New Jersey Criminal Law
No Reaching into the Glove Compartment
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. Legality of an Officer Entering a Vehicle without Permission State v. Keaton, decided August 3, 2015 by the N.J. Supreme Court touches on the following issue that may be important to readers. Does an officer have a right to enter your vehicle for the supposed purpose of…
Read MoreA Chance at a Second Chance: DNA Testing May Expand
Written by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. A new bill passed in the N.J. legislature concerning DNA and criminal defendants. In the past, a defendant had to be incarcerated in order to request possible innocence-proving DNA testing, but now that could change if Governor Chris Christie approves the bill. If the bill became law…
Read MoreDropped 9-1-1 Call Not An Emergency By Itself But May Support Application of Emergency Aid Doctrine to Police entry of Home
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. This blog has discussed exceptions to Fourth Amendment protections on numerous occasions, and the discussion often circles back to exigency. Exigent circumstances sometimes provide a legitimate basis for police to intrude, and at other times unfortunately are used as an excuse to circumvent your rights. It all…
Read MoreAlways on the Clock: Public Employees May Lose Pensions for Crimes Committed Outside Work
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. According to the 2013 U.S. census, New Jersey has 131,542 public employees including judges, lawyers, corrections officers, and transit workers just to name a few. Many public employees look forward to the benefits of the Public Employees’ Retirement System. But, if you are convicted of a crime…
Read MoreDriving While Administratively Suspended May Remain Indictable Offense
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. State v. Perry et. al. is a case against several defendants that was consolidated for decision because the same legal issues were at play in all of the cases. It has to do with N.J.S.A. 2C:40-26(a)(b) which makes driving while suspended a fourth degree criminal offense with…
Read MoreParking Lots May Be Structures In Burglary Cases
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. State v. Olivero, decided June 29th, resulted in a unanimous opinion from the New Jersey Supreme Court deciding the question: Does a parking lot constitute a structure as would make someone criminally liable for burglary under N.J.S.A. 2C:18-2a? N.J.S.A. 2C:18‑2a insofar as it is applicable to this…
Read MoreDon’t Wait on Miranda to Protect You
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. State v. Monterotorivo, is an appeal decided by the Appellate Division on June 16th, concerning a motion to suppress evidence in the form of defendant’s statements to police officers. The case arose out of an incident where defendant allegedly stated publicly that he intended to kill an…
Read MoreDo Not Disturb: SCOTUS Holds Warrantless Searches of Hotel Guest Records Unconstitutional
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Attorney, Jeffrey Hark On June 22, 2015 the U.S. Supreme Court decided City of Los Angeles, California v. Patel et al., a case that pitted Fourth Amendment rights against a city’s interest in reducing crime. The controversy arose out of L.A. Municipal Code Section 41.49(3)(a) which requires hotel operators to…
Read MoreKnowing, Intelligent and Voluntary
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. Previously a blog concerning urbina case discussed what constitutes the crime of aggravated manslaughter and the defense of self-defense. Today’s blog will explain waiver of a defense of self-defense, and briefly discuss the process of appeal after a plea agreement. As discussed in the last blog, the basic…
Read MoreCrime and Defense: Clarifying the True Meanings of Aggravated Manslaughter and Self-Defense
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. State v. Urbina, decided June 16 by the New Jersey Supreme Court is a case that brings up a lot of issues that may be of importance to our readers and will be written about over the course of two blogs. Today’s blog concerns a crime and…
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