Very few things can turn your life upside down more quickly than getting arrested for DWI. One minute, you're driving down the road, and the next minute, you're looking up bail bondsmen and criminal defense lawyers. The picture is even more complicated if you hold a New Jersey nursing license. An arrest or conviction for DWI could result in public discipline and even the suspension of your nursing license.
Are you a licensed New Jersey nurse who has been arrested for DWI? You have more risks than just the criminal penalties. The New Jersey Board of Nursing requires licensed nurses to maintain high professional standards, and they have the power to sanction your license after a DUI arrest or conviction. Don't take chances defending your hard-earned nursing license. Call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or contact us online today.
The New Jersey Board of Nursing
The New Jersey Board of Nursing is a state agency designed to license and oversee the conduct of the state's nursing professionals. In addition to setting licensing requirements and reviewing applications, this board also maintains disciplinary authority over nurses who violate New Jersey's nursing laws. At its core, the Board of Nursing is a public health agency, and any activity or behavior by a licensed nurse that threatens public health is a cause for concern.
Operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated qualifies as behavior that threatens public health. That's why the New Jersey Administrative Rules require you to self-report any indictments or convictions for crimes “adversely relating” to your practice. Failure to self-report is a subsequent violation that could result in additional sanctions. The Board can sanction your license or deny your renewal if you were arrested or convicted of DWI while licensed.
It doesn't have to be that way. New Jersey's nursing laws give you the right to due process in any disciplinary matter. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team can improve your chances of avoiding the toughest sanctions (e.g., suspension). You deserve a strong defense of the license you worked so hard to get. Let us help.
Questions About Self-Reporting
New Jersey's nursing laws mandate that you must self-report an indictment or conviction for crimes adversely relating to your practice. However, they also say you must self-report "any incident or series of incidents that the licensee or certificant, in good faith, believes is in violation of the Nurse Practice Act."
That creates some ambiguity about what circumstances you should self-report. For example, if you're pulled over on suspicion of DUI but not arrested because you passed the roadside sobriety or BAC tests, do you need to self-report? If there was no arrest, and you hadn't been using alcohol or drugs, self-reporting may not be necessary.
On the other hand, if you are arrested and indicted for DUI, and you plead down to a lesser charge (e.g., reckless driving), you may still be required to self-report the indictment. There are numerous potential permutations, which is why we suggest that you contact our professional license team for a consultation if you have any doubts about self-reporting after a police interaction, arrest, or indictment.
It Doesn't Matter Where the Infraction Occurred
Another important thing to keep in mind is New Jersey's prohibition right to sanction or discipline licensed nurses does not end with arrests or convictions inside New Jersey state lines. Any offense relating to controlled substances or dangerous controlled substances is grounds for license denial or sanctions. So, for example, if you were convicted of DUI in Florida while on vacation, your license would be in the same jeopardy as if you were convicted in Atlantic City.
New Jersey's DWI Alcohol Laws
New Jersey's DWI law prohibits anyone over the age of 21 from operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content (BAC) over .08. Since alcohol is prohibited for minors under the age of 21, the intoxication standard is a BAC over .01. However, New Jersey law also makes it possible for you to be convicted of DWI for driving with a BAC below .08.
That gives law enforcement officers significant discretion to determine whether you are too impaired to safely operate a motor vehicle. Some of the criteria an officer may use to make this determination include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Slurred speech
- Glassy or bloodshot eyes
- Inability to successfully perform the tasks in a roadside sobriety test
The penalty for a first-time DWI conviction includes:
- A fine between $250-$400
- Up to 30 days imprisonment
- Suspension of your driver's license until the required installation of an ignition lock on your vehicle for three months (at your expense)
- Spending at least six hours (on two consecutive days) in an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center
- An annual insurance charge of $1,000 for three straight years after the conviction
Penalties for subsequent DWIs or cases where your BAC ranges between .10 and .15 are more severe. New Jersey law also strictly prohibits operating a vehicle under the influence of any “narcotic, hallucinogenic, or habit-producing drug.” That means you can be arrested and convicted of DWI for driving after using any quantity of substances like marijuana, cocaine, or even prescription medication.
Potential Implications of a Nursing License Suspension
The suspension of your New Jersey nursing license could have a ripple effect that will be felt anywhere you seek to practice your profession. That's because New Jersey is a Nurse Licensure Compact state. The Nurse Licensure Compact is a license reciprocity agreement where each participating state recognizes licenses issued by fellow compact states.
The benefits of the Nurse Licensure Compact are numerous. First, it allows participating states to address their nursing shortage by bringing in licensed nurses from other states. Second, it allows licensed nurses to practice their profession in other states. In both cases, the Nurse Licensure Compact simplifies the process of hiring out-of-state nurses. Currently, 41 states and several U.S. territories participate in the Nursing Licensure Compact.
However, the benefits of the Nurse Licensure Compact are not without potential complications for licensed nurses. The reciprocity agreement between licensure compact states also applies to license sanctions, including suspensions and revocations. If the New Jersey Board of Nursing suspends your license after a DWI conviction, that suspension will apply in every Nursing Licensing Compact state.
