New Jersey Criminal Defense Legal Questions

You have multiple options. You could take full responsibility for the CDS and take advantage of a Conditional Discharge. However, you only get one in your lifetime. You could file a Motion to Suppress the Evidence based upon no Miranda and no consent. If you are successful, the charges are dismissed. Please call to discuss. Ed Dimon 732-797-1600... Read More

We do complex expungements every week. Under NJ law, you can petition the court and if you meet the criteria, have a charge expunged. If you obtain the expungement, the charge is null and void and you can answer that you have never been arrested. We can begin the process immediately. How old is the charge ? Where was the charge ? Why were you charged ? What was the result ? Please call to discuss. Ed Dimon 732-797-1600... Read More

As Mr. Dimon mentioned, there is no way a prosecutor will prosecute this as a criminal case, and even if they did, your statute of limitations would have expired after either one year for a disorderly person level offense or five years if it amounted to a grand larceny type charge. Either way, it is barred. Even if you tried under a civil suit for breach of contract, you have exceeded the six year mark. My question would also be why did you choose to wait seven years? Even if you were under the six year deadline, a case that old is very hard to prosecute because evidence disappears, etc. and there is something called the doctrine of laches. This doctrine basically states that too much time has passed and it would be prejudicial to the defendant to have to try and search for supporting evidence after so many years. Just chalk this up to experience.... Read More

It seems unlikely that this would be an indictable offense, but you will likely charged in municipal court. You may also receive a letter for restitution which is often sent out to people charged for shoplifting and other forms of theft. I would consult with a criminal law attorney before making any statements to employer or to police as any admissions can be used against you.... Read More

You will need to hire an attorney and give the attorney the information as to where the conviction was (county or municipality or federal conviction) with as much information as you can give, such as when the conviction occurred, where, and most importantly what the docket or indictment number was. If the information is sufficient then you should be able to get a disposition or judgment of conviction. ... Read More

The main thing is to seek legal representation as these matters can be minefields because of the highly charged nature of these types of allegations. You said that she only worked on the job for two weeks. If she is in a union she can ask for union representation. The biggest problem is that she may make statements without counsel that can be used against her later, even if she thinks it might exonerate her.... Read More

Sometimes a person who is subject to a restraining order can be hit with a contempt charge even when the person who first obtained the restraining order first contacts the other party. Contempt is a charge imposed by the state for violating a court order, it is not related to the domestic violence charge in itself. So you will not be in trouble for speaking with him, however, you may be questioned at the hearing as to who initiated the contact. I have told clients who were subject to restraining orders not to answer any phone calls, emails, texts or any communication from the other party no matter whether they initiated the contact or not for precisely that reason.... Read More

The prosecutor can change the deal once you did not accept it at the time. However, if the plea deal was not accepted because the prosecutor needed to get permission first, then you might be able to rely on the in-court record to argue that you did not accept based upon the prosecutor's recommendations. Obviously if you have criminal counsel, discuss it with your attorney.... Read More

Genearlly your statute of limitation would be 1 year for filing a civil complaint for something like libel or slander while it would also be one year for the filing of a false report in criminal court. There is a distinction between a false report charge, which is a disorderly person's charge, and filing a false accusation which is a more serious offense, but I presume you are referring to a false report charge.... Read More

Once the state has a criminal complaint or indictment, then it is no longer the victim but the state that is prosecuting the defendant. In minor cases, the prosecutor will often act on the request of the complaining witness if they seek to dismiss a charge and there is no sign that the person was coerced or forced into seeking a dismissal. However, this sounds quite serious if they are looking to hit your fiance with 10 years in prison. So, the only issue they may have is the fact that the witness that they would need, namely yourself is not a cooperating witness. However, if they have other witnesses or other evidence to support the charge, or a confession by your fiance, they can get around that problem. Sometimes prosecutors may even try and compel a non-cooperating witness to testify. It is possible that the attorney for your fiance (I presume he has one) would want to know your position, but again, if you gave a statement to the police, the prosecutor can certainly challenge you if you gave one account at the time the charges were filed and a different account at trial. Sorry about your problem.... Read More

This is a very interesting area of the law. The prosecution is given discretion to 'entrap' in certain areas where the crimes are considered as serious threats to society. For example, treason or child sex crimes or drug trafficking. Read about the most recent ISIS cases and you will see what I mean. Read also the child sex cases. Entrapment is permitted. Ed Dimon... Read More