The New Jersey Legislature has recently passed a bill that expands the availability of DNA testing to all criminal defendants who say they were wrongfully convicted. Prior to this bill, only defendants who were incarcerated on a criminal offense could take advantage of DNA testing at the cost of the state. New Jersey was oneRead More
According to a recent New York Times article, New Jersey and 20 other jurisdictions across the US will be adopting a new algorithm for setting bail. The new method, developed by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, calculates a defendant’s bail based on two given scores: one for their likelihood of committing a crime andRead More
In response to a growing trend of women shoplifting with their young children in tow, NJ police have instituted a new policy of reporting cases to Child Protection and Permanency, a state agency with the power to remove children from harmful family situations. This new policy comes in the wake of two separate instances ofRead More
As recently reported, there is currently a case being heard in our courts involving the tragic case of a son, John Mahoney, who shot and killed his father, Jerry Mahoney, a 49 year old veteran of the police department. John, 19 at the time of the incident, is claiming self defense – specifically battered child syndrome.Read More
President Obama, in his State of the Union address, included a call for the overhaul of the nation’s criminal justice system. As reported on NJ.com, this issue has been a focus of New Jersey’s Senator Cory Booker. The president intends to work with both sides of the aisle to allow for alternatives to incarceration ofRead More
There are two general concerns for any defendant facing prosecution: (1) will I be found guilty, and, (2) if so, what will my punishment be. In New Jersey, as in many jurisdictions, there is often a delay between conviction and sentencing and the New Jersey Supreme Court has issued a new ruling that the defendant’sRead More
The New Jersey Legislature is expected to limit when a criminal defendant will be allowed to invoke a special privilege barring communications between spouses from being admissible as evidence in court. Recently, Senator Nicholas Scutari introduced a bill that would create a crime-fraud exception to the marital communications privilege. This exception is precisely what theRead More
Landmark legislation recently passed the New Jersey Assembly and is making its way to through the State Senate. The bill is named after a Jersey City police officer who was killed in the line of duty five years ago. The law would outlaw the use of a defaced or stolen firearm for the purposes ofRead More
Recently, the Atlantic County Prosecutor allowed for Ray Rice to enter the pre-trial intervention (PTI) program. Amidst all of the scandal surrounding his assault charges, a South Jersey Assemblywoman suggested that NJ seriously reconsider whether it ought to allow people who commit violent acts to gain admission into PTI. State Assemblywoman Gabriela Mosquera raised theRead More
The Fourth of July is here and, for many New Jersey residents, Independence Day means beaches, barbecues, and fireworks. Most NJ residents know that buying, selling, or distributing fireworks within the state is illegal (a violation of NJSA 21:3-2) yet every year thousands flock across the border to Pennsylvania to bring fireworks back home forRead More
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