New Jersey Criminal Lawyers Blog

A recent case arising out of New Jersey's Appellate Court overturned the trial court's conviction based on evidence obtained without a warrant from a car which the defendant was a backseat passenger in. The car was searched with the oral consent of the driver, but not that of the defendant. This case provides insight into what the New Jersey Court deem proper criminal procedure in Ocean County and Monmouth County, New Jersey.

An East Orange Patrol officer responded to a call in August 2008 about a dispute between a grandson and grandfather. Upon arrival, the officer observed a male matching the grandson's description jump into a vehicle with a bag. The officer pulled over the car which had three occupants, 1 of which was the defendant in the rear seat. After back up police arrived on scene, the three occupants were separated for questioning. The driver allegedly provided oral and written consent to the police to search the car. Interestingly, the state was unable to provide any evidence of the driver's written consent. The police then went into the car without a warrant and recovered a bag containing a handgun, marijuana, and a scale. At trial the judge found the defendant guilty of various drug related crimes. The judge agreed that the defendant was not free to leave while in the back of the police squad car but that there was no evidence of coercion of the driver's consent.

The Appellate Court overturned the trial court's conviction citing concerns regarding the ability of a 3rd party, driver, to consent to a search of a container unless he has common authority or an otherwise sufficient relationship to the container. Since the police officer saw defendant jump into the car with the bag, she had no reason to believe the bag belonged to the driver. In addition, the court noted that the defendant's silence at the scene cannot be considered to constitute consent to search the bag. The court cited case law from New Jersey's Supreme Court that held it is generally improper to equate a defendant's silence with a knowing waiver of the constitutional right to object to a search where a defendant is unaware of his right to refuse such consent.

Continue reading "Silence Cannot Be Considered Consent To Ssearch Of Bag's Contents In New Jersey Traffic Stop" »

Contact a Seaside Heights Criminal Defense Attorney if you need help.
Police officers throughout Ocean and Monmouth County are now using a new device that can scan passersby vehicle license plate numbers in a second and instantly provide the status of your vehicle and information about its owner. With 6 cameras mounted on the roof of the "reader car", information is instantly sent to the dashboard computer screen. If a vehicle warrants stopping, such as a outstanding warrant for arrest, an alert beeps and the officer can initiate a motor vehicle stop. The legality of the instruments usage has already been approved in a recent case, State v. Donis, that held that a police officer may randomly check the status of a vehicle registration or driver's license and whether the vehicle or its plates are stolen. According to one source, there are approximately 1.5 million unregistered or unlicensed vehicles in the State of New Jersey.
The scanners have powerful uses for crimes other then motor vehicle violations enforcement. Each scanner saves the data of license plate numbers it has read. If for example, bank robbers are casing a place for several hours beforehand their plates may be picked up by a police camera. Police are able to fetch this data many days later if need be as evidence to help establish probable cause and other elements of the crime.

Continue reading "Police In Ocean and Monmouth County Can Scan Your License Plate in a Second With New Technology" »

Ocean Township is a quiet waterfront community located in southern Ocean County. According to recent census data, Ocean Township contains just over 8,000 residents on 32 square miles dotted with various bodies of water. Ocean Township is easily accessible to motorists traveling along Route 9, Route 532, and portions of the Garden State Parkway. Residents often refer to the town as Waretown, which is a prominent and heavy populated section of Ocean Township. In fact, there have been numerous attempts to change the towns name to Waretown so as to avoid confusing Ocean Township with the town of the same name in Monmouth County.

Ocean Township saw an estimated 120 disorderly persons offenses written in 2010. A conviction for a disorderly persons offense in Ocean Township can lead to severe penalties such as jail-time, fines, community service, and payments of restitution. Commonly written disorderly persons offenses include but are not limited to:disorderly conduct (N.J.S. 2C:33-2), trespass (N.J.S. 2C: 18-3(b)), criminal mischief (N.J.S. 2C: 17-3), simple assault (N.J.S. 2C: 12-1), fake ID (N.J.S. 2C: 28-7), underage drinking (N.J.S. 2C: 33-15), possession of CDS (N.J.S. 2C: 35-10), and resisting arrest (N.J.S. 2C:29-2).

In addition to disorderly persons offenses, Ocean Township saw 928 motor vehicle violations and 85 DWI, DUI, and refusal offenses in 2010. Penalties for drunk driving can be quite serious and include jail-time, fines, loss of license, completion of a program at an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center, and the possible installation of an ignition interlock device. Motor vehicle violations, while not as serious, can still have significant penalties including fines, points assessed to your driver's license, and license suspensions. Some commonly written motor vehicle violations in Ocean Township include: speeding (N.J.S. 39:4-98 and N.J.S. 39:4-99), failure to yield to a traffic sign (N.J.S. 39:4-81), reckless driving (N.J.S. 39:4-96), and careless driving (N.J.S. 39:4-97).

Continue reading "Ocean Township (Ocean County) Criminal Lawyer: Ocean Township Municipal Court" »