New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

Mercer County Superior Court
Mailing Address:
PO Box 8068
Trenton, NJ 08608
Street Address:
209 S Broad Street
Trenton, NJ 08608

East Windsor Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
80 One Mile Road, East
Windsor, NJ 08520
Phone Number: (609) 448-3228

Ewing Township Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
2 Jake Garzio Drive
Ewing, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 883-2900

Hamilton Township
Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
1270 Whitehorse Ave Cn00150
Hamilton, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 581-4071

Hightstown Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
148 N Main Street
Hightstown, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 490-5105

Hopewell Borough Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
PO Box 343
Hopewell, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 466-0968

Hopewell Township Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
201 Washington Crossing
Pennington Road Titusville, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 737-1035

Lawrence Township Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
Municipal Square P.O. Box 6006 Lawrenceville, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 844-7159

Pennington Borough Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
30 North Main Street
Pennington, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 737-1016

Princeton Borough Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
PO Box 390 1 Monument Dr
Princeton, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 497-7600

Princeton Township Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
400 Witherspoon St.
Princeton Township, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 924-5042

Trenton Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
225 N Clinton Ave
PO Box 1360 Trenton, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 989-3700

Washington Township Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
1117 Route 130
Robbinsville, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 259-7085

West Windsor Municipal Court
Mailing Address:
20 Municipal Drive PO Box 38 Princeton Junction, NJ
Phone Number: (609) 799-0915

In this NJ criminal defense appeal victory, the defense attorney successfully argued that flight from an unconstitutional stop does not automatically justify the admission of evidence obtained during a subsequent search at trial. Summary by Mark Friedman.

State v. Robert E. Williams, ? N.J. Super. ?, 2009 N.J. Super. LEXIS ? (November 23, 2009) - Conviction reversed, suppression ordered. "The primary issue presented by this appeal is whether flight from an unconstitutional investigatory stop that could justify an arrest for obstruction automatically justifies the admission of any evidence revealed during the course of that flight.

We conclude that such evidence is admissible only if there is a significant attenuation between the unconstitutional stop and the seizure of evidence and that commission of the offense of obstruction is insufficient by itself to establish significant attenuation....

[T]he trial court correctly concluded that Officer Delaprida and his partner did not have a reasonable suspicion that defendant was engaged or about to engage in criminal activity. These police officers had been dispatched to the housing complex based on a report of a possible retaliatory shooting in the area....

[T]he officers admittedly did not have any prior contact with defendant and thus had no reason to believe he might be involved in the possible retaliatory shooting or other criminal activity....

Moreover, defendant's conduct after he saw the officers enter the courtyard did not provide an objectively reasonable basis for suspecting that he had engaged in or was about to engage in criminal activity. Defendant simply started quickly pedaling away from the officers and put his hand in his pocket.

We question whether this conduct should even be considered flight because the officers did not initially indicate to defendant that he should stop. Defendant could have believed that he should simply get out of the officers' way....

Defendant argues that his failure to immediately stop his bicycle in response to Officer Delaprida's command could not be found to constitute obstruction within the intent of N.J.S.A. 2C:29-1(a) as interpreted in Crawley [187 N.J. 440 (2006)]. We have no need to address this argument because we conclude that even if defendant's failure to obey Officer Delaprida's command to stop would have provided an adequate basis to arrest him for obstruction, the evidence obtained when Officer Delaprida and his partner grabbed defendant was not 'sufficiently attenuated' from the taint of the unconstitutional stop to justify its admission into evidence....

In New Jersey, the three-factor test reaffirmed in Williams [192 N.J. 1 (2007)] delineates the circumstances in which the attenuation exception may be properly applied. Under those factors, the State failed to establish a 'significant attenuation' between the unconstitutional stop of defendant and the seizure of the drugs he discarded following that stop." (Alyssa Aiello, A.D.P.D.)

http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/a4530-07.pdf

Lakewood, New Jersey police officer Jonathon WIlson had just gotten back to his home in Manchester when he was called to assist in arresting a suspect in Ocean County on a 'no-knock warrant." The New Jersey cop described having a bad feeling about the arrest from the moment he received the call.

For the past 6 years, Wilson was a member of a special brach of the Lakewood Police known as the "Tactical Entry Team." Wilson responded to the call and geared up for the assault on the Lakewood, New Jersey colonial style home. The first man in, Wilson was assigned with suppressing any fire from the front in order to protect the rest of the team.

