NJ Superior Courts

Facial Recognition Technology Failures and Wrongful Incarceration

Law enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world use facial recognition technology and other AI in investigations to track targets’ movements and as evidence in prosecutions. While books and movies often portray this technology as highly advanced and foolproof, reality can be quite different.  Recent cases have demonstrated that facial recognition technology is far [...]

By |2023-04-03T13:28:36-04:00April 3rd, 2023|Arrest Warrant, Criminal Charges, Criminal Investigation, Federal Courts, Felony, NJ Municipal Court, NJ Superior Courts, Police, Privacy|Comments Off on Facial Recognition Technology Failures and Wrongful Incarceration

New Jersey’s Firearms Laws Continue to Change

On June 23, 2022, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a decision that dramatically altered a citizen’s ability to carry a firearm outside one’s home.  New York State Rifle & Pistol Assoc. v. Bruen, No. 20-843, was a challenge to New York State’s Law requiring justifiable need and good cause for an [...]

By |2022-09-27T11:27:33-04:00September 27th, 2022|Arrest Warrant, Criminal Charges, Criminal Investigation, Federal Courts, Felony, Gun Laws, NJ Superior Courts, Police, Second Amendment|Comments Off on New Jersey’s Firearms Laws Continue to Change

Cyber Fraud – Romance Scams on the Rise

Cybercrimes – hacking, phishing, ransomware and the like - are well-known to every user of the internet. We are bombarded weekly with emails and texts claiming that we need to update our passwords, personal profile, and the like. Now comes the rise of what has been called “romance scams”. The typical scheme starts with [...]

In a Major Reversal, N.J. Attorney General Once Again Allows Police to Pursue Stolen Cars

In response to a dramatic surge in car thefts across New Jersey, State Attorney General Matt Platkin announced today that he is reversing a policy that prevented police officers from pursuing stolen cars. In late 2021, Platkin effected a statewide policy that prohibited police from chasing a stolen car unless they suspected it had been used [...]

By |2022-06-08T21:22:00-04:00May 2nd, 2022|Arrest Warrant, Convictions, Criminal Charges, Criminal Investigation, Due Process, NJ Superior Courts, Plea Bargaining, Police, Prison|Comments Off on In a Major Reversal, N.J. Attorney General Once Again Allows Police to Pursue Stolen Cars

Choosing the Right Attorney – What You Should Ask in the First Consultation

When someone is being investigated or charged with a criminal offense, it is one of the most stressful and unnerving times of the person’s life. It is common to feel overwhelmed and uncertain about who to hire and what to ask in the initial consultation with a criminal defense attorney. Below are some tips on [...]

By |2022-06-08T21:02:42-04:00January 25th, 2022|Attorney-Client Privilege, Criminal Charges, Criminal Trial, NJ Superior Courts, Privacy, White Collar Criminal Defense|Comments Off on Choosing the Right Attorney – What You Should Ask in the First Consultation

NJ Supreme Court Endorses the Reopening of Thousands of Detention Hearings

One of the great tragedies of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the thousands of New Jersey pretrial detainees who – despite being presumed innocent and not having been convicted of any crime – are languishing in unsafe conditions in county jails while courts remain closed to jury trials. On February 11, 2021, the New Jersey Supreme Court endorsed the reopening of thousands of detention hearings by inmates detained for longer than six months, citing the “due process concerns” caused by the unexpectedly lengthy suspension of criminal trials in New Jersey.

By |2021-05-18T17:46:51-04:00February 16th, 2021|NJ Superior Courts|0 Comments

NJ Supreme Court Compels Defendant to Provide Cellphone Password

In an extremely controversial 4-3 opinion, the New Jersey Supreme Court upheld trial and Appellate Division rulings compelling a defendant to provide his cellphone passcode pursuant to a search warrant. The defendant was an Essex County Sheriff’s Officer accused of providing a drug dealer confidential information about an investigation into the dealer and his co-conspirators.

Much Needed Reform Coming Soon (Hopefully) to New Jersey’s Municipal Courts

New Jersey, a small but densely populated State, has 21 counties and 565 municipalities. Right now there are 515 Municipal Courts - 316 have individual, stand-alone courts, 173 municipalities share services, while the remaining 76 municipalities have agreed to form 24 separate joint Municipal Courts. Each have their own judges, prosecutors, public defenders, court administrators and staff. Municipal courts handle approximately 6 million cases a year -- motor vehicle summonses, violations of municipal ordinances and minor criminal matters.

New Jersey Supreme Court curtails criminal harassment statute in State v. Burkert, limiting a common vehicle for domestic violence charges

New Jersey’s criminal harassment statute has long occupied the space in which the messiest family law disputes cross over into the realm of criminal law. Although there are indeed many legitimate cases of harassment that deserve punishment, in recent years New Jersey appellate courts increasingly had noted that the harassment statute too often criminalized “ordinary domestic contretemps” – i.e. the non-violent verbal sparring that accompanies the disintegration of a marriage or romantic relationship. In the view of the courts (and many frustrated family law and criminal attorneys), New Jersey’s harassment statute was too permissive in allowing an angry spouse or romantic partner to file criminal or civil domestic violence charges after being subjected to hurtful or vile insults, even where there had been no actual violence or threat of harm. 

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