The unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court continued in relevant part: The only information the officer possessed at the time of the stop was the race and sex of the suspects, with no further descriptors. That information, which effectively placed every single Black male in the area under the veil of suspicion, was insufficient to justify […]

Justice Pierre-Louis, my law school classmate, continued in relevant part: Upon stopping the vehicle, Sergeant Horan radioed headquarters with the license plate number and a description of the car, and two more officers arrived. Before he approached the vehicle, Horan learned from one of the other officers that the robbery suspects had been wearing dark […]

On January 25, 2022, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided the Mercer County case of State v. Peter Nyema. The principal issue involved with the descriptions of robbery suspects created reasonable suspicion to justify the stop of the defendant’s vehicle. Justice Pierre-Louis wrote for a unanimous Court in relevant part: In this case, the Court […]

The unanimous Court concluded with the following in relevant part: Turning to the hearsay testimony of Lisa and Seth about what Dr. Khan told them, N.J.R.E. 803(c)(4) admits hearsay testimony that is “reasonably pertinent to medical diagnosis or treatment” and describes “past or present symptoms or sensations; their inception; or their general cause.” In a […]

Justice Solomon continued in relevant part: Here, defendant’s first mention of counsel, “but what do I do about an attorney and everything?” was an ambiguous invocation of her right to counsel that required the detective to cease all questioning and seek clarification. Defendant did not seek an opinion about whether she should have a lawyer […]

The New Jersey Supreme Court continued in relevant part: If a person subject to custodial interrogation “states that he wants an attorney, the interrogation must cease until an attorney is present.” Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 474 (1966). “The United States Supreme Court has drawn a strict line to identify what will qualify as […]

Justice Solomon continued in relevant part: Seth Borsuk then testified that Dr. Khan told him, “This is, basically, textbook child abuse.” Defense counsel objected at side bar, and the court agreed to strike Seth’s testimony and instructed the jury that the quote could not be considered by the jury in any deliberations; the jurors responded […]

The Court continued in relevant part: Eventually, defendant acknowledged that she was “full of anger” and admitted to shaking, swinging, hitting, suffocating, and throwing Tommy. Near the end of the interview, Detective Reyes asked defendant if she wanted to write the Borsuk family a note. Defendant agreed and wrote a note in which she described […]

On February 8, 2022, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided the Somerset County case of State v. Laura Gonzalez. The principal issue was whether defendant Laura Gonzalez invoked her right to counsel during a police interview and whether certain evidence should have been suppressed as a result. Justice Solomon wrote for the unanimous Court in […]

The Appellate Division continued in relevant part: To accept the State’s theory that a caretaker’s assault of a protected person constitutes neglect, abandonment, desertion, or a failure to act, we would have to twist the Legislature’s words beyond their plain meaning. Our role, however, is to construe, not distort. As the Supreme Court has explained, […]