Public Court RecordsPublic Court Records – Search And Find All Public Court Records

Police cannot access defendants Internet records. State v. Reid 194 NJ 386 (2008) Pursuant to Article I, Paragraph 7, of the New Jersey Constitution, the Court holds that citizens have a reasonable expectation of privacy in the subscriber information they provide to Internet service providers. Accordingly, the motion to suppress by defendant Reid was properly granted because the police used a deficient municipal subpoena. Law enforcement officials can obtain subscriber information by serving a grand jury subpoena on an Internet service provider without notice to the subscriber. The State may seek to reacquire the information with a proper grand jury subpoena because records of the information existed independently of the faulty process used by the police, and the conduct of the police did not affect the information. Criminal defense by KENNETH VERCAMMEN & ASSOCIATES, PC ATTORNEY AT LAW 2053 Woodbridge Ave. Edison, NJ 08817 (Phone) 732-572-0500 (Fax) 732-572-0030 website: www.njlaws.com
Video Rating: 0 / 5

Read More

A top New York City housing official was charged with taking at least 0000 in bribes and kickbacks in a decade-long scheme with real estate developers. Wendell Walters, a deputy commissioner in the city’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development, and six developers were each arrested in their homes in New York and New Jersey. The Wall Street Journal report on the alleged scheme is here. They were arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court. The alleged bribes, which Walters was charged with taking in exchange for steering millions of dollars worth of contracts on low- and middle-income housing between 2002 and 2011, were sometimes hidden in golf-ball boxes, overnight mail envelopes or rolled up in coffee cups, according to an affidavit cited in the Journal report. “New Yorkers relied on these defendants for the safe haven of affordable housing,” said Loretta Lynch, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, in a statement. “Instead, the defendants allegedly put their own greed over the needs of low-, moderate and middle-income New Yorkers.” The 26-count indictment charges the defendants with racketeering, extortion, bribery and money laundering. Lawyers for all seven defendants pleaded not guilty. They all declined to comment to the Journal, as did the defendants. Walters, who was also referred to as “The Big Man” and “The Tall Guy” in the indictment, allegedly summoned a general contractor referred to as “John Doe #1″ to multiple locations around the city …
Video Rating: 3 / 5

Read More

www.pushinthebay.com – PART 2 of 4. PTBTV aka Pushin’ The Bay EXCLUSIVE! In this exclusive raw video, Ray Luv speaks with Mopreme Shakur of THUG LIFE. Mopreme Shakur, (born 1969 in New York as Maurice Harding) originally known as Wycked, is a West Coast rapper and was born in South Jamaica, Queens, New York. As a child Mopreme lived with his father, Mutulu Shakur, his fathers wife, Afeni Shakur and his younger brother Tupac Shakur. He is the older step-brother of slain rapper Tupac Shakur and son of Mutulu Shakur. In 1982, while Maurice was still a pre-teen, his father Mutulu became a fugitive wanted by the FBI, charged in part with having aided Maurice’s aunt, Assata Shakur, to escape from prison in New Jersey, where she had been incarcerated for the murder and wounding of two state troopers. As a result, Mutulu was imprisoned in 1986 after spending four years at large on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. His talent and love for music began to manifest itself in early childhood, where he could be found rapping on the streets of Queens. Mopreme knew early on in his life that he wanted to pursue a career in the music industry. As a young adult, Mopreme served in the military for a brief period before moving to Oakland, CA. It was in Oakland that Mopreme hooked up with Tony! Toni! Tone! and recorded the hit song “Feels Good” off their multi-platinum album The Revival. Mopreme’s first appearance on wax, under the alias Mocedes, was on Tony Toni Toné’s hit single …
Video Rating: 4 / 5

Read More

Call to cost NJ teacher more than K. New Jersey’s education commissioner says a teacher should forfeit more than 000 pay for making a four-minute personal call during class. However, Desly Getty won’t lose her job as a performing arts… teacher at Asbury Park High School. Court records show Getty was covering for another teacher for 45 minutes in 2008 when she called suspended superintendent Antonio Lewis. Getty went back to the class the next day to question students after she had learned about the video. The teacher was reprimanded. Asbury Park prohibits teachers from making personal calls while performing assigned duties. Getty can appeal the ruling.
Video Rating: 3 / 5

