New Jersey Criminal Law
Definition of “Significant” Injury in an Assault Case
State vs. Regan Definition of “significant” Injury in an Assault Case — temporary loss of any bodily member or organ or ‘temporary loss of any one of the five senses.” Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In this case there was a question of fact regarding what this individual defendant did to cause…
Read MoreProsecutorial Misconduct Can Be a Ground for Reversal
Prosecutorial misconduct can be a ground for reversal where the prosecutor’s misconduct was so egregious that it deprived the defendant of a fair trial. State vs. Regan Appellate Division February 9, 2016 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. This case was won and or lost by the prosecutor based on several witness’ testimony…
Read MoreState v. Thorpe: Standard of Review by Appellate Court of Trial Court’s Determination
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…
Read MoreSearch and Seizure Based on an Anonymous Caller
CRIMINAL LAW – 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 defendant. The…
Read MoreDetention At Arrest Location For 6 Minutes Held Reasonable!
State v. Antoine D. Watts (A-21-14) (074556) Argued September 17, 2015 — Decided December 2, 2015 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Defense Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark New Jersey Supreme Court decision: The issue in this case is whether the second search of a defendant for 6 minutes after he was initially detained on a street corner…
Read MoreGraves Act Release Valve Not a Break Free from Prison Card
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In State v. Holloway, the defendant found a handgun but did not turn it over to authorities because he had pending charges in Somerset County. He then proceeded to accidentally shoot himself in the foot at the home of his girlfriend and the gun was found during…
Read MoreFormal answer to the “dog sniff” question
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark Until recently, if an officer possessed an articulable reasonable suspicion of criminal activity, an extended traffic stop in order to conduct a canine search was permissible. State v. Elders, 192 N.J. 224, 234-35 (2007) (where officers threatened the use of a canine in order to gain “consent”…
Read MoreState vs. Witt — Blog #4 Issue Failure to Dim Headlights as Probable Cause
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. THE KEY TO THIS ARGUMENT: THE DEFENDANT FAILED TO RAISE THIS ISSUE AT THE TRIAL LEVEL VIA A MOTION TO SUPPRESS THEREFORE THE APPELLATE COURT SHOULD NOT HAVE REVIEWED THE ISSUE:NEVERTHELESS, IMPLICIT IN THE ARGUMENT IS A HUGE INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE ARGUMENT! THE COURT OUTLINED THE FACTS PERTAINING…
Read MoreState vs. Scaltrito: Issue — Ineffective Assistance of Counsel at a Plea Hearing.
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. This is a case addressing a defendant’s claim that a) his attorney did not properly represent him during a criminal proceeding and subsequent plea. Specifically the defendant argued to the court his defense attorney told him he would get into ISP (Intensive Supervised Parole within 14-18 months after…
Read MoreThe Most Important Blog You’ll Read if You Drive In New Jersey
Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. This is the third blog in a series of blogs about the recent N.J. Supreme Court decision in State v. Witt—one of the most controversial cases in recent memory. The last two blogs discussed the facts of the case, and the history of case law in New…
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