01-09-08 A-2384-06T5
The question presented is whether a defendant, who has had
three prior convictions for DWI, is entitled to the benefit of
the ten-year step-down provision of N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a)(3) on a
fourth conviction, where the first conviction was entered by way
of an uncounseled plea. We answer the question in the
affirmative, determining that when defendant appeared before the
Law Division he stood as a third offender, not a fourth
offender, for the limited purpose of the trial court imposing a
jail sentence under the enhanced sentencing provision of the DWI
statute.