Read More

(April 29, 2011 – Hawthorne, NJ) Today, attorneys for District 38 Republican state senate candidate Kenneth Del Vecchio announced that they have filed an Order to Show Cause in the Superior Court, demanding to see the District 38 ballot and all minutes, records and documents pertaining to the creation of the June 7 Primary Election ballot by Bergen County Clerk Lisa Randall and her staff, as well as halting the printing of the ballot. The issue: Del Vecchio had been placed at the head of a column on the ballot – by a random drawing – and now has apparently been removed from this ballot position. View the actual signed injunction: www.scribd.com ……………

Read More

By Joshua H. Reinitz, Esq

 America is built on second chances. The New Jersey Legislature has provided second chances for citizens convicted of crimes. This article will explore the Who, What, When, Where and Why of expungements in New Jersey and give some detail on how to get a record expunged. 

 The expungement law was first added to the New Jersey Criminal Code in 1979 and has been amended and updated several times since then.  Presently, the statute can be found at N.J.S.A. 2C:52-1 through 2C:52-30.  The text of the statute can be found on the New Jersey State Legislature’s website at http://bit.ly/c6rA5O

 Who:   In light of the present economy competition for jobs is fierce.  Having to answer “Yes” to the question, “Have you ever been convicted of a crime?” increases the difficulty in getting hired or creates an awkward conversation with your future employer.  You can avoid this stress and anxiety with an expungement. Eligibility for an expungement doesn’t require that you have been convicted of a crime.  Arrests resulting in a verdict of not guilty or being dismissed are eligible. 

 What:  N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2 explains which indictable crimes are eligible for expungement.  If you are a public officeholder or a licensed doctor additional bars may exist to expungement and you should consult the statute and a qualified attorney. 

 Section (b) of the statute notes the crimes which are not subject to expungement.  These crimes include but are not limited to: Homicide, Kidnapping, Human Trafficking, Aggravated Sexual Assault, Criminal Sexual Contact, Robbery, Arson, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, Perjury, Terrorism and Producing or Possessing Chemical Weapons. 

 Section (c) of the statute makes it impossible to expunge certain drug crimes.  These include distribution or sale of drugs or possession of illegal drugs with the intent to sell or distribute. This bar is not absolute as the legislature carved out exceptions when the crime involves marijuana or hashish in small quantities.  If the conviction is for a third or fourth degree drug sale, distribution or possession with the intent to distribute crime the court has discretion whether to grant an expungement and will base its decision on the public interest, the nature of the original crime and the character and conduct of the defendant in the time since conviction.

 Disorderly Persons Offenses and Petty Disorderly Persons Offenses are governed by N.J.S.A. 2C:52-3.  None of these offenses are individually barred from expungement.

Municipal Ordinances and arrests not resulting in conviction are eligible for expungement

 When: The clock for an expungement does not always begin counting down the day of sentencing.  In fact, you generally must wait until you pay a fine, complete probation or are released from incarceration, whichever is latest, before you can start counting the time necessary for an expungement. 

 The different types of crimes discussed above each have different waiting periods.  The legislature recently changed the expungement statute allowing for some indictable convictions to be expunged earlier than previously allowed.  You should always check with a qualified attorney and/or the current language of statute prior to attempting an expungement. Presently, the waiting periods for the eligible offenses outlined above are as follow

Indictable Convictions            10 years, however if there are compelling circumstances or it is in the “public interest” as few as 5 years.

Disorderly Persons                  5 years

Petty Disorderly Persons         5 years

Municipal Ordinances             2 years

Dismissals after P.T.I.             6 months

or Conditional Discharge

Arrests not resulting in            Immediately

conviction

Where:  A duly verified petition should be filed with the Clerk of the Superior Court in the vicinage in which the charges arose.  For example, if you were charged with a crime in Teaneck you must file your petition in Superior Court in Hackensack.  If you are attempting to expunge multiple convictions which occurred in different jurisdictions you may combine them into one petition as the venue rules are relaxed.

 Why:   The effect of an expungement is that the event expunged is considered to have never occurred.  While the records do not physically disappear they are segregated and only available in very specific circumstances.  You are permitted after an expungement to say on most job applications that you have not been convicted of a crime without violating the law.

