Archive for October 2013
NJ Criminal Law – Illegal Search of Vehicle and Producing Driver's Credentials
14-2-1787 State of New Jersey v Duran C. Keaton, App. Div. Unlawful Search and Seizure at Accident Scene In this Unpublished appeal the court ruled that the police are required, when there is no exigency, and the driver is able to obtain his identification materials, to allow a defendant to produce his driving credentials on his/her own without…
Read MoreNet Opinion and Inadmissable Expert Testimony – Slip and Fall Case
Arroyo v. Durling Realty, L.L.C., App. Div. (Sabatino, J.A.D.) (October 23, 2013) In this slip and fall case the plaintiff offered an expert report and testimony which the appellate court found the trial court properly rejected as a NET OPINION because the expert merely provided a personal opinion of criticisms of defendant’s maintenance and trash-removal…
Read MoreBurden of Proof in Slip and Fall Injury Cases
36-2-1651 Osborn v. Walgreens Pharmacy, App. Div. (per curiam) (4 pp.) In this slip and fall case the Appellate court reiterated a very simple legal theory of all slip and fall cases. The plaintiff has to be able to identify, i.e. carry her burden of legally sustainable proof, of: (a) what caused her to fall, and (b) that defendant had actual…
Read MoreNew Jersey Drug Charges and Improper Expert Witness Testimony
14-2-1544 State v. Goldsmith After the defendant was convicted of possession of drugs and possession with intent to distribute he appealed his conviction arguing that the opinion testimony of two police “experts” that the transactions they ‘witnessed’ were drug purchases was clearly capable of producing an unjust result, such that there is a reasonable doubt as to whether the…
Read MoreNew Jersey Criminal Law and Expert Testimony – Net Opinion
14-2-1653 State v. Granskie, App. Div. (Reisner, P.J.A.D.) (21 pp.) The use of expert testimony in this case by the defense stepped on the toes of the jury and overstepped his authority. The state of the law allows the defendant the right to present expert testimony concerning his heroin addiction and withdrawal symptoms and the potential impact of…
Read MoreDenial of Freedom and Miranda Warnings – State of New Jersey v. Terrell L. Hubbard
The latest analysis of when Miranda Warnings must be given to a person of interest or a ‘suspect’. Reference State of New Jersey v. Terrell L. Hubbard The issue is when is there a denial of freedom. When does the ‘totality of the circumstances’ lead an objective person to believe the person in question is…
Read MoreProbable Cause for Further Investigation and Information Relayed to Patrol Officers
14-2-1579 State v. Rosario, App. Div. (per curiam) (10 pp.) The appellate division court found that when a loss prevention officer relays information to police and identifies himself as such to the police on the call to police dispatch provided information based on his personal knowledge and observations that led him to report that defendant…
Read MoreTorts, Personal Injury and Commercial Truck Accidents
36-2-1575 Cokerline v. Clark, App. Div. (Simonelli, J.A.D.) (28 pp.) One of the many issues that is of import to plaintiffs in this case is the fact that the judge precluded the plaintiff’s expert from testifying on the theory of causation regarding defendant’s UPS truck pushing a car into decedent in a manner that caused…
Read MoreExpert Witness Selection In Truck Accidents
In these two medical malpractice cases the court has addressed the issue of plaintiff’s hiring of the appropriate expert to be presented to a jury on the specific issue of malpractice alleged committed by different doctors. New Jersey law, specifically for medical malpractice cases required that the doctor proffered by a plaintiff or defendant, be appropriately qualified…
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