by Fred Sisto | Sep 13, 2020 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
Judge Fisher concluded in relevant part: And other circuit judges, albeit a minority, have joined the chorus in criticizing the practice. See United States v. Brown, 892 F.3d 385, 408 (D.C. Cir. 2018) (Millett, C.J., concurring) (asserting that “allowing courts...
by Fred Sisto | Sep 10, 2020 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
The Appellate Division continued in relevant part: If this “presumption of innocence” still constitutes a bedrock constitutional principle, then it must mean that once acquitted, the accused must be viewed as innocent – not just not guilty – of...
by Fred Sisto | Sep 7, 2020 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
On June 16, 2020, a three-judge appellate panel decided the Essex County case of State v. Michelle Paden-Battle. The principal issue under N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1 involved the propriety of the trial judge considering “facts” at sentencing that were rejected by the trial jury...
by Fred Sisto | Sep 4, 2020 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
The Appellate Division continued in relevant part: The State argues further that the judge’s “quasi-proportionality analysis was fatally flawed” because “the prosecutor was unfamiliar with those unrelated cases,” “was not given a...
by Fred Sisto | Sep 1, 2020 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
On June 15, 2020, a three-judge appellate panel decided the Middlesex County case of State v. Alexander Andrews. The principal issue under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.2 involved the Assignment Judge’s comparison of the defendant’s case to similar cases in overruling the State’s...