by Fred Sisto | Dec 21, 2015 | Blog, Criminal Law, Jail Time and Probation, Legal Procedures
As opposed to the aggravating factors that weigh in favor of a longer and/or more severe sentence, the mitigating factors weigh in favor of a shorter and/or less severe sentence. Aside from arguing the applicability of mitigating factors, the defense should...
by Fred Sisto | Dec 18, 2015 | Blog, Criminal Law, Jail Time and Probation, Legal Procedures
Returning to the required balancing of the aggravating and mitigating factors in formulating a sentence, the State has the burden to prove the existence of any aggravating factors. State v . Merlino, 208 N.J . Super. 24, 261-62 (Law Div. 1984). The burden of proof is...
by Fred Sisto | Dec 16, 2015 | Blog, Criminal Law, Jail Time and Probation, Legal Procedures
With regard to the sentencing of defendants who have been convicted of a criminal offense, the sentence is supposed to result from the balancing of aggravating and mitigating factors which are then applied to the sentencing range for the particular offense. The...
by Fred Sisto | Dec 3, 2015 | Blog, Criminal Law, Know Your Rights
A little known fact about cases involving police interrogations that result in “confessions” is that the confession alone is not enough to sustain a conviction. In addition to the confession, the prosecution must introduce some sort of corroboration of the crime. One...
by Fred Sisto | Nov 24, 2015 | Blog, Criminal Law, Warrants
In the face of a lack of binding precedent in New Jersey, a good attorney will analyze precedent from other jurisdictions in an effort to buttress an otherwise novel argument in New Jersey. In United States v. Elliott, 576 F. Supp. 1579, a 1984 federal case from the...
