The closest the New Jersey Appellate Division or Supreme Court came to addressing the legality of DUI checkpoints was in the 2005 case of State v. Badessa, 185 N.J. 303. The issue before the Court was whether evidence gathered by the police after an unconstitutional motor vehicle stop should have been excluded in a prosecution […]
DUI Checkpoints (Part 1)
The case that remains controlling law in New Jersey regarding the legality of DUI checkpoints is the 1990 United State Supreme Court case of Michigan Department of State Police v. Sitz, 496 U.S. 444. There, a divided U.S. Supreme Court held that the State of Michigan’s sobriety checkpoint program was consistent with the Fourth Amendment […]
How the Bail Process Works
Hopefully you will never find yourself in this situation – but if you need to get out of jail after you have been arrested, then it is your right to know what to expect. Step 1: Booking After being placed under arrest, the suspect will be taken to the police station to be booked. The […]
Toms River—Increase in Drug Crime
There is no doubt that New Jersey is faced with a serious drug problem that is only intensifying. At first glance, the Garden State’s statistics can be misleading. In Ocean County, drug-overdose deaths fell from 121 in 2013 to only 86 in 2014. This might suggests drug crime and usage is decreasing. Or, it may […]
New Jersey State Police Using Facebook to Catch Criminals
Social media has completely changed the way our society functions daily. The movement toward this digital age began with the introduction of Facebook in 2004. In a little over 11 years, Facebook has gained 1.4 billion users worldwide. A staggering 47% of all people who use the Internet are on Facebook. Whether or not you […]
Those Who Sacrifice Liberty for Security Deserve Neither
As mentioned in the boater’s rights blog, the New Jersey State Constitution provides the ceiling of our rights, while the United States Constitution provides the floor. Put another way, police in all 50 states cannot violate the rights protected by the federal constitution, while individual states are free to either lock-step with federal constitution case […]
Justice Alito’s Understanding of Search Warrants
This brings us to Alito’s dissent. He begins with some vague language that search warrants are “normally drafted by nonlawyers in the midst and haste of a criminal investigation” and cites to United States v. Ventresca, 380 U.S. 102, 108, 85 S.Ct. 741, 13 L.Ed.2d 684 (1965). However, that quote from Ventresca concerned the quantum […]
Family Illegally Strip Searched By Police
In Doe v. Groody, decided on March 19, 2004, the majority held that it was clearly established that unless a search warrant specifically incorporates a police officer’s sworn statement (the affidavit) made at the time that a warrant is requested, the scope of the warrant may not be broadened by language in the affidavit. The […]
Evidence and Conviction Thrown Out as a Result of Fred Sisto’s Trial Work
I contested a motion to suppress physical evidence in the case of State v. Xiomara Gonzales from January through May of 2011. After the trial court denied my motion, an appeal was taken. On April 6, 2015, the appellate division reversed the trial court’s decision. The result was that Ms. Gonzales’ conviction was thrown out and […]
Changes To Be Made To The Bias Crime Statute
In State v. David T. Pomianek, Jr. , which the New Jersey Supreme Court decided on March 17, 2015, Justice Albin, writing for a unanimous Court, addressed the issue of the constitutionality of N.J.S.A. 2C:16-1(a)(3), a bias-crime statute that allows a jury to convict a defendant even when bias did not motivate the commission of […]
