The New Jersey Legislature in its major overhaul of the NJ Expungement Law effective October 1, 2018, has made major changes to this statue which deals with indictable convictions (felonies). They can be summarized as follows.

A sometimes-useful defense for DWI and DUIs is known as the “glove box” defense. The glove box defense comes into play when the motor vehicle is pulled over on the side of the road or parked somewhere. It also helps if drugs, alcohol, or empty bottles or packaging are found in or around the vehicle.

Since New Jersey seems to be on the cusp of legalization, this series will look at how other states handle Marijuana DUIs. This can give us an idea of how New Jersey may handle them as well. It is important to note that in many other states DUIs and DWIs are criminal offenses, while in New Jersey they are motor vehicle offenses.

This is the second installment of a series of blogs discussing how different DUI laws are adopted in states where recreational marijuana use has been legalized. As New Jersey is on the cusp of legalization, this series will look at how other states handle Marijuana DUIs. This can give us an idea of how New Jersey may handle them as well.

For almost two years, cases affected by the conduct of Sgt. Marc Dennis have been stayed by the New Jersey Supreme Court. The stay was put in place after it was discovered that Sgt. Dennis had not been following proper procedure with the calibration of the Alcotest machines in Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Somerset, and Union Counties.

Our office was contacted by a traveler who had previously been approved for Global Entry, but had his membership revoked. Global Entry is a program that permits expedited entrance through passport control in the United States. The program is open to U.S. citizens, U.S. lawful permanent residents, and citizens of certain other countries.

Our office has recently received many inquiries from individuals seeking an expungement of their New Jersey criminal record where the Petitioner also has a criminal record in the state of Pennsylvania. We have been fortunate to develop a working relationship with Attorney David B. Mueller, Esq. of Colgan & Associates of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania who has helped us determine if these out of State convictions bar a New Jersey Expungement.

You are charged with a third offense DWI – is there anyway to avoid the 180 day mandatory jail term? Under a 1990 New Jersey Supreme Court decision, State v. Laurick, an uncounseled guilty plea cannot be used against a defendant for the purposes of an enhanced custodial sentence.

Identity Theft is typically thought of in terms of a thief using your social security number to obtain credit cards and run up bills in your name. But what if someone uses your stolen identity to commit a criminal offense or a crime? In this all-too-common scenario a friend, relative, or complete stranger gives your name to the police when they are arrested and may even have false identification documents to pass themselves off as you.

As of January 1, 2020, sentencing will be changing on first offense DWIs that occur after December 1, 2019. Unfortunately, if you have a pending DWI case, these changes are not going to apply to your sentencing. The new penalties are tiered, just like the prior ones were. This means that you're reading on the Alcotest, effects the penalties imposed. 

The client, who had 5 previous felony convictions, and 2 previous DWI convictions had taken steps towards turning his life around and had steady employment as a cars salesman which he would lose if he was sentenced to jail. He came to our office looking for help in staying out of prison.

New Jersey has some of the toughest gun laws in the country, which have undergone a number of overhauls since Gov. Phil Murphy took the helm. The most recent one to go into effect, on December 1, 2020, is aimed at protecting family members who are at risk from an individual suffering from mental health issues.

As you know COVID-19 (Coronavirus) has affected almost every facet of our lives at this point. The Court System in New Jersey is no different. We will keep all of our clients up to date on court closings and other scheduling issues or concerns. 

Our office was contacted by a client who had applied for TSA Pre-Check and had been denied. The client is a construction and real estate professional who has had a very successful career. His job involves significant travel to check on various projects and without TSA Pre-Check he was spending way too much time in security lines. TSA denied our client’s petition because of a criminal offense that occurred over thirty (30 years old).

What we have found is that while it is not required under the statute, most Judges we have appeared before want a report from a mental health professional to demonstrate that the person seeking the Civil Commitment’s mental health is currently stable and that they pose no danger to themselves or others.

Unfortunately, our loved ones are not always able to look after their own affairs and need help with financial and medical decision making. This could be due to a decline in physical or mental health or due to a developmental disability. These types of guardianships have different responsibilities, and it is important to apply for the correct one.

A frequent question that we get from New Jersey residents is how out of a state tickets affect their New Jersey Driving Privileges. In most cases, it is very simple. A moving violation out of state is 2 points. However, the effect of a DWI conviction out of state can be more difficult to ascertain.

If you are trying to get your driver’s license renewed, you may be struggling because of an old suspension from New Jersey. The National Driver Registry is a multi-state agreement which bars an individual from getting a license in a state if they are suspended by another state.

In September of 2019, I wrote how we had successfully kept a client out of prison who was charged with the 4th degree criminal offense of Driving While Suspended because of a multiple offense DWI under 2C:40-26B. This charge carries with it a New Jersey State Prison sentence of up to 18 months with a mandatory 6-month period of parole ineligibility. We did this by filing Motions for Post-Conviction Relief on his second DWI conviction.

Wolf Law recently represented a client in an expungement action in which the State’s objection stated that pursuant to N.J.S.A.2C:52-2B, the client’s crime is not eligible for an expungement. We originally took this as seeming to indicate that they thought it is on the list of statutorily barred offenses that cannot be expunged.