New Jersey Criminal Lawyers Blog

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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" »

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The everyday traffic stop by a police officer has recently taken a drastic new turn. Implementation of tiny personal cameras pinned onto every police officer in Sea Girt Jersey is sure to create vibrations that will be felt for decades to come throughout New Jersey courtrooms. Created by Axon System the mini cameras are mounted on a headband, eyeglasses, or clipped to the collar of police and are able to record up to six hours of an officer at work. When video is recorded, it is wirelessly uploaded to a website, evidence.com, where it is available for retrieval by an officer with the proper authority. This groundbreaking implementation of technology, already used in Western States, is hoped to lead to better overall law enforcement procedure. In today's highly litigious society where even a simple traffic stop may end up in municipal court, this new upgrade will have untold effects.

The new technology will cost the Sea Girt Police Department about $2,000 per system and $1,200 in annual cost for data storage per unit. Sea Girt, with only 11 police officers, is the first of New Jersey's 566 municipalities to implement the mini cameras but already officials in Morristown and Cape May County have indicated their intent to have them soon. This new technology is possibly a response to the current trend of motor vehicle drivers recording snippets of their traffic stop with a cell phone. Rather than having only 10 seconds of recording, the longer videos will provide greater insight into the specifics of what happened.

Continue reading ""Big Brother" Police in New Jersey Are Watching You!" »

Tuckerton Borough is a small borough in southern Ocean County. According to the recent 2010 census, just over 3,900 residents live on the 3.8 square miles of land that comprise Tuckerton Borough. Tuckerton is home to the famous Tuckerton Seaport; a working museum dedicated to the nautical history of the town. Located on Main Street are many small shops and restaurants that are often crowded on weekends. Tuckerton is easily accessible from Route 9 and is surrounded by Little Egg Harbor. During the summer months, Lake Pohatcong and its surrounding land are popular hotspots to lounge, walk, or attend the annual Duck Decoy show.

Although Tuckerton is a quaint and mostly peaceful town, it did see over 60 disorderly persons charges written by police in 2010. A disorderly persons offense is a general category of offenses that may carry penalties such as fines, jail time, community service, and payments of restitution if there was any damage caused. Some commonly written disorderly persons offenses include: 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).

Since busy Route 9 runs through Tuckerton, it's no surprise that over 280 motor vehicle violations were written in 2010 as well as an estimated 25 DWI, DUI, and refusal charges. Motor vehicle violations can carry fines, points assessed to your driver's license by the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission, and even a license suspension if a conviction is sustained. Some commonly written motor vehicle offenses include but are not limited to: 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). Drunk driving, DWI, DUI and refusal offenses can be quite serious and carry steep fines and penalties, loss of license, jail time, completion of a program at an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center, and possible installation of an ignition interlock device.

Continue reading "Tuckerton Criminal Lawyer: Tuckerton Municipal Court" »