There are exceptions as to when the expunged record may be used, these include setting bail or at sentencing for a future crime and considering applicants for employment within law enforcement, corrections and the judiciary.  Additionally, professional licensing boards may ask you to reveal expunged records as a requirement for granting you a license.

How:   There is a precise procedure required by statute for filing petitions for expungement.  You should consult an attorney prior to filing a petition to ensure you both meet the requirements and are correctly filing the petition as not only does the petition need to include very specific items, you must also serve the petition on several law enforcement agencies. Doing so properly the first time will both expedite the cleaning of your record and save you money in the long run.

This article is by no means an exhaustive review of the expungement process in New Jersey.  If you have questions about anything presented above or other questions about expunging your record please feel free to contact the author at jreinitz@iacullomartino.com or 973 235 1550.

Read More

New Jersey Marijuana Possession Crimes

Marijuana possession is the number one criminal offense that clogs New Jersey county and municipal courts. According to the New Jersey State Police, there were almost 29,000 drug arrests in New Jersey in only the first six months of 2007, twice more than drunk driving arrests statewide, most of them for marijuana possession. Nationwide, marijuana use is on the rise and so are arrests for marijuana possession. According to the FBI report, in 2006 there were an estimated total of 1,889,810 state and local arrests for drug abuse violations in the United States of which 39.1% were for marijuana possession. That makes it almost 737,000.

People smoke pot in all parts of the county, but it is how states treat marijuana possession that makes all the difference. Many states, including New York and California, don’t view simple marijuana possession as the end of the world crime and most first-time offenders will get away with having the charges dismissed and paying a small fine. The penalty of first-time possessing of less than 25 grams of marijuana in New York is 0. It ‘s 0 for the second time. Otherwise, half the state will end up in jail.

Not so in New Jersey. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10, marijuana possession is prohibited and penalties depend on either or all of the following: (1) type of possession (possession with intent to distribute or not), (2) quantity of the drug in possession, and (2) whether it is the first, second, or third offense.

If you’re caught with more than 50 grams of marijuana, including any adulterants or dilutants, or more than five grams of hashish, you may be charged with a crime of the fourth degree, and you could get up to 18 months in jail and pay a fine of up to ,000.00. If you are charged with possession of less than 50 grams of marijuana, including any adulterants or dilutants, or five grams or less of hashish, you will face a disorderly person’s offense charge that in the worst case scenario may get you up to 6 months in jail and a 00 fine. You could also lose your drivers license and pay for your own rehabilitation program.

First time marijuana possession offenders in New Jersey could benefit from any of the two diversion programs, the Conditional Discharge authorized by N.J.S.A. 2C:36A-1 or the Pre-Trial Intervention Program (PTI). Under the conditional discharge law, basically, you have one chance to have your petty disorderly persons marijuana offense conditionally discharged if you qualify. How do you qualify? Your attorney should show that (1) your continued presence is not a danger to the community, which means convincing the court that no lock up or rehab is needed, (2) that the program’s supervision will correct any drug problems you have, and (3) this is your first application to the program or to Pretrial Intervention (“PTI”).

If you qualify for the conditional discharge program, the case will be suspended for a year and then, assuming you stay clean, it is dismissed. There will be no trial, no criminal record, and usually no suspension of your driver’s license. After the case is dismissed, you may expunge the arrest records.

If you fail to satisfy the program conditions, the case will be restored on the court’s calendar and then you will need your lawyer’s phone number again. After the year’s probation period, you will not have a criminal record

How the case will proceed largely depends on the prosecutor. The prosecutor may agree to downgrade your case as a disorderly persons offense and it would proceed in Municipal Court and would be eligible for Conditional Discharge. Otherwise, the case will go to the county court where you will be charged with a Fourth Degree Offense but may qualify for PTI.

Even with the existing first-timers diversion programs, traditional defense methods may be used such as evidence suppression under Search and Seizure laws. As simple as it may seem, a New Jersey marijuana possession charge may be gone for good or it may stick to you for a long time. The bottom line is, don’t try it yourself. You will need a good New Jersey marijuana defense lawyer who will walk you through the process

Read More