Blog Posts - Criminal law
How Domestic Violence Charges Impact Your Record?
Many people are accused of domestic violence. Some people have committed the crime, while others are wrongfully accused. Under New Jersey law, domestic violence encompasses many crimes, including assault, harassment, homicide, stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, and burglary. Any adult, male or female, can be charged with domestic violence. If you...
What to do if Accused of Domestic Violence
Domestic violencecharge(s) are serious that can affect everyone involved. The victim can suffer serious injuries and even death. The alleged abuser can face prison time and a damaged reputation. They may have a restraining order against them. In some cases, the accusations may even be false. In New Jersey, domestic...
What if I Was Acting in Self-Defense?
If someone is trying to hurt you, our instinct is to protect ourselves. However, there are limits as to what you can do to defend yourself. New Jersey allows for self-defense, but not in excess. For example, if someone slaps you in the face, you cannot get a gun and...
Can Domestic Violence Charges Be Dropped?
Relationships are hard. They can get emotional at times. In the heat of the moment, a person could hit their spouse, child, or romantic partner. Even if this happens just one time, this can lead to domestic violence charges. Such charges can change a person’s life forever. Under N.J.S.A. §...
What are the Potential Consequences for Adults Who Allow Minors to Gamble?
Many New Jersey residents enjoy going to Atlantic City to take in the sights and do some gambling. However, not everyone is allowed to gamble legally. You must be at least 21 to gamble in the Garden State. This applies to physical gambling (in a casino building) as well as...
What are the Potential Legal Consequences of a Domestic Violence Charge?
When you think of domestic violence, you may think of physical abuse that happens in the heat of the moment involving two people in a relationship. While this is generally true, domestic violence can be much more than that. Under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (PDVA) of 1991, there...
What Constitutes Domestic Violence Under the Law?
When you think of domestic violence, your first thought may be a man hitting his wife or girlfriend. While this is a typical example, this is not the only one. Domestic violence is a pattern of physical, emotional, verbal, and sexual abuse. It can include threats, intimidation, isolation, and/or financial...
Proposed changes to New Jersey’s jury exclusion laws
Formerly incarcerated individuals are spearheading a legislative initiative in New Jersey that could improve jury selection. These efforts aim to amend the state’s stringent jury exclusion laws, which are among the nation’s strictest. New Jersey’s laws currently prevent anyone with an indictable offense from serving on a jury, which negatively...
The impact of an indictable offense conviction in New Jersey
Being convicted of an indictable offense in New Jersey may feel overwhelming. From direct punishments to the impact on one’s future and public perception, the effects can be significant and far-reaching. Learning more about how they affect a person’s daily life may help individuals facing this scenario. Fines When someone faces...
You might need a defense attorney while vacationing in Atlantic City
Vacations are for relaxation and enjoyment, but sometimes unexpected legal issues can arise. Not only does this put a damper on your getaway, but it likely entails a great deal of stress. Atlantic City, with its vibrant nightlife and bustling casinos, is a popular destination for tourists. However, finding yourself...
What to know about Ocean City’s Backpack ban and curfew
Ocean City, a popular shore town in New Jersey, has recently taken decisive action to address concerns regarding underage drinking, vandalism and other incidents. Mayor Jay Gillian has enacted new policies with the intent of curbing these issues and preserving the town’s reputation as “America’s Greatest Family Resort.” Two significant...
What are the punishments for shoplifting?
Shoplifting is a crime where a person intends to take an item from a retailer without paying. It also includes altering the price to pay less for the item than the retail price. In New Jersey, the penalties for a shoplifting charge depend on the value of the items stolen....
Were you accused of cheating in a New Jersey casino?
Cheating in a casino can have serious repercussions. In New Jersey, casino establishments have stringent rules and regulations to ensure fair play, and violating these can lead to consequences, including hefty fines, bans and even criminal charges. If accused of cheating, you should follow the right steps to mitigate potential...
Utilizing New Jersey’s Veterans Diversion Program
Advocates for criminal justice reform have long argued that, for many offenders, treatment and support are more effective and more just than simple punishment. Although the justice system is resistant to change, this idea has caught on, particularly regarding military veterans whose offenses are likely tied to post-traumatic stress disorder...
The importance of unanimous verdicts in criminal cases
In New Jersey, there are some important distinctions between juries in civil trials and those in criminal ones. In a civil trial (a lawsuit regarding something other than a criminal matter), there are typically six jurors that will decide the outcome, compared to 12 jurors in a criminal trial. The...
Facial recognition technology continues to result in false arrests
Who gets to decide which technology law enforcement agencies can use in their efforts to investigate crimes and secure convictions? Unfortunately, they do. In the absence of explicit bans, use of investigative tech is largely unregulated. This is a problem, because much of this technology is either unproven or has...
