Tag Archives: Criminal Defense Bergen County
New Report Reveals Feds Targeting Minorities in “Fake Drug Crimes”
According to a report recently released by Professor Jeffrey Fagan and the University of Chicago Law School, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) has been recruiting young men to specifically target dozens of black and Latino men for drug sting operations, promising rich financial rewards, only to result in these non-violent… Read More »
When Litigation and Insurance Premiums Help Shut Down Police Misconduct
A recent article linked in The Washington Post discusses one town’s experience of using insurance premiums to regulate excessive force used by police; specifically, the story of one town (Sorrento, Louisiana) that was granted its wish to abolish its own police department after the insurance company providing liability protection to that department threw up… Read More »
America Calls for Criminal Justice Reform
Amidst all of the many disagreements catching headline news this election season, one topic appears to have bipartisan support: criminal justice reform – specifically, the need to address racial disparities both in terms of arrest rates, sentencing, and penalties. And, in addition to these alarming statistics when it comes to particular minority groups, it… Read More »
Obama Commutes Sentences, Making Statement about Nonviolent Drug Offenses
On October 6th, President Obama commuted sentences for 102 federal prison inmates incarcerated for drug crimes, providing justice for individuals who were automatically cast as “career offenders” under federal law years ago and who were subject to unfair minimum mandatory sentencing. This brings the total number of sentences the president has commuted to 774,… Read More »
Bergen County DWI Arrest Results in Minor Traffic Violation
In an interesting twist of fate, Francisco Almonte, who was arrested in March of 2016 for alleged drunk driving, was ultimately charged in August only with a minor traffic violation consisting of failure to use a turn single. According to the evidence presented at Almonte’s trial, Bergen County Public Safety Director, Ralph Rivera Jr.,… Read More »
DUI Arrests In Bergen County: What You Need To Know
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides that every day, 28 people die in accidents that are related to alcohol-impairment. In its most recent data, the CDC shows that the state of New Jersey saw almost 2,000 alcohol-related automobile deaths between the years of 2003 and 2012. Fortunately, most drinking and driving… Read More »
New Jersey Arson Laws: How Serious is the Crime?
Earlier this year in South Hackensack, New Jersey, 45-year-old Jose A. Lopez allegedly set fire to a truck that belonged to a party company near his place of employment. Surveillance footage was used to place Lopez near the truck at the time of the blaze. According to jail records, Lopez was arrested on second-degree… Read More »
Sexting: What Happens When Minors Use Cell Phones to Send Sexually Explicit Videos of Other Minors
Last year, two teens were arrested in Long Island, NY after a 14-year-old boy had a sexual encounter with an underage girl while another boy filmed the incident on his cell phone. The teens dispersed the video to other students and were subsequently arrested and charged with felonies. Of course, the facts of this… Read More »
Interfering With Police and the Consequences
Crimes happen everyday. In many instances, when people are arrested they are charged with a crime, or multiple crimes, and then they begin to traverse the justice system. Traffic-related offenses are often precipitated by traffic stops. However, sometimes even if there is no crime charged, your noncompliance with officers may result in charges just… Read More »
Responding to Criminal Sexual Contact Charges
Sex crimes are some of the most fervently prosecuted crimes in the state. Prosecutors will go to great lengths to punish individuals charged with sex crimes in New Jersey. This may be why there are multiple sex-related offenses codified into laws. Of course rape and sexual assault are two of the most recognized laws…. Read More »
