Defendant Was Not Seized Prior To Detective Witnessing the Gun, As Defendant Was Still Manipulating the Gun in His Waistband

September 13, 2022

State of New Jersey v. Anthony Ford                                                                   Docket No. A-2262-19                                                                                                                Decided September 9, 2022 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In a recent unpublished opinion, the Appellate Court of New Jersey affirmed the trial court’s ruling and also held that the Defendant was not seized prior to Detective Jimenez witnessing the…

Search And Seizure of a Handgun and Drugs Suppressed After Officers Lacked Reasonable Suspicion

July 6, 2022

State v. Nazier Goldsmith Appellate Docket No.: A-77-20 Decided July 5, 2022 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of New Jersey suppressed a search and seizure of a handgun and drugs after officers lacked reasonable suspicion defendant was committing a crime after exiting the walkway adjacent to…

Supreme Court Of New Jersey Reviewed the Prohibition of Car Window Tint and Concluded That the Statute Was Unconstitutionally Vague

June 29, 2022

State v. David L. Smith Appellate Docket No.: A-4-21 Decided June 28, 2022 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of New Jersey reviewed the prohibition of “non-transparent material” on car windows, otherwise known as tint, and concluded that the statute was unconstitutionally vague, reversing a finding of…

Observation Of a Hand-To-Hand Transaction Alone Is Insufficient to Have a Reasonable and Articulable Suspicion of a CDS Transaction

January 11, 2022

State v. GIBSON Appellate Docket No.: A-3410-19 Decided January 10, 2022 Submitted by New Jersey New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In a recent unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey reversed a denial of a motion to suppress after officers simply observed a hand to hand transaction without seeing what was exchanged and conducted…

To Effectuate a Traffic Stop, Or Investigation and Questioning Officers Only Need a Reasonable Suspicion That a Crime Is Being Committed

October 20, 2021

State v. Days-Jackson Appellate Docket No.: A-2002-19 Decided October 18, 2021 Submitted by New Jersey New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In a recent unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey reviewed whether probable cause existed for a search of the trunk revealing marijuana and firearms. In State v. Days-Jackson, while on duty one night,…

Whether an informant’s confidential tip can be the basis for a traffic stop.

August 30, 2021

Submitted by New Jersey New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In the Mesadieu case, the Appellate Division held that Mesadieu’s detention was lawful.  The New Jersey Supreme Court has established under State v. Davis, 104, N.J. 490, 504 (1986) that a court must evaluate the totality of the circumstances surrounding the police-citizen encounter to determine the…

When Do Police Have the Right to Approach you with Guns Drawn

August 26, 2018

State v. Ford & Williams Appellate Division Nj August 24, 2018–Pulled over or approached by the police with guns drawn Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In this recent Appellate Division decision the court overturned a trial judges ruling regarding evidence obtained from a defendant the police and countered and immediately drew their…

Can Police Bring a Dog to a Motor Vehicle Stop? State of New Jersey v. Dunbar

August 1, 2017

Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark New Jersey Supreme Court decided July 10, 2017 that New Jersey police can bring a dog to a motor vehicle stop without reasonable suspicion so long as the dog sniff does not prolong a good Jetta meant proposed a traffic stop. In the case of State v.…

DWI Stop After Driver Was “Run Off the Road” | US Supreme Court Ruling

April 22, 2014

Submitted by New Jersey DWI attorney, Jeffrey Hark. Today the US. Supreme Court upheld a DWI stop based upon a tip that the driver had “been run off the road”. The Court found sufficient reliability in the detail and personal observation of the tip. See case attached. (Slip Opinion) OCTOBER TERM, 2013 Syllabus NOTE: Where…

Probable Cause for Further Investigation and Information Relayed to Patrol Officers

October 10, 2013

14-2-1579 State v. Rosario, App. Div. (per curiam) (10 pp.) The appellate division court found that when a loss prevention officer relays information to police and identifies himself as such to the police on the call to police dispatch provided information based on his personal knowledge and observations that led him to report that defendant…