When self-defense results in murder charges
A common legal defense against violent crime charges is to claim that the accused was acting in self-defense or attempting to protect others. While this is a legitimate legal strategy, there seem to be disparities in who is allowed to use it and how effective it is. In this post,...
Addressing unfair disparities in drug laws and sentencing
Most experts agree that America’s “war on drugs” has been an expensive failure. The costs are not limited to taxpayers, however. Countless Americans have received lengthy prison sentences for non-violent drug offenses. Marijuana, which is now legal or decriminalized in many states, has been at the root of many such...
What are the limits of smartphone searches by law enforcement?
A search of one’s belongings – by anyone – can feel incredibly invasive. You wouldn’t want someone rifling through your purse or backpack, nor would you be comfortable with someone looking around your home for whatever they might happen to find. But for many of us, the most invasive search...
How do lie detector tests work? And are they accurate?
The polygraph, or “lie detector” test, is a well-known piece of technology that most of us have seen in movies and television shows. But how often are these devices used in the “real world?” And are they reliable, or just another example of junk science? Three biological responses measured A...
New Jersey legislator wants to make open arrest warrants public
Whenever legislation is introduced, it is critical for lawmakers to consider the unintended consequences as well as the intended ones. Nearly every law has drawbacks, sometimes major ones, and well-intentioned legislators often fail to consider how their proposals could be more harmful than helpful. That may be the case with...
State’s new marijuana law leads to huge drop in arrests
In early 2021, New Jersey enacted a law legalizing possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana. In doing so, it joined a growing list of states choosing to decriminalize or legalize marijuana use, even as the drug remains illegal under federal law. Those pushing for legalization argued that arrests and...
How a DUI might impact your job prospects
If you are charged with driving while intoxicated in New Jersey, you may face a range of consequences. In addition to any legal sanctions that you might be subject to, a drunk driving conviction may also cause a significant interruption to your career. There are many ways in which being...
New Jersey’s highest court reaffirms Fourth Amendment protections
We have previously written on this blog about the protocol for conducting law enforcement searches. Generally speaking, for a search to be considered legal, police must obtain a search warrant, issued by a judge, based on probable cause that a crime has been committed. If police were allowed to search...
New Jersey Will Soon Enact Important Jury Selection Reforms
The Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees anyone accused of a crime the right to a trial by a fair and impartial jury. Many believe that to be fair and impartial, the makeup of the jury (gender, race, socioeconomic status, etc.) should reflect the general population of the area....
Brain science raises questions about charging young offenders
When does someone become an adult, capable of making adult decisions and fully responsible for the consequences when they make poor choices? In the United States, the number that we’ve chosen is age 18. This is the age of legal adulthood in most respects. But should it be? As brain...
Is body language a good crime-solving tool? Science says no.
You’ve likely watched police procedural shows in which a body language expert is able to tell that someone is hiding something. You may have seen books about “how to spot a liar,” or even TED Talks about how to use your own body language to control the messages you are...
Judge sends mixed messages on use of controversial search tactic
The technology we all carry around in our pockets has made it easier than ever for businesses and the government to invade our privacy. One of the strongest examples of government privacy intrusion is what is known as a “geofence warrant.” Use of this investigative tactic has been controversial, and...
Prosecutors slowly move away from trying teens as adults in court
There are two criminal justice systems in the United States: one for adults and another for minors. The principle underlying the juvenile justice system is that children are still developing, which means they should be considered less culpable for the things they do wrong and more capable of reform. Unfortunately,...
Understanding your right to ‘plead the Fifth’ in a criminal case
If you follow the news, you see it all the time: Someone being interrogated and refusing to answer by invoking their Fifth Amendment rights. Why can they refuse to answer? And what are they citing in doing so? This is an important topic for anyone facing criminal charges or otherwise...
Man convicted based on junk science exonerated after 30 years
Previous posts on this blog have focused on the problem of “junk science.” Shows like CSI and other police procedurals have given the public the impression that forensic science is highly advanced and almost never wrong. Sadly, that’s far from true, but the misconceptions created by these shows are biasing...
Would you falsely confess to a crime? You might be surprised.
In the realm of criminal justice, its seems that no evidence is stronger than a confession of guilt. Suspects confess, and jurors believe them, because no one would admit to a heinous crime that they didn’t commit. Or would they? Sadly, false confessions are a serious problem in the United...
What juvenile suspects should know when speaking to law enforcement in New Jersey
Police officers in New Jersey often use coercive interrogation tactics to get suspects to confess to crimes. This is a dangerous practice, especially when the suspect is a juvenile. This article discusses how this could affect minors and provides some tips you can use to protect your child(ren). Police deception...
