Archive for August 2014
From Tip to Arrest: An Overview of Your Rights When Police Stop You
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. State v. Wright is an appeal of a denial of a motion to suppress evidence. This case touches on several important issues in criminal law including, de facto arrest, reasonable articulable suspicion v. probable cause, plain view doctrine, and exigent circumstances. The basic facts of the case…
Read MoreMandatory Sentences Must Be Custodial
Submitted by New Jersey DWI Attorney, Jeffrey Hark. This blog very briefly discusses mandatory sentences using the recent case State v. French decided August 25, 2014. In this case the State appeals a sentence of 90 days in jail followed by 90 days in an inpatient drug rehabilitation program. The sentence is imposed for the…
Read MoreStatutory Interpretation: Ifs, Ands, Buts, and Shall
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark State v. Carreon, decided August 11, 2014 rests on statutory interpretation. Put simply, statutes should be read based on the plain meaning of all the language used and if there is any ambiguity then the legislative attempt is examined and considered. The defendant in this case sought…
Read MoreWhen Is Hearsay Relevant?
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In State v. Scharf, decided August 11, 2014, the defendant appealed his conviction of first-degree purposeful and knowing murder of his wife. The appeal is based on a claim that the judge erred in admitting hearsay statements made by his late wife’s counselor and friends and that…
Read MorePerception Is Reality: When Fake Weapons or Gestures Make a Robbery First Degree
In the case of State v. Kelvin Williams, the defendant walked into a bank wearing baggie clothes and a hoodie and demanded money. He claimed that he had a bomb and the teller believed him because of his erratic behavior and loose clothing. The defendant demanded seven million dollars but was only given $552 from…
Read MoreCompensable Occupational Diseases: What Counts And What Doesn’t In Workers’ Compensation
This case Russo v. Schaffer, DMD, decided August 8, 2014involves a dental hygienist who worked for different dentists between 1991 and 2007 and made six separate claims for workers’ compensation benefits for multiple health problems including right carpal tunnel syndrome and depression. The claims were consolidated into one case. In a workers’ compensation case, the…
Read MoreLast Call On Evidence: Rules of Discovery
In Gi v. Dugar decided August 11, 2014 by the Appellate Division, the case involved a head-on car accident between a plaintiff and defendant. On appeal the plaintiff claimed that the trial court erred in declining to consider an expert report from her doctor because it was submitted after discovery had ended. Discovery is the…
Read MoreThe Right to Cross-Examine A Witness
Justices Bar Recanted Statement’s Admission Absent Testimony In State v. Slaughter, decided August 12, 2014 concerns two defendants both accused the other of being the primary killers of a man while the other looked on. The defendant in this particular case claimed that he was smoking a cigarette outside the victim’s home which was also…
Read MoreUS Supreme Court Opinion Crawford Ruling Bludgeoned In NJ Trio of Cases Michaels, Roach and Williams
In three cases the NJ Supreme Court has allowed the state to call a witness who ‘reviewed’ lab results and prepared reports in criminal cases such as a supervisor of the actual lab technician who did the work was an adequate witness to be called at the time of trial. In Michaels, Roach and Williams…
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