|
New
Jersey Criminal Defense
Criminal
law matters in New Jersey are generally governed by Title 2C of the
New Jersey Statutes. Once a suspect is charged with commission
of a crime either through the issuance of a summons or through the
filing of a criminal complaint, the matter is referred to the local
prosecuting authority. Generally, less serious offenses,
referred to as disorderly persons offenses in New Jersey are
prosecuted by the municipal prosecutor of the town or city where the
offense is alleged to have occurred. More serious offenses,
referred to as "indictable offenses" or "crimes" in New Jersey are
prosecuted by the county prosecutor of the county where the offense is
alleged to have occurred.
If
the prosecutor wishes to charge a suspect with an indictable offense,
the prosecutor must submit evidence to a grand jury. If the
grand jury determines that there is sufficient evidence to establish
probable cause that the defendant has committed a crime, the grand
jury issues an indictment. An indictment is essentially a formal
accusation against the defendant.
Once a defendant is formally
charged with a crime, the defendant can enter a "guilty plea" or a
"not guilty" plea. A "guilty plea" is usually the result of a
plea bargain between the defense and the prosecution.
Essentially, a plea bargain involves the defendant agreeing to plead
guilty if the prosecution agrees to dismiss some charges against the
defendant, downgrade some charges against the defendant, or seek a
reduced punishment for the defendant.
If
the defendant chooses to plead "not guilty," the case will move on to
trial. Prior to trial, there are several motions that can be
filed by a defendant. The purpose of these motions is usually to
exclude some evidence that the prosecution will want to use at trial.
For example, a defendant can file a motion to suppress evidence if the
evidence was seized as a result of an illegal search in violation of
the Fourth Amendment's prohibition against unreasonable searches and
seizures.
Any defendant charged with an
indictable offense has the right to a trial by jury. If a
defendant is charged with a disorderly persons offense, the case is
tried before a judge instead of a jury. The prosecutor has the
burden of proving each element of the offense with which the defendant
is being charged. In addition, the prosecutor must prove all of
these elements "beyond a reasonable doubt."
If the defendant is found guilty of
committing a crime, the next stage in the proceedings is sentencing.
Both the prosecution and the defense are given an opportunity to
present evidence to the judge of either mitigating factors (factors
that suggest the sentence should be less severe) or aggravating
factors (factors that suggest the sentence should be more severe).
In addition, if the defendant is convicted of a crime, the defendant
has the opportunity to file motions requesting either a new trial or
post-conviction relief.
|