After going up a flight of stairs, Wilson suddenly felt his face burning and began falling backward back down the staircase. Wilson did not know that he had just taken a bullet to the face and returned fire at the suspect. Wilson did know something was very wrong, and his thoughts immediately turned to his family. The suspect, Jaime Gonzalez of Lakewood, along with three other Lakewood officers was also shot in the exchange.

The warrant for Gonzalez's arrest was issued after investigators from the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office made arrested a high-value suspect named Javier Franco in Seaside Heights. Both men are accused of running a large-scale drug and gun trafficking network inside New Jersey and extending elsewhere. It is unclear whether any of the men have hired a criminal defense attorney.

Lawyers handling the appeal of a man fatally shot in Camden County, New Jersey have filed papers in federal court appealing the dismissal of a wrongful death action filed by the deceased man's estate.

Eric Quick, a 31-year old Burlington County resident, allegedly led police on a chase through Camden County in the summer of 2003. The chase ended with Quick abandoning the stolen vehicle he was driving on I-295 in Bellmawr. Quick ran into the nearby woods, allegedly holding a glass crack pipe in one hand. Believing the pipe was a weapon, police opened fire on Quick. 39 shots were fired at Quick, 18 of which hit their mark.

In February, a federal district court judge threw out a civil suit against the officers. The suit alleged that Quick posed no threat to the officers, who used excessive force by opening fire on the unarmed man. New Jersey appeal lawyer Andrew Smith argues in his third circuit appeal that the district court judge ignored testimony by his expert and by the state's medical examiner.

Continue reading "Appeal Filed in New Jersey Fatal Police Shooting" »

A New Jersey expungement can help you clean up your record by removing your prior arrests and convictions from public view. In today's job market, any blemish on your criminal record can break your chances for getting a new job or keeping the one you already have.

Almost all potential employers require you to answer whether you have been arrested or convicted of a crime. Even if you already have a job, many employers conduct random background checks on their employees, especially when considering who to let go when times are tough. After obtaining a New Jersey expungement, you will be entitled to answer "no" to any question regarding your past record.

The process involved in obtaining an expungement is somewhat complicated. The process begins with hiring an experienced criminal defense attorney. Your attorney will review the information you provide regarding your record and determine if you are eligible for an expungement. If you are eligible, the next step is filing a petition for expungement, proposed order for an expungement hearing, proposed expungement order, and verification that you are eligible for a New Jersey expungement. These forms are highly detailed, and should only be prepared by an attorney. Any mistake can result in you having to start the process all over again.

Continue reading "New Jersey Expungement Process" »

Anyone who has grown up with a television set in their home has undoubtedly heard the name "Miranda." In Arizona v. Miranda, the United States Supreme Court held that all criminal suspects must be advised of their right to remain silent and speak with an attorney. Sounds simple enough, but no legal principle seems to generate as much confusion among non-lawyers as the so called "Miranda" rule.

Under the federal and New Jersey Constitutions, a criminal suspect must be advised of his or her 5th Amendment right to remain silent and their 6th Amendment right to an attorney under the following circumstances only: 1) The suspect must be in police "custody;" and, 2) The suspect must be subjected to "interrogation."

"Interrogation" in the Miranda context basically means that you are being expressly or "functionally" questioned by the police. The test to determine whether a suspect has been the subject of "functional" questioning is whether the police knew, or should have known, that their conduct was reasonably likely to elicit an incriminating response from the person.

"Custody" in this context is defined more broadly than simply being arrested. Rather, custody occurs for purposes of Miranda when a reasonable innocent person would believe that he or she was not free to leave the scene. As such, you can be in "custody" while in your own home, at a roadside pullover, or in public.

Continue reading "New Jersey Miranda Rights and You" »

The Monmouth County trial is underway in the case of a woman who has accused Freehold Police of using excessive force while arresting her and her son last January.

On January 28, 2008, Migdalia Irizarry attended a basketball game in Freehold when a fight broke out. Irizarry testified that she told a Freehold police officer that night that the people responsible for starting the fight were not being arrested.

Freehold Police Officer Chris Colaner then allegedly approached Irizarry, cursed at her, and instructed her to return inside the school or else she would be arrested.

The next morning, Irizarry went to the Freehold Borough police headquarters to report the incident to Freehold Police Chief Mitch Roth. Irizarry left a message with Roth's secretary but did not hear back from the Chief that day.

Continue reading "Freehold Borough Police Brutality Trial Underway in Monmouth Superior Court" »