New Jersey Criminal Defense Law Blog

New Jersey residents who find themselves charged with illegally possessing painkillers might read with interest a new survey by the Associated Press. The news agency's review of criminal record books across the country has found that people are increasingly resorting to desperate measures like robbing pharmacies to obtain the drugs to which they have become so badly addicted.

That people are resorting to courses of action that make them likely to face robbery, theft and/or drug charges speaks to what an epidemic painkiller addiction has become. The story should make anyone who has come into trouble with painkillers know he or she is not alone.

In addition to social stigma, drug-offense convictions carry serious legal consequences that may permanently stain a person's record. This is why those accused of drug offenses must be proactive in their defense. Four students at Columbia University provide a good example of defendants who aren't taking drug charges lying down. On Tuesday, they decided against plea bargain agreements that would have kept them out of jail. Their bold position should serve as proof to New Jersey residents charged with drug offenses that such allegations don't have to be accepted meekly.

Lawyers for the students said their clients opted against the plea deals because they would have required them to plead guilty to felony drug charges. One attorney said the students are "kids of great intelligence who have otherwise exceedingly bright futures as professionals." The students believe having felonies on their records would significantly impede them as they move into their adult lives and seek meaningful careers. Instead of serving time behind bars, the students want the charges dismissed in exchange for successful completion of a drug treatment program.

Speaking out for the first time since his arrest, a music star is expressing bafflement after law enforcement officials raided his New Jersey studio and charged him with narcotics and weapons offenses.

Rapper and producer Juelz Santana's Bergen County studio was plundered by authorities in January. They found handguns, drug paraphernalia and what appeared to be marijuana. Santana was arrested in February and charged with four counts of narcotics and weapons offenses. It was later revealed authorities had been investigating his studio for 10 months.

New Jersey authorities are poised to step up their efforts to crack down on the trafficking of prescription painkillers. This may catch a new population, particularly young people who think their recreational use of mom or dad's pain medication isn't a priority for law enforcement officials, flat-footed and unawares.

A State Commission of Investigation found that teenagers are using pain drugs lifted from family members or friends and getting addicted. Some of them move on to using heroin once the high of prescription painkillers becomes insufficient. Such users face years of crippling addiction, to say nothing of drug charges and other legal consequences.

Smart phone applications can do just about anything - quickly compare prices on consumer goods, locate nearby restaurants and maybe even find a date for next Friday night. But now, fewer traffic-related applications are available after a New Jersey senator succeed in his campaign to pull some from the market out of concern that they helped drivers evade DWI checkpoints.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg was one of four senate Democrats who asked smart phone makers to stop selling applications that would have let users know where police had installed checkpoints. Authorities at these checkpoints would stop drivers, perform alcohol tests and issue DWIs, if warranted. The maker of BlackBerry smart phones complied immediately and Apple, which makes the iPhone, recently announced plans to alter its guidelines so that such applications would be prohibited.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has recently ruled in a 5-2 ruling that a drunk driver is allowed to sue the bar that served him alcohol. The case stems from a 2006 incident in which a New Jersey man was involved in a motorcycle crash. According to a breathalyzer test, he had a blood-alcohol content of .196, almost two and a half times the legal limit in New Jersey. The man pleaded guilty to DWI.

He then sued the New Jersey restaurant where he was served alcohol before the accident. He claims that the bar negligently served him and is responsible for his actions. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently held that his case may proceed against the restaurant.

A man from Salem, Massachusetts died in a New Jersey jail last week after being taken into he was arrested for allegedly bringing illegal prescription drugs into the stateinto the state.

The 24-year-old man was arrested Thursday in Tenafly after the car in which he was a passenger was pulled over on suspicion of being involved at a shoplifting at a T-Mobile store. Police questioned the man and then searched his hotel room, where they found more than 600 pills, including painkillers, and other drug paraphernalia. The man could not turn over to police a prescription for any of the pills.

In New Jersey, domestic violence includes a range of specific offenses against a family member or former spouse. Whether a person is charged with kidnapping, a sex crime, violating a restraining order or another offense, conviction of any domestic violence charge can lead to serious penalties. Therefore, it is important that anyone accused of committing this type of crime consult with a defense attorney immediately.

Recently, a Trenton man was accused of attacking his estranged wife. According to a Mercer County prosecutor, the 43-year-old man waited for his wife of 14 years to arrive at her house one night earlier this month. When the 39-year-old woman got home, the man allegedly grabbed her, put her inside her car and drove off.