The state Supreme Court today upheld a state statute that allows drivers’ licenses to be suspended for driving infractions, but also issued guidelines for judges so those sentences are imposed fairly and uniformly. The decision by the state’s highest court stems from an Aberdeen municipal court case in which a judge imposed a 45-day driver’s license suspension upon a Sayreville woman found guilty of reckless driving, improper display of a license plate and obstruction of the windshield in 2007.

First Assistant Monmouth County Peter E. Warshaw Jr., whose office handled the arguments on appeal, said prosecutors believe the decision offers very helpful guidance to municipal court judges and attorneys who practice in those courts.

“The significance of the decision is that it defines the concept of willful violation and also establishes criteria which the court should consider in determining whether a license suspension is appropriate,” he said.

Defense attorney, Donald Lomurro, who argued the case with Jonathan Lomurro before the state Supreme Court, said with today’s decision, “the breadth of the statute that allowed a judge to revoke a driver’s license has been extraordinarily confined.”

He said previously, any violation of the motor vehicle code – from a parking ticket to a speeding ticket – could have resulted in license suspension. Read more in APP.