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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…

In a stunning 4-3 decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court, reversing the state appellate court, ruled this morning in State v. Marquez that a person who has been arrested for drunk driving has the right to be informed of the obligation to submit to a breath test in the language he speaks. In order to…

Yesterday, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that the fact that the police have a legitimate basis to frisk a criminal suspect for weapons does not provide the officers with the right to lift the suspect’s clothing for the purpose of recovering evidence. In State v. Privott, a five-justice majority ruled that, “In assessing the…

NJ appellate Division recently addressed Medicare Liens for personal injury matters in Jackson v. Time Warner, et als. Following a negotiated settlement plaintiff’s counsel filed a motion witht he law divsion court seeking a court ordered allocation of the settlement proceeds in an attempt to avoid payment of the Medicare lien. The trial court refused…

Based on information from a confidential informant, the police approached the defendant when he got off a bus from Miami to New Jersey to question him about where he was going. The defendant denied having brought any luggage with him from Miami and then police then asked everyone else on the bus to verify ownership…