New Jersey halts in-person trials, grand jury proceedings due to COVID-19 surge

November 18, 2020

Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. The New Jersey Supreme Court on Monday suspended all in-person trials and grand jury proceedings due to a surge in COVID-19 cases. The order handed down by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner is effective immediately. It’s the second time this year that the pandemic has halted in-person trials…

In Some Cases, Evidence of an Anonymous Tip, Alone, Is Sufficient to Justify an Investigatory Stop, or a Terry Stop

November 10, 2020

State v. Kelly Appellate Docket No.: A-2614-18T1 Decided November 9, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey upheld a denial of a motion to suppress when an anonymous tip claiming two individuals with a handgun in a car in a high crime area was…

Cop Pulled Over Defendant Because He Was Black, No Reasonable Suspicion

November 6, 2020

State v. Nyema Appellate Docket No.: A-0891-18T4 Decided November 5, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In a published opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey overturned a denial of a motion to suppress when an officer investigating a robbery pulled over the defendant because three black males were in the car headed…

The Officer Must Be Lawfully Present for the Plain View Exception to a Warrant Requirement:

November 3, 2020

State v. Williams Appellate Docket No.: A-40 Decided November 2, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In a recent New Jersey Supreme Court decision,  the Court, without issuing a written opinion, affirmed a published Appellate Court decision overturning a denial of a motion to suppress when an officer saw weed in a boarding…

Protective Sweep of Home when Defendant was Arrested Outside the Home May be Unlawful

October 21, 2020

State v. Radel Appellate Docket No.: A-2503-18T3 Decided October 20, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In a published opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey reviewed a trial court’s denial of a motion to suppress a firearm found inside a defendant’s home as a result of a protective sweep after defendant was…

Legal Principles Can Be Linked to Social Media Posts If They Are Found in Conjunction with a Crime

October 16, 2020

State v. Scurry Appellate Docket No.: A-0377-18T1 Decided October 15, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey reviewed a trial court’s denial to exclude evidence of a video of the defendant rapping with original lyrics about stealing drugs and shooting someone in the head,…

In the Matter of the Expungement Petition of R.B.T.

October 15, 2020

Appellate Docket No.: A-2454-19T2 Decided October 14, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey reviewed a grating of an expungement application for a former municipal court judge that completed PTI after misappropriating fines. In Expungement of R.B.T., R.B.T. was a municipal court judge in…

Challenging the Trial Judge Erred by Denying His Motion to Dismiss Count One of the Indictment

September 30, 2020

State v. Decker Appellate Docket No.: A-3928-17T1 Decided September 29, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey reviewed a trial court’s denial of defendant’s pretrial motion to dismiss a count of him being a leader of a gun trafficking unit. In State v. Decker,…

The Co-Conspirator Exception to Hearsay Is Important to Understand for Criminal Cases

September 25, 2020

State v. Lopez Appellate Docket No.: A-1210-19T1 Decided September 23, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey reviewed a jury’s conviction and forty-five year aggregate term of parole ineligibility that included text messages admitted into evidence under the co-conspirator exception to the hearsay rule.…

State v. Alamilla Appellate Docket No.: A-5952-17T1 Decided September 23, 2020

September 24, 2020

New Jersey Supreme Court Established bright line ‘probable cause test” in 2015: State v. Alamilla Appellate Docket No.: A-5952-17T1 Decided September 23, 2020 Submitted by New Jersey Criminal Lawyer, Jeffrey Hark. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division of New Jersey reviewed a trial court’s denial of a motion to suppress 15 soil bags of marijuana…