New Jersey lawmaker seeks to reduce overall police traffic stops
There has been a nationwide reckoning in recent years about how quickly interactions between police officers and citizens can escalate and become deadly. At the same time, there have also been calls to address racial disparities in policing, a problem backed by statistics as well as anecdotal evidence. While these...
Know the risks of being interrogated without an attorney
When suspects are arrested on television and in movies, they are told they have certain rights, including the right to remain silent and the right to an attorney. This is called the “Miranda warning,” and police must use it in real life as well. The warning is so common that...
Criminal records keep qualified workers out of good jobs
American employers are currently facing a rare problem. Because of the pandemic and a multitude of other factors, there are for more open jobs than there are workers to fill them. For many in the labor force, this has made it far easier to push for higher wages and to...
Average jail stays on the rise, report notes
In recent years, there has been a lot of conversation about criminal justice reform, especially related to length of jail/prison sentences. Some meaningful reforms have been introduced, but there is still much work to be done to solve the problem. According to a recent report, the length of time that...
How much should we trust eyewitness testimony? Part II
In our last post, we began a discussion about the problems of eyewitness testimony in criminal cases. Juries and the public in general tend to give a lot of weight to eyewitness testimony, but numerous studies have shown that these accounts are often far less accurate than we’d like to...
How much should we trust eyewitness testimony? Part I
For much of human history, the best way to prove someone’s guilt was to seek testimony from someone who saw the crime occur. In fact, before forensic evidence came into its own, eyewitness testimony was sometimes the only way to secure a conviction. To this day, juries find eyewitness testimony...
Report reveals widespread violations of attorney-client privilege
Anyone charged with a crime has the right to an attorney. This is a Constitutional right and one of the cornerstone principles of the U.S. criminal justice system. The right to counsel (or legal representation) only has meaning if the accused person and their attorney can communicate freely without worrying...
New Jersey heroin charges
If you or your loved one is facing charges of the possession and/or the distribution of heroin in New Jersey, the potential penalties could negatively affect your life. Since it is classified as the most highly addictive and destructive drug, law enforcement aggressively pursues offenders. Here are some penalties you...
Facial-recognition technology leads to wrongful arrests
The state’s attorney general ordered law enforcement to stop using facial-recognition software in 2020. This was after a New Jersey man was wrongfully identified in 2019 by facial-recognition software in a police cruiser as a shoplifter when the suspect fled the scene. The misidentified man then went to law enforcement...
Advocates propose resentencing units
There have been few bipartisan laws at the federal level in recent years, but one that stands out has been to revamp the criminal legal system. This is in response to the tough-on-crime sentencing practices of the 1980s and 1990s, which incarcerated defendants for years even when they committed non-violent...
Right to bear arms not a given in NJ
People buy, own and carry guns for a variety of reasons. Some cannot imagine going anywhere without one, particularly if they are traveling by car. Unfortunately, state laws on carrying a weapon vary, which can lead to confusion. New Jersey has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the...
The potential penalties for underage gambling
In the state of New Jersey, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to gamble. Those who are convicted of such a charge will have a disorderly persons offense added to their criminal records. It’s worth noting that anyone who allows a minor to gamble could also...
Multiple traffic tickets can come with consequences in New Jersey
Most motorists receive at least one traffic ticket during their driving career. Yet, you might have received several citations within a short period, and you may fear that these will cost you your license. This may be possible, depending on the nature of your offenses. But there are ways to...
How juvenile offenders can avoid jail time
The juvenile justice system in New Jersey differs in its approach to justice compared to the adult system. The priority for juvenile courts in the state is making decisions that represent the best interests of a child. And even when juveniles become adjudicated as “delinquent,” the state’s focus on rehabilitation...
Don’t underestimate the value of witness credibility
There are a lot of ways that prosecutors can build a case against you. Sometimes they have hard physical evidence to support the charges thrust upon, but in other situations their case is mostly circumstantial in nature. Regardless of which type of case you’re facing, one thing is for sure:...
Covid-19 causes a surge in domestic violence
The year 2020 has been one of the most stressful on record. The combination of the pandemic, loss of work, sheltering at home, isolation, and even the ongoing political dialogue all add to it, pushing some beyond the breaking point. One outgrowth of that stress has been the increasing number...
State Supreme Court just made it easier to search cell phones
We have come to rely on our cellphones as our primary mode of communication and so much more. From accessing the internet to finding a gas station to paying for goods and services, there is more personal data stored on those convenient handheld devices than anything else we own. The...
Six bills target mandatory minimum sentencing in NJ
Lawmakers at the state and federal level have revisited mandatory minimum sentencing in recent years, often focusing on those that apply to non-violent crimes. Now lawmakers introduced six more bills that seek to implement the recommendations made by a bipartisan Criminal Sentence and Disposition Commission chaired by former New Jersey...