New Jersey Criminal Law Case, submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark 14-2-8664 State v. Miles, (Manahan, J.A.D.) (24 pp.). The defendant was arrested during an undercover drug operation. Defendant was charged on a warrant with possession of a CDS (controlled dangerous substance) with intent to distribute on or near school property. Defendant was…
Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In the recent case of State v. Bishop and State v. Torres defendants appealed much harsher extended terms of periods of state prison sentences when they violated their special conditions of probation which allow them to enter drug court. After violating the terms of the drug…
Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark State v. Myers, decided by the Appellate Division on September 8, 2015, addresses the question of whether the smell of marijuana can still be used as probable cause for a search given that it is now legal for some citizens to both use and carry the…
Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Attorney, Jeffrey Hark. N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3 outlines the criteria for an extended term of imprisonment at sentencing. These include: defendant convicted of first, second, or third degree crime + persistent offender + professional criminal (i.e. a [person working with 2+ people in an ongoing criminal enterprise) defendant committed the crime…
Submitted by New Jersey Drug Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In State v. Castle, decided July 2, by the Appellate Division, the judge considered whether the Pretrial Intervention Program (PTI) was properly denied by the prosecutor and trial judge. Previous blogs have written extensively about what makes an applicant a good candidate for PTI, and more info…
Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark State v. Lewis, decided by the Appellate Division, on June 25th, is an appeal of a conviction partially based on a motion to suppress evidence that defendant argues was improperly denied by the trial court. The relevant facts are that the defendant was spotted by an…
Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark As mentioned in the last blog concerning State v. Firman, a reversal of a conviction is not an overly common occurrence even when then trial judge has made a mistake. This is because of the concept of harmless error. If at trial, a mistake by the…
Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark A reversal and remand for new trial is not extremely common. The prejudicial threshold necessary for a judge to reverse a conviction made by the verdict of a jury is high. But that’s just what happened in State v. Firman, decided May 21, 2015, and this…
Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark State v. Malkin, decided November 24, 2014 by the Appellate Davison does not concern an ordinary narcotics transaction. But it does examine classic 4th Amendment search and seizure issues of law that are important for the readers of this blog to understand. The 4th Amendment reads:…
State of New Jersey versus Dawson Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark See previously posted review of New Jersey Versus Dawson: State versus Dawson – Standard of Review for a Motion to Suppress for the Trial Court The Issue reviewed in this Blog from this case is the use of an anonymous call and…
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New Jersey Survivors Justice Act: Sentencing Reform for Abuse Victims
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In January 2026, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a pair of bills known as the Survivors Justice Act (S-4870/A-5968 and S-4871/A-5969). This landmark legislation, championed by Senator Angela V. McKnight, Senator M. Teresa Ruiz, and other lawmakers, amends the state’s criminal code to allow courts…