licensing contexts. A Title 39 disposition and an indictable conviction are materially different things.

What decides a vehicular case?

Usually causation. The State must connect the driving conduct to the result, and road conditions, another driver’s conduct, mechanical failure or an intervening event can each break that chain. Prompt investigation is what preserves the evidence to show it.

About Mr. Sris

Mr. Sris, Owner and Founder of Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., has practiced since 1997. He is a former prosecutor, and that experience shapes how he reads a charging instrument, a discovery packet and an investigator’s file. He is admitted in Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, New Jersey, and New York. His background at George Mason University in accounting and information systems applies to technology-related evidence, which appears in a growing share of these cases. Mr. Sris and the firm’s Of Counsel attorneys handle New Jersey matters together, with the division of work set at the start of the engagement.

Speak With Mr. Sris

Request a consultation. Reach our location at (888) 437-7747. Bring the complaint or charging paperwork, any court dates you have been given, the name of the county, and any correspondence from an investigator or agency. Do not discuss the allegation with anyone else before that conversation.

Last updated: August 25, 2026

This page provides general information about New Jersey criminal law and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Case results depend on a variety of factors unique to each case. Results may vary.

Law Offices Of SRIS, P.C., principal office: 4008 Williamsburg Court, Fairfax, VA 22032. By appointment. Call (888) 437-7747 to schedule.

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