Criminal Law Blog
Youthful Offender Resentencing (Part 2)
The Appellate Division concluded with the following in relevant part: Miller and Zuber are intended to afford juveniles an opportunity for rehabilitation and ultimate release from incarceration. See Miller, 567 U.S. at 479, (finding that "children's heightened...
Youthful Offender Resentencing (Part 1)
On May 31, 2024, a three-judge appellate panel decided the Essex County case of State v. Sean Jones. The principal issue under N.J.S.A. 2C:1-9 concerned whether offenders between the ages of eighteen and twenty when offenses were committed are entitled to the...
Search Warrants and Hospitals (Part 2)
The New Jersey Supreme Court continued in relevant part: The proper analysis for determining whether the State can obtain this physical evidence rests within the principles of search and seizure under the Fourth Amendment. Neither the Fifth nor the Sixth Amendment...
Search Warrants and Hospitals (Part 1)
On March 5, 2024, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided the Camden County case of State v. Shlawrence Ross. The principal issue concerned the propriety of the issuance of a warrant to search a hospital for a bullet that was removed from the defendant during surgery....
Physical Evidence and Reciprocal Discovery (Part 3)
In this matter, neither party disputes that defense counsel played no role whatsoever in the genesis of Zay’s affidavit. The affidavit’s creation was allegedly the result of a kidnapping and witness intimidation plot for which defendant and two other individuals have...
Physical Evidence and Reciprocal Discovery (Part 2)
The sought-after affidavit is physical evidence of the crimes of witness tampering and kidnapping for which defendant and others have been charged. It is therefore subject to reciprocal discovery under Rule 3:3-13(b)(2)(B) and (D). Rule 3:13-3 codifies New Jersey’s...
Physical Evidence and Reciprocal Discovery (Part 1)
On March 5, 2024, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided the case of State v. Isaiah J. Knight. The principal issue concerned the circumstances under which the defense can be compelled to turn over reciprocal discovery to the prosecution. Justice Pierre-Louis, my...
Property Forfeiture and Due Process (Part 3)
Justice Kavanaugh concluded with the following in relevant part: Similarly, petitioners’ contention that Mathews v. Eldridge, 424 U. S. 319, should govern petitioners’ request for a preliminary hearing fails given that this Court decided $8,850 and Von Neumann after...
Property Forfeiture and Due Process (Part 2)
The Supreme Court majority continued in relevant part: The Court’s decisions in $8,850 and Von Neumann make crystal clear that due process does not require a separate preliminary hearing to determine whether seized personal property may be retained pending the...
Property Forfeiture and Due Process (Part 1)
On May 9, 2024, the United States Supreme Court decided the case of Culley v. Marshall. The principal issue related to N.J.S.A. 2C:64-1 was whether a preliminary retention hearing was required when the police seize property in furtherance of a civil forfeiture case....