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 […]
Pre-Trial Intervention Program (PTI) – (Part 2)
PTI appeals shall be brought within 10 days after receipt of the rejection notice. R. 3:28, Guideline 6. The time limits for processing P.T.I. applications are designed to facilitate speedy trials and to enable the complete processing of a defendant’s application before the pretrial conference. R. 3:28, Official Comment to Guideline 6. It would be […]
Pre-Trial Intervention Program (PTI) – (Part 1)
The pre-trial intervention program (PTI) is often a defendant’s only shot at avoiding a felony record. The program is similar to a term of probation with two significant distinctions. One, it is only for applicants who have never been convicted of a felony and have never taken advantage of the PTI program in the past […]
Municipal Court Diversion Programs (Part 4)
(2) Nothing in this act shall preclude a defendant charged with any disorderly persons offense or petty disorderly persons offense under chapter 35 or 36 of Title 2C from applying to the court for admission into the conditional discharge program in accordance with N.J.S. 2C:36A-1. In addition to the eligibility criteria enumerated in this section, […]
Municipal Court Diversion Programs (Part 3)
b. (1) A defendant shall not be eligible for participation in the conditional dismissal program if the offense for which the person is charged involved: (a) organized criminal or gang activity; (b) a continuing criminal business or enterprise; (c) a breach of the public trust by a public officer or employee; (d) domestic violence as […]
Municipal Court Diversion Programs (Part 2)
2C:43-13.1. Eligibility and Application. a. Eligibility and Application. Whenever any defendant who has not been previously convicted of any petty disorderly persons offense, disorderly persons offense or crime under any law of the United States, this State or any other state, and who has not previously participated in conditional discharge under N.J.S.2C:36A-1, supervisory treatment under […]
Municipal Court Diversion Programs (Part 1)
Regarding municipal court diversions programs, there are two. The newer prgram that was signed into law in 2013 is the “conditional dismissal program.” It is relatively new program designed to divert disorderly persons offenses unrelated to marijuana and drug paraphernalia. The latter two offenses are addressed by the other municipal court diversion program, the conditional […]
Toms River—Increase in Drug Crime
There is no doubt that New Jersey is faced with a serious drug problem that is only intensifying. At first glance, the Garden State’s statistics can be misleading. In Ocean County, drug-overdose deaths fell from 121 in 2013 to only 86 in 2014. This might suggests drug crime and usage is decreasing. Or, it may […]
New Jersey State Police Using Facebook to Catch Criminals
Social media has completely changed the way our society functions daily. The movement toward this digital age began with the introduction of Facebook in 2004. In a little over 11 years, Facebook has gained 1.4 billion users worldwide. A staggering 47% of all people who use the Internet are on Facebook. Whether or not you […]
Those Who Sacrifice Liberty for Security Deserve Neither
As mentioned in the boater’s rights blog, the New Jersey State Constitution provides the ceiling of our rights, while the United States Constitution provides the floor. Put another way, police in all 50 states cannot violate the rights protected by the federal constitution, while individual states are free to either lock-step with federal constitution case […]