License Discipline Becomes Public Record
Another reason to fight license discipline is that it will follow you for the rest of your career. If, for example, the Board suspends your New Jersey nursing license for two years, the record of that suspension remains public even after you've served it and your license is restored. That means whenever you apply for other nursing positions, even in non-licensure compact states, your potential employer will discover the sanctions with a routine background check.
The New Jersey Board of Nursing is part of the NURSYS system. NURSYS is a database that provides nursing boards with the ability to do a real-time online lookup of nurse license status within seconds. The information included in the NURSYS database also includes any history of sanctions or discipline against your license.
Patient safety is a high priority for every public or private healthcare system, HMO, or healthcare provider. DWI convictions endanger public safety, and a license suspension by the Board as punishment for DWI would likely damage your future employment prospects. This only underscores the importance of the quality of your license defense because a suspension is something you want to avoid at all costs.
How Can the Lento Law Firm Help?
It's perfectly natural to wonder where to turn after being arrested for DWI. That uncertainty is exacerbated for you as a licensed nurse because you know your license will be in jeopardy as soon as you self-report the arrest. The sooner you get the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team working for you, the better our chances of helping you avoid the harshest consequences.
You are required to self-report your DWI arrest (or conviction) to the Board. After you self-report your arrest, the Board will conduct an initial review to determine if your conduct merits further investigation or sanctions. If they decide to move forward with an investigation, they will notify you by mail. This notification will summarize the nursing rules you are suspected of violating and when.
Their next step will be to request a written response from you to their complaint notice. Many licensees fail to understand the importance of this document. The Board will use all the disclosures in your written response as evidence in determining whether to sanction you (and the extent of the sanctions). Our team can help you prepare your written response in such a way that you tell the complete story without exposing yourself to additional sanctions.
We can also assist you by exploring alternatives to license discipline. One potential option is a consent order. A consent order is a negotiated settlement between yourself and the Board where you admit to a certain set of violations in exchange for pre-determined penalties. Our priority is always to engineer an outcome free of sanctions, but if that's not possible, a consent order is a preferable alternative to the harshest disciplinary sanctions like suspensions.
Alternative to Discipline Program
The New Jersey Board of Nursing is not insensitive to the fact that the stresses of a career in the profession can lead some nurses down the path to addiction. It also recognizes that if nurses struggling with dependency can overcome that issue, they can still perform their duties at a high level. To that end, New Jersey has potential disciplinary alternatives for nurses who are battling with addiction.
One of those alternatives is the Recovery and Monitoring Program, or RAMP. If your DWI arrest or conviction was symptomatic of your chemical dependency issue, you may qualify for the New Jersey RAMP. However, you must follow a specific procedure to be eligible. for the Alternative to Discipline program. We can help you with this process, and the first step is self-reporting your condition to a board-certified intervention program.
There may also be a way to negotiate a consent order where you self-report a chemical dependency issue as part of the settlement. Once that's done, you must complete the steps set forward in your intervention program, which will keep the board informed of your progress. That may include mandatory counseling sessions, periodic drug and/or alcohol testing, and other stipulations.
Why It's Important to Self-Report
It's critical for the future of your license to self-report your arrest for several reasons. First, failing to do so is a separate violation. Secondly, self-reporting demonstrates a willingness to take responsibility for your actions, something that could sway the Board's decision on sanctions. If you don't self-report your DWI arrest, the Board may view it as an attempt to obfuscate your conduct, something that could negatively impact your prospects of benefiting from disciplinary alternatives.
With that said, we strongly advise that you consult with us before self-reporting. Every word you say to the Board regarding your DWI case could impact the outcome. Our team can help you self-report your situation in a way that is forthcoming, but also minimizes your exposure to further disciplinary action.
The Importance of Experienced Professional License Defense
Getting your nursing license is a milestone that you worked very hard to reach, and an arrest or conviction for DWI could jeopardize all that hard work. That's why you owe it to yourself to have representation that will defend your license in front of the Board as skillfully as your criminal defense lawyer defends you in the DWI case.
It might seem more convenient to have your criminal lawyer defend your license in front of the Board, but it may not be the best idea. That's because professional license defense is not the same as criminal defense. The standard of evidence in a license defense case is lower than in a criminal trial, where your guilt must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.
In a license defense case, there only needs to be a preponderance of the evidence that you violated New Jersey's nursing rules. It takes a great deal of applied experience defending professional licenses to navigate a Board disciplinary hearing with your license intact. Our firm has that experience, and we have gained it through successfully defending licensees from board sanctions in New Jersey and around the country.
Put Our Professional License Defense Team to Work for You
Getting arrested for DWI can upend your life, but it doesn't have to ruin your life. If you're a licensed New Jersey nurse who has been arrested or convicted of DWI and you are facing license discipline, it's important to know that you do have options. You still have the right to due process in Board investigations regardless of the circumstances of your arrest.
As part of that due process, you have a choice in professional license defense. With your career and license on the line, you deserve a legal team that will fight as hard for your license as you do for your patients. The Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team is ready, willing, and able to do that. Don't delay. Call the Lento Law Firm Professional License Defense Team at 888-535-3686 or contact us online today!
