Archive for April 2011

State v. Lee, 417 N.J. Super. 219 (App. Div. 2010) The Appellate Division held that where a defendant’s sexual contact is with his own intimate parts in view of an adult victim, conviction on a charge of criminal sexual contact requires proof of physical force or coercion beyond defendant’s act of touching himself. The defendant…

State v. Rodriguez-Alejo, A-0815-09T3, (N.J. Super. App. Div. March 25, 2011) The defendant was convicted of violating N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2 for refusing to submit to a breath test. On appeal, the defendant argued that his limited English proficiency prevented him from understanding the instructions regarding the breath sample. The Appellate Division overturned the conviction, finding that…

Today in State v McClean, the NJ Supreme Court reversed a drug conviction which had been partially based upon use of the so called “lay opinion rule” where the police officer testified based upon his training and experience as to what constituted intent to distribute. This type of issue is a hot topic in DWI…