Quereshi v. Cintas Corporation

June 17, 2010 |

Quereshi v. Cintas Corporation Issue: Whether a judge of compensation must award counsel fees in addition to a penalty when an employer fails to make timely payment of temporary disability benefits and the appropriate standard to fashion the reasonable attorneys’ fees allowed by statute. Holding: the award of attorneys’ fees is mandatory and the judge…

Searching Without A Warrant Leads to Suppressed Evidence

June 8, 2010 |

State v. Jefferson – App. Div. May 21, 2010. The charges against the defendant arose form a warrantless search of his person and his residence. The police had detained the defendant to investigate his involvement in a reported shooting of a firearm. When the police went to speak with him he was inside his apartment…

Amended NewJersey Seatbelt Law

June 5, 2010 |

[5/31/10 – 10:30 pm] The Legisture has amended the provisions of New Jersey’s seatbelt law under NJSA 39:3-76-2(f) and (g) to require that all occupants of a passenger automobile, including adults who are seated in the rear utilize a seatbelt when the vehicle is being operated. Under the prior law, adults seated in the rear…

State v. Mai – Case Summary

May 10, 2010 |

An officer is allowed to open the door of a vehicle as part of ordering an occupant of the vehicle to exit when facts in the totality of the circumstances create a heightened sense of danger in the officer. This holding is an extension of the holding in State v. Smith, 134 N.J. 599 (1994),…

Taverns Beware

May 4, 2010 |

On April 29, 2010 the New Jersey Appellate Division decided in the case of Voss v. Tranquilino, that a guilty plea or conviction at trial for a DWI does not bar the intoxicated driver from filing a dram shop suit against the tavern that served him execssive intoxicating liquor. The court addressed the conflict between…

Criminal law cases and Police witnesses

April 24, 2010 |

The NJ Appellate Division this morning ruled that it is improper for a prosecutor to attempt to vouch for the credibility of a police witness in summation. In Murphy, the prosecutor noted during summation that the officer who had testified in the case had no stake in the outcome of the trial and no reason…

Criminal Pleas & Deportation

April 12, 2010 |

Yesterday, the US Supreme Court ruled that because of the clear and obvious possiblity of deportation following a conviction for a criminal offense (either by way of plea agreement or trial), the failure of defense counsel to properly advise a client about it can constitute ineffective assistance. The Court went on to note that for…