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Yesterday in State v Hand, approved for publication, the App Div affirmed the dismissal on double jeopardy grounds of a DWI that was downgraded after a plea to the accompanying indictable reckless endangerment charge (risk of widespread injury). The factual basis at the county was based on this def’s 4-50 and driving on a playing…

Argued Oct. 13, 2009 Decided May 6, 2010. Background: Following a conditional guilty plea after denial of motion to suppress, defendant was convicted in the Superior Court, Law Division, Hudson County, of third-degree unlawful possession of a handgun. Defendant appealed. The Superior Court, Appellate Division, 2009 WL 276716, reversed and remanded. State petitioned for certification.…

Argued Feb. 2, 2010. Decided July 14, 2010. Background: Defendant was convicted on his guilty plea in the Superior Court, Law Division, Essex County, of two counts of felony murder and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery. Defendant appealed. The Superior Court, Appellate Division, 2009 WL 1010931, affirmed. Defendant petitioned for certification. Holdings: The…

State v. Dunlap, 185 N.J. 543 (2006) In addition, we reject the State’s argument that “it would have been unduly burdensome and unreasonably restrictive to require the police to post a guard and repair to the courthouse for a warrant,” There were at least ten officers present on the evening in question and even assuming…

State v. Cooke, 63 N.J. 657 (2000) We emphasize that there is a constitutional preference for a warrant, issued by a neutral judicial officer, supported by probable cause. “The cautionary procedure of procuring a warrant ensures that there is a reasonable basis for the search and that the police intrusion will be reasonably confined in…

Many insurance companies are insisting on putting Medicare as a payee on settlement checks. As Clayton Starnes of The Plaintiff’s Resource points out in the following piece there is no legal requirement for Medicare to be made a payee on settlement checks. “There is a misconception among payers of personal injury settlements that Medicare, by…

This morning, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that under our state’s law, the plain view exception to the warrant requirement has three elements. These include: 1. The police officer must be lawfully in the viewing area. 2. The officer has to discover the evidence ‘inadvertently,’ meaning that he did not know in advance where…

In State v. Moran, the New Jersey Supreme Court, for the first time, set forth standards that judges are to use when deciding whether (and how long) to suspend a defendant’s driving privileges under NJSA 39:5-31. This statute authorizes a license suspension for any “willful” violation of Subtitle 1 of Title 39, the state’s motor…

In a decision handed down this morning, July 12, 2010, the Appellate Division ruled in State v. Federico that jail terms imposed as a result of multiple traffic ticket convictions arising out of a single incident may not exceed 180 days in municipal court. This case involved a defendant who was convicted of a third…