The PTI appeal, while labor-intensive, is the defendant’s first opportunity to not only point out their own positive attributes, but to also point to the alleged facts of their cases that support admission. It is very effective to use the state’s own police reports to justify PTI admission. A searching review of these reports in […]

While the plain language of our criminal code does not distinguish between theses two very different types of “distribution”, the unique features of a PTI applicant’s case must be considered. See Nwobu, at 255 (holding that PTI decisions are primarily individualistic in nature and a prosecutor must consider an individual defendant’s features). Logic dictates that […]

To apply Guideline 3(i) and the long out-dated narcotics scheduling of marijuana under these circumstances (mentioned in part 3 of this blog) would lead to an absurd result. The narcotics schedules were published in 1970. See N.J.S.A 24:21-1 et seq. In 1972, a congressionally created commission called the National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse, […]

To overcome a program director’s PTI denial, the accused must establish arbitrary or capricious conduct amounting to an abuse of discretion, by a preponderance of the evidence. State v. Lopes, 289 N.J. Super. 460, 478-79 (Law Div. 1995). The preponderance of the evidence standard, as opposed to “clear and convincing evidence” should apply when the […]