Criminal Arrests Up in Union County and Middlesex County

Posted on May 6, 2009 by John Marshall

We previously reported on the 2008 criminal statistics for Monmouth and Ocean County, and the figures are now in on Union County and Middlesex County as well. There was a 9% increase in criminal charges in Union County.  Middlesex County rose slightly less at 8% in crime.  The upward trend continued to be in the area of non-violent property offenses like burglary, theft and larceny. Violent crimes experienced a 3% decrease statewide although both rape and murder offenses were up. It is believed that the rise in homicides was largely accountable to a spree of murders in Camden County. 

While the defense attorneys at our firm represent individuals in Municipal Courts and Superior Courts of Union County and Middlesex County almost daily, I cannot say we have noticed a trend in crime one way or another. We believe that the figures are relatively consistent with prior years.

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NJ Cocaine Distribution Defense Case Study

Posted on April 25, 2009 by John Marshall

As a NJ criminal defense attorney, I occasionally find myself in a no win situation.  A recent cocaine distribution case arising out of Ocean County and Monmouth County serves as a good example.

We were retained to represent an individual allegedly in possession of approximately 1,000 grams of cocaine. The arrest occurred in Monmouth County but was in conjunction with an Ocean County task force investigation.  The incident took place almost a year ago now and a bail motion failed to succeed in reducing bail below $1.0 million.

For approximately one year now, I have been attempting to get the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office to move on this distribution of cocaine case. I am in a difficult position, however, as the prosecutor on the case is threatening to indict my client on a kingpin charge.  If I press the prosecutor too much, I can count on a kingpin indictment yet my client and his family are all over me to do something.  Do I file a motion to suppress and virtually assure that my client is exposed to the potential for a life sentence under the kingpin statute or do I continue to calm the client and his family.  

Heavy cases involving distribution of cocaine in New Jersey can be both complex and exciting to handle. There are often interesting legal issues which work their way into these cases, however, the flip side is that prosecutors typically take a hard line with significant weight cocaine charges. This is precisely the dynamic facing our NJ cocaine distribution defense attorneys in this case.

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Middlesex County Pre-Indictment Proceedings

Posted on April 8, 2009 by John Marshall

The landscape of criminal defense has definitely changed in Middlesex County over the last few years by virtue of more meaningful pre-indictment proceedings. The approach traditionally taken in criminal cases was to fight as long and hard as possible, and this would translate into the best result to the charges. The Middlesex County Criminal Court, as well as the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office, now takes a much different approach to resolution of criminal charges such that dragging a case out can now have significant negative implications.

The majority of indictable charges in Middlesex County including drug distribution, theft, aggravated assault, and robbery, are listed for pre-indictment hearing. At this hearing, you are supposed to receive the prosecutor's best plea offer.  If you choose to reject the offer, the prosecutor is obliged to indict the accused and the next offer is to be more severe than the pre-indictment offer.  The result of this approach is that if a defendant and/or attorney miscalculates the pre-indictment offer, he is not going to have the opportunity to back track and accept the pre-indictment offer.

In order to properly assess whether a pre-indictment offer should be accepted requires experience and knowledge.  In this regard, our Middlesex County Criminal Defense Attorneys have over forty (40) years of defense experience in NJ. This knowledge is invaluable in insuring that our clients are properly advised at Middlesex County Pre-Indictment hearings.

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