This past November, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided State v. Kiriakakis. There the Court upheld the constitutionality of a sentence within the range authorized by a jury verdict that included a mandatory period of parole ineligibility, or parole disqualifier. Understanding this holding requires a review of basic sentencing concepts. …
A defendant has