Submitted by New Jersey DWI Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. COCOUNSEL Skill: Review Documents New Jersey Search and Seizure of drugs found in a vehicle after a MV stop for DWI traffic offense In New Jersey, probable cause issues and the scope of vehicle searches after a DWI stop are addressed as follows: Probable Cause for Arrest: Probable…
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…
State v. Dylan Barazanji Appellate Docket No.: A-240-20 Decided April 14, 2022 Submitted by New Jersey New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In a recent unpublished decision, the Appellate Division of New Jersey affirmed a motor vehicle search and seizure of significant amounts of marijuana after defendant initiated his turn signal during a lane change rather…
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…
State v. Barley Appellate Docket No.: A-2334-19 Decided April 19, 2021 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In a recent unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey reviewed whether a canine sniff unreasonably delayed a traffic stop, leading to a conviction of an unlawful possession of a firearm. In State v. Barley, Police…
State v. Macrae Appellate Docket No.: A-1303-18T2 Decided October 6, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Drug Crime Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey required a new trial when a trial court failed to provide out of court identification jury charges and only gave the jury in court identification…
Appellate review of trial court determination Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. 14-2-8702 State v. Thorpe , App. Div. (per curiam) (11 pp.) This is an important case addressing the need by the police to independently verify information received from an anonymous caller to establish their own probable cause for the search, arrest and eventual charging of a criminal…
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…
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark State v. Wright, decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court began with a simple call from a tenant to her landlord about a leaking pipe in the kitchen ceiling. The landlord and a plumber followed the source of the leak which ultimately led them to the bedroom.…
Defendant Dqwan Taylor was a passenger in a stolen vehicle back in 2012 when it was pulled over by State Troopers. The driver could not produce registration. Additionally nobody seemed to know who the owner was but just mentioned it belonged to a “friend.” The license plate didn’t match the vehicle, but the VIN number…
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New Jersey Survivors Justice Act: Sentencing Reform for Abuse Victims
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark In January 2026, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a pair of bills known as the Survivors Justice Act (S-4870/A-5968 and S-4871/A-5969). This landmark legislation, championed by Senator Angela V. McKnight, Senator M. Teresa Ruiz, and other lawmakers, amends the state’s criminal code to allow courts…