Although defense counsel at the oral argument before the motion judge, as well as the judge's written opinion, both briefly allude to a written police report, we have been advised by appellate counsel that the police report was never moved into evidence. Nor had the...
Drug Crime
Immunity and Overdose Prevention Act (Part 8)
We now apply these general principles to the specific circumstances of this case. The record presented to us unfortunately is quite limited. The factual portions relevant to OPA immunity in our record are set forth in only a few paragraphs of grand jury testimony by a...
Immunity and Overdose Prevention Act (Part 7)
We have considered the possibility of the factual issues instead being referred to a grand jury rather than decided by the court. That is an option the parties may mutually elect to pursue. If the grand jury elects to "no-bill" the case with the additional...
Immunity and Overdose Prevention Act (Part 6)
We also do not find dispositive State v. Majewski (App. Div. 2017), which the State has also cited. The defendant in Majewski moved to dismiss an indictment claiming the prosecutor had misrepresented the applicable law to grand jurors and had failed to tell the grand...
Immunity and Overdose Prevention Act (Part 5)
For example, in State v. Strong (1988), the Supreme Court remanded a criminal case to the trial court for a new evidentiary hearing on a defendant's motion to dismiss an indictment based on the defendant's assertion that the prosecution was barred because of immunity...
Immunity and Overdose Prevention Act (Part 4)
More frequently, we suspect that a defendant, as in this case, will move after he or she has been charged to dismiss the indictment or charges. The defendant may accompany that motion with proofs that go beyond the grand jury record, such as hospital or medical...
Immunity and Overdose Prevention Act (Part 3)
If a defendant raises the OPA immunity at time of a jury trial and the issue poses a factual dispute as to its applicability, the jury should be provided with instructions explaining the elements of the statute. A somewhat more difficult procedural uncertainty relates...
Immunity and Overdose Prevention Act (Part 2)
The Act thus literally extends immunity to all phases of the criminal process, starting with a person's arrest and culminating with conviction at a trial. That continuous and broad application is consistent with the objectives of the statute to encourage people to...
Immunity and Overdose Prevention Act (Part 1)
On February 26, 2018, a three-judge appellate panel decided the Monmouth County case of State v. W.S.B. The principle issue under N.J.S.A 2C:35-31 was whether the trial court had sufficient evidence to dismiss an indictment for possession of heroin based on immunity...
Warrants and Specificity of Locations: Part 4
In State v. Keyes, the Court held that a confidential informant's tip could serve as the basis for issuing a warrant if there is "substantial evidence in the record to support the informant's statements." Although police could not observe the informant enter the home...
