Pre-Trial Detention Appeals for Drug Related Offenses: State v. P.J.C.

State v. P.J.C.: Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. After conducting a motor vehicle stop, a police officer smelled marijuana, and pursuant to the motor vehicle exception to the fourth amendment of the U.S. Constitution’s prohibition against illegal searches and seizures, searched the occupants. The passenger and driver said they had purchased…

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Suppression of Evidence in Court When Wrongly Obtained / Illegal Search and Seizure

State v. Calcott: Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. Defendant traveled on a private jet by himself carrying two leather briefcases and two rectangular containers, one three by four feet, the other slightly smaller. After speaking with defendant before departure, the pilot contacted the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) regarding his suspicion defendant…

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New Jersey’s Prescription Monitoring Program and Oxycodone Distribution Conspiracy

State v. Stoveken: Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. The pertinent issue in this case was whether a grand jury subpoena was sufficient to access prescription drug information maintained in New Jersey’s Prescription Monitoring Program (PMP). Defendants, along with others, were involved in a conspiracy to distribute oxycodone. During an investigation of…

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State v. Barnes

Appellate Docket No.: A-0659-18T4 Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey heard argument on the issue of an improper jury charge. In State v. Barnes, the Defendant was indicted for third-degree possession of heroin, N.J.S.A.2C:35-10(a)(1); second-degree possession of heroin, with the intent to…

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State v. Reyes

Appellate Docket No.: A-0182-18T2 Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey heard argument on the issues of reasonable suspicion and unlawful search and seizure. In State v. Reyes, the Grand Jury indicted defendant for possession of heroin, contrary to N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10(a)(1), and possession…

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Recovery and Relapse: Reprinted from the White Booklet Narcotics Anonymous

Recovery and Relapse Reprinted from the White Booklet Narcotics Anonymous This is NA Fellowship-approved literature. Copyright © 1976, 1986 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark Many people think that recovery is simply a matter of not using drugs. They consider a relapse a…

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For Drug Court Graduates, Alternative Sentencing Yields Second Chances

Twenty-one convicted, non-violent felons found their dignity and a renewed purpose without going to jail. By Matt Skoufalos Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark Drug Court graduates. Credit: Matt Skoufalos. “It’s a shame you have to pick up a felony to get into drug court,” said Camden County Assistant Deputy Public Defender Daniel…

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Project SAVE: Progressive Policing Expands Scope of Addictions Intervention

Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark By bringing in treatment advocates at the point of arrest, Gloucester Township Police have reduced recidivism rates for drug crimes and built a program ready to expand county-wide. By Matt Skoufalos | September 1, 2016  Gloucester Township Police vehicle. Credit: Matt Skoufalos. Focusing on “third-gear” policing…

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Camden County to Expand Project SAVE Courtroom Advocacy Program to 20 Towns in 2019

Begun in 2014 in Gloucester Township, where crime has fallen 34 percent since its rollout, the ‘third-gear policing’ project provides counseling interventions for people charged in addictions-related cases. Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark Camden County saw 277 overdose deaths last year, and has logged 231 so far in 2018. Nationally, overdoses…

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Project SAVE, Started In Gloucester Twp., To Be Tested Countywide

The county is launching a one-year pilot program in which advocates will be placed in municipal courtrooms to help low level drug offenders. Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — A drug treatment program Gloucester Township has been using since 2014 is now being tested as a pilot program…

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