by Fred Sisto | Nov 20, 2021 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
On July 12, 2021, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided the Mercer County case of State v. David Chavies. The principal issue concerned whether inmates serving mandatory terms of parole ineligibility could qualify for early release due to Covid-related considerations....
by Fred Sisto | Nov 19, 2021 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
The New Jersey Supreme Court concluded with the following: The findings of juries cannot be nullified through lower-standard fact findings at sentencing. The trial court, after presiding over a trial and hearing all the evidence, may well have a different view of the...
by Fred Sisto | Nov 18, 2021 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
The Court continued in relevant part: The New Jersey Constitution’s guarantee of the right to a criminal trial by jury is “inviolate.” N.J. Const. art. I, ¶ 9. In order to protect the integrity of that right, a jury’s verdict cannot be ignored through judicial...
by Fred Sisto | Nov 17, 2021 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
The New Jersey Supreme Court continued in relevant part: Federal courts have broadly held that Watts survived Booker and thus permit reliance on evidence of acquitted conduct by sentencing courts. But the practice of relying on acquitted conduct in sentencing has not...
by Fred Sisto | Nov 16, 2021 | Blog, Criminal Law, Monmouth County, New Jersey, Ocean County
Justice Pierre-Louis continued in relevant part: The Court reverses in Melvin and affirms in Paden-Battle. Article I, Paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution bestows upon all citizens certain natural and unalienable rights. From those rights flows the doctrine of...