Had it not been for my lawyer I would be free…or not!

July 7, 2014

What constitutes ineffective assistance of counsel? Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark This blog considers State v. Palacios, decided July 3, 2014 by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division and addresses the question of how other evidence is used to fill in the blanks when a defendant claims memory loss of…

Setting the Timer: How Judges Determine Sentences

June 25, 2014

Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark This blog will consider State v. M.S. decided on June 17, 2014 by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division. This is a case in which the State of New Jersey appealed an order establishing a Krol term of eleven years for a defendant who was…

Major Ruling Shields Privacy of Cellphones

June 25, 2014

Supreme Court Says Phones Can’t Be Searched Without a Warrant Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Attorney, Jeffrey Hark Originally published in the New York Times Read the related SCOTUS case, Riley vs California Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. called cellphones “a pervasive and insistent part of daily life.” Credit Stephen Crowley/The New York Times…

Evidence: Probative Value v. Prejudicial Effect on the Scale of Justice

May 30, 2014

Submitted by Criminal Defense Attorney, Jeffrey Hark. State v. Fereirra decided on May, 7 2014 was an appeal to the N.J. Superior Court, Appellate Division, that considered the balance between the probative value of evidence submitted and the prejudicial effect it has on the jury. By prejudicial effect what is meant is that some evidence…

Right to a Fair Trial | State of New Jersey v. R.W.H. and Cyber Harassment

May 29, 2014

Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark State v. R.W.H. was decided by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division on December 13, 2013 and considered some of the factors that could deny a defendant a fair trial. The case concerned the Defendant, the estranged mother of their children, T.J., and her new…

Ineffective Assistance Seen in Failure To Raise Diminished-Capacity Defense

April 28, 2014

Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. Originally published in the NJLawJournal Michael Booth, New Jersey Law Journal A woman who pleaded guilty to infanticide was entitled to an evidentiary hearing on her claim that her lawyer should have argued diminished capacity due to her own history of sexual abuse as a child, a…

Supreme Court Taking Up Police Searches of Data Troves Known as Cellphones

April 28, 2014

Resubmitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark Originally published in the New York Times By Adam Liptak APRIL 27, 2014 Photo A phone collected in the George Zimmerman case in Florida. Arguments will be heard this week on whether searches of cellphones require warrants. Credit Gary W. Green/Reuters WASHINGTON — In a major test…

New Jersey DWI and Aggravated Manslaughter – First Degree Charge

April 11, 2014

Submitted by New Jersey DWI and Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark 14-2-3474 State v. Liepe, App. Div. (per curiam) (11 pp.) The serious issue presented in this case is the prosecutor’s decision to charge an individual with aggravated manslaughter, a first degree charge exposing the defendant to a possible jail term between 10-20 years in New…

Grant of PTI to Embezzling Lawyer To Help Pay Back Victims Reversed

April 3, 2014

A trial court’s grant of pretrial intervention to a N.J. lawyer who admitted misappropriating $100,000 from investors—explicitly so that he could keep working to pay them back—didn’t stand up on appeal. The judge’s decision that letting Middletown solo Philip Leone stay out of jail would be in the best interests of his creditors was predicated…

Supreme Court Committee Calls for Major Changes to Criminal Justice Process | Bail Administration

March 20, 2014

Supreme Court Committee Calls for Major Changes to Criminal Justice Process The Supreme Court today released the report of the Joint Committee on Criminal Justice. The report calls for significant changes in the way bail is administered and for the enactment of a speedy trial law. The committee, established in June 2013 by Chief Justice Stuart…