Recent changes were added to New Jersey’s domestic violence statutes. The changes are intended to enhance protections for domestic violence victims by restricting access to firearms by a person convicted of a domestic violence crime or subject to a domestic violence restraining order. Specifically, the amended statutes require the sentencing court to inform defendants convicted […]
Expunging Multiple Crimes: Part 3
The New Jersey Supreme Court reviewed the trial courts’ applications of N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2(a) to the expungement petitions of J.S. and G.P.B. de novo. De novo review means that no deference to the lower court’s decisions on questions of law (as opposed to questions of fact) is required. In effectuating the legislative intent of the statute, […]
Expunging Multiple Crimes: Part 2
G.P.B. is a fifty-two-year-old New Jersey resident and business owner, who, on April 19 and 20, 1999, committed several offenses in support of a scheme to offer illegal gifts to local officials in a particular municipality, in order to obtain a public contract for his business and a specific vote on a municipal resolution. G.P.B. […]
The Importance of Remaining Silent After Arrest: Part 1
In the case of State v. James Kucinski, decided on January 30, 2017, Justice Solomon wrote for a unanimous New Jersey Supreme Court. In this appeal, the Court considered whether cross-examination regarding facts to which defendant testified at trial, but omitted in his statement to police, was proper. Defendant was arrested and taken to police […]
Insider Trading & Jury Inferences: Part 2
While Salman’s appeal to the Ninth Circuit was pending, the Second Circuit decided that Dirks does not permit a fact finder to infer a personal benefit to the tipper from a gift of confidential information to a trading relative or friend, unless there is “proof of a meaningfully close personal relationship” between tipper and tippee […]
Insider Trading & Jury Inferences: Part 1
On December 6, 2016, Justice Alito delivered the opinion for a unanimous United State Supreme Court in the case of Bassam Salman v. United States. Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and SEC Rule 10b–5 prohibit undisclosed trading on inside corporate information by persons bound by a duty not to exploit that […]
Juvenile Life Sentences: Part 4
The next issue to arise out of cases like this will likely be “what constitutes a lengthy period of parole ineligibility.” It is surprising that the Chief Justice did not anticipate this issue and set a bright line with a definite number of years. The Court continued: Because of the overriding importance of that decision, […]
Juvenile Life Sentences: Part 3
The New Jersey Supreme Court continued: None of the traditional goals of sentencing: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, and rehabilitation justify life without parole for a juvenile. The opinion omits a traditional goal of sentencing that, for good reason, is mentioned less and less frequently. That former goal was “retribution” which is just a euphemism for “revenge”, […]
Juvenile Life Sentences: Part 2
The Court continued: Given this holding, both Zuber and Comer are entitled to be resentenced. To stave off possible future constitutional challenges to the current sentencing scheme, the Court asks the Legislature to consider enacting a statute that would provide for later review of juvenile sentences that have lengthy periods of parole ineligibility. As a […]
Juvenile Life Sentences: Part 1
In the cases of State v. Ricky Zuber and State v. James Comer, decided on January 11, 2017, New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Rabner wrote for a unanimous Court. In these appeals, the Court considered whether the United States Supreme Court’s determination in Miller v. Alabama, that youth and its attendant characteristics must be […]
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