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New Jersey Division of Motor Vehicles v. Ripley11/26/2003
spension, revocation or limitation of the license to operate a motor vehicle, shall give the same effect to the conduct reported... as it would if such conduct had occurred in the home State, shall apply the penalties of the home State or of the State in which the violation occurred, in the case of convictions for:....
(2) Driving a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor... to a degree which renders the driver incapable of safely driving a motor vehicle....
(c) If the laws of a party State do not provide for offenses or violations denominated or described in precisely the words employed in subdivision (a) of this article, such party State shall construe the denominations and descriptions appearing in subdivision (a) hereof as being applicable to and identifying those offenses or violations of a substantially similar nature and the laws of such party State shall contain such provisions as may be necessary to ensure that full force and effect is given to this article. [Emphasis added.]
The suspension of a New Jersey driver's license is appropriate where an alcohol-related driving incident occurred in another state under two circumstances: (1) if the conduct in that state constitutes driving under the influence under New Jersey law, see N.J.S.A. 39:5D-4(a); and (2) if the offense the defendant was convicted of in that state is of a substantially similar nature to driving under the influence under New Jersey law, see N.J.S.A. 39:5D-4(c).
If the conduct in Utah constitutes the New Jersey violation of"driving a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicating liquor," then New Jersey DMV may impose penalties as if the conduct had occurred in New Jersey. In our state the offense of driving while intoxicated occurs when a person"operates a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor... or operates a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10% or more...." N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.
Our Supreme Court has interpreted"under the influence of intoxicating liquor" rather broadly."The offense of driving while'under the influence of intoxicating liquor' prohibits general conditions, short of intoxication as a result of which every motor vehicle operator has to be said to be so affected in judgment as to make it improper for him to drive on the highways." State v. Johnson, 42 N.J. 146, 165 (1964); accord State v. Tamburro, 68 N.J. 414, 421 (1975).
The police stopped Ripley after he made an unsignaled turn. He was charged with DWI under the Utah statute based on a BAC reading of.089% and a field sobriety test.
The Utah statute, U.C.A. 41-6-44 provides that:
(2)(a) A person may not operate or be in actual physical control of a vehicle within this state if the person:
(i) has sufficient alcohol in his body that a chemical test given within two hours of the alleged operation or physical control shows that the person has a blood or breath alcohol concentration of.08 grams or greater; or
(ii) is under the influence of alcohol... to a degree that renders the person incapable of safely operating a vehicle.
The Utah offense of driving under the influence was"downgraded" to alcohol-related reckless driving, U.C.A. 41-6-45, pursuant to a plea agreement with the prosecutor. U.C.A. 41-6-45, the relevant reckless driving statute, provides:
(1) A person is guilty of reckless driving who operates a vehicle:
(a) in willful or wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property....
The offense of reckless driving is classified as alcohol-related reckless driving in Utah under certain circumstances:
(9)(a)(i) When the prosecution agrees to a pl
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