Travis J. Tormey and the Tormey Law Firm recently defended a client against third degree aggravated assault charges in Passaic County, NJ.

The basis of the charge was a fight at a college party at Montclair State University in Montclair, New Jersey. The potential penalties for our client were significant. That’s because N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b) classifies this type of assault as a third degree felony. This meant that our client faced a potential penalty of 5 years in NJ State Prison. Moreover, since our client was already on probation in Union County for a similar charge, he was subject to a mandatory sentence of 180 days in the county jail for violating his probation.

Once the Tormey Law Firm was retained, we immediately got to work on the client’s behalf. We appeared in the Passaic County Superior Court in Paterson NJ for a pre-indictment conference. The prosecutor offered a plea deal that called for our client to serve 3 years in state prison, as well as 180 days in the Union County Jail for a violation of probation. We rejected the plea offer and requested that the case be marked for the Grand Jury.

In the meantime, Mr. Tormey, the founding partner of the Tormey Law Firm, scheduled a meeting with the arresting detective. We got his statement and then located five witnesses who challenged the official version of events. It was our contention that the client acted in self-defense and that the alleged victim in the fight was actually the aggressor. When Mr. Tormey provided police with this new information, the detective charged the “victim” in the case with multiple criminal offenses.

We were then able to convince the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office to downgrade our client’s aggravated assault charges to simple assault. This was important because it meant that our client was no longer charged with a felony. The case was transferred from the Passaic County Superior Court to the Little Falls Municipal Court. Not long after that, both parties agreed to drop the charges against each other. As a result, our client stayed out of jail and avoided a probation violation.

Needless to say, this was a great result for our client and his family. It was also a major victory for the Tormey Law Firm.