Depositions Not Meant to be Jackpot for Expert Witnesses

September 23, 2015

Submitted by New Jersey Civil Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. Jusino v. Lapenta, decided May 23, 2014, by the Law Division in Atlantic County, is a case about a previously unanswered question in New Jersey case law–what is a reasonable expert fee? The underlying case concerns a car accident in which a permanent injury of the plaintiff…

The Danger of Leaving the Door Open During Witness Examination

June 8, 2015

  Posted by New Jersey Civil Law Attorney, Jeffrey Hark. Sallee v. Stagnitti, decided June 2, 2015, arose out of an incident where the plaintiff allegedly was walking on the sidewalk in the parking lot of a restaurant called The Mill at Spring Lake Heights when she was struck by Mr. Stagnitti. It should be…

No Harm No Foul–Harmless Error

May 28, 2015

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…

New Jersey Workers Compensation – Coverage of a Work Related Injury Part II

November 8, 2014

Submitted by New Jersey Workers Compensation Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark HAROLD NAULTY v. TOWNSHIP OF PEMBERTON PUBLIC WORKS, This is an appeal of a workers compensation judge’s decision based on 16 days of trial over many testimony dates.  Although the issues in this opinion have been reiterated in numerous prior opinions and in different settings I believe it is…

Net Opinions Are Not A Smoking Gun

September 19, 2014

Submitted by New Jersey Civil Case Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark Expert Witness to Determine Cause of Fire In New Jersey there is a net opinion rule that prevents overly general expert opinions that are not supported by factual evidence from being admitted. In other words experts must provide factual backing for the conclusions they draw. In…

US Supreme Court Opinion Crawford Ruling Bludgeoned In NJ Trio of Cases Michaels, Roach and Williams

August 7, 2014

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…

State’s Use of a Defendant’s Own Investigator to Testify Against His Own Client

June 20, 2014

The state’s use of a defendant’s own investigator to testify against his own client at the time of trial! State vs. Nunez:  New Jersey Appellate Division June 10, 2014.  Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In this appeal the defendant was awarded a new trial after the state called, and the court allowed…