Morristown New Jersey Criminal Law Post

Recently, I represented a client in Morris County Superior Court in Morristown, New Jersey. My client was charged with distribution of marijuana in the second degree. Because of the seriousness of the charge, he was facing five (5) to ten (10) years in New Jersey State Prison, with a presumption of incarceration. This meant that, even though my client had no prior record, it was presumed that, if convicted, he would be sentenced to a period of incarceration in state prison of between five (5) and ten (10) years.

Despite fairly strong evidence against my client, I had to figure out a way to help him avoid serious jail time. My client was a Master's student in Philadelphia with no prior criminal record. He had been stopped in his motor vehicle with a female friend while pulling out of the driveway of her parents' house in Mendham, NJ. The officer on the scene allegedly smelled marijuana and asked for consent to search the vehicle (and consent was supposedly given). The search revealed 182 grams (or approximately 6.5 ounces) of marijuana. My client also had $308.00 in his wallet, but not near the drugs.

Although this would typically warrant a third degree distribution charge, because the incident occurred within 500 feet of a public park, it was classified as a second degree crime. Nonetheless, I was able to successfully convince the Morris County Assistant Prosecutor that my client was not a drug dealer and that the marijuana was for his personal use. I provided transcripts from my client's Master's program as well as multiple letters of recommendation regarding his character and prior conduct in school. As a result of my efforts, the prosecutor agreed to allow my client to be admitted into the PTI program for a period of two (2) years. As long as he stays out of trouble during this period and complies with the other conditions of the diversionary program, the charges will be dismissed at the end of the probationary period. In the end, my client will have no criminal record from this incident.

Chester cops arrested 20-year-old Robert Kenney Jr. and confiscated more than three (3) pounds of marijuana and marijuana candy from his vehicle.

Last Monday, a Chester police officer stopped a motor vehicle just off Route 206 near the entrance to Chester Mall. While speaking with Mr. Kenney, the officer smelled marijuana emanating from the car.

year-old Robert Kenney Jr. and confiscated more than three (3) pounds of marijuana and marijuana candy from his vehicle.

Last Monday, a Chester police officer stopped a motor vehicle just off Route 206 near the entrance to Chester Mall. While speaking with Mr. Kenney, the officer smelled marijuana emanating from the car.

When Mr. Kenney refused to provide written consent to search the vehicle, officers brought in a K-9 unit for a "narcotic odor sniff." The dog alerted officers to the passenger side door, prompting police to impound the vehicle and apply for a search warrant.

On Wednesday, police executed the search warrant and found more than three (3) pounds of marijuana and marijuana candy inside the car.

Mr. Kenney was arrested by Lumberton Township police before being turned over to Chester police and transported to Morris County Correctional Facility.

Mr. Kenney was charged with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of marijuana greater than 50 grams, and possession of drug paraphernalia, among other related charges.

The charge of intent to distribute marijuana is set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5, which prohibits a person from distributing a controlled dangerous substance such as marijuana. Since Mr. Kenney is charged with intent to distribute between one (1) ounce and five (5) pounds of marijuana, the charge is likely to be classified as a third degree felony. This means that Mr. Kenney could be looking at a term of imprisonment of up to five (5) years in jail and a fine of $25,000.00.

The criminal penalties for simple possession of marijuana in New Jersey are set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10. The statute prohibits a person from having a controlled dangerous substance such as marijuana. Because Mr. Kenney is charged with possessing more than 50 grams of marijuana, the crime could be classified as a fourth degree felony.

For more information, see the NJ.com article entitled "Man Had 3 Pounds of Pot and Marijuana Candy, Chester Cops Say."

A couple of weeks ago, a drunk driver had a heck of an excuse for a Morris Township police officer. Just after 3:00 AM on April 27, Damion Prashad was driving a blue 2013 Volkswagen and failed to observe a traffic signal. When the officer approached the vehicle, Mr. Prashad claimed he only spoke French and did not understand English. However, a French-speaking officer arrived on the scene and quickly deduced that Mr. Prashad was not being entirely truthful about his Francophone status.

Mr. Prashad was arrested and taken to the Morris Township Police Department, where he failed a Breathalyzer test.

A host of charges followed, including driving while intoxicated (DWI), reckless driving, and hindering apprehension.

In New Jersey, the penalties for a DWI conviction are incredibly strict. In many cases, the penalties are mandatory. DWI offenses are codified under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, and a conviction for first offense DWI can lead to a sentence of up to 30 days in jail.

Hindering apprehension is codified under N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3, which prohibits a person from knowingly giving to law enforcement false information. In this instance, Mr. Prashad's hindering will probably be classified as a disorderly persons offense, punishable by up to six (6) months in county jail.

For more information, see the NJ.com article entitled "Drunken Driver Told Police He Only Spoke French, Morris Township Cops Say."

A 24-year-old volunteer firefighter from Jefferson Township, who was accused of stealing gas and money from the department, was admitted into the Pre-Trial Intervention (PTI) program in Morris County earlier this month. As part of his PTI admission, he gave up his position at the department and agreed never to seek public employment. He will be on probation for 18 months, must pay $320 in restitution to the fire department, and complete 50 hours of community service. If he complies with these conditions of PTI and stays out of trouble, the charges will be dismissed at the end of the probation.

PTI is a diversionary program for first time offenders. It is only available once in your life. No guilty plea is required to be entered into the program. For additional information on the Jefferson Township case, please see the NJ.com article.

A suspected drunk driver was arrested by Hanover PD after driving around in circles in a parking lot on Ridgedale Avenue. When officers arrived, they found him drinking in the vehicle and he also had vials containing small amounts of synthetic marijuana, according to the NJ.com article. The driver claimed he was lost. He was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated (DWI), reckless driving, possession of a controlled dangerous substance (CDS), possession of CDS in a motor vehicle, and possession of drug paraphernalia.

A criminal charge for possession of drug paraphernalia is governed by N.J.S. 2C:36-2 which provides in pertinent part:

§ 2C:36-2. Use or possession with intent to use, disorderly persons offense

It shall be unlawful for any person to use, or to possess with intent to use, drug paraphernalia to plant, propagate, cultivate, grow, harvest, manufacture, compound, convert, produce, process, prepare, test, analyze, pack, repack, store, contain, conceal, ingest, inhale, or otherwise introduce into the human body a controlled dangerous substance, controlled substance analog or toxic chemical in violation of the provisions of chapter 35 of this title. Any person who violates this section is guilty of a disorderly persons offense.

In this case, the vials containing the synthetic marijuana or the baggies in the vehicle could be found to be drug paraphernalia. The defendant is facing a disorderly persons offense which includes up to a $1,000.00 fine, up to six (6) months in the county jail, and a permanent criminal charge on his record if convicted. He is eligible for the conditional discharge program if he has no prior drug convictions and has never used a diversionary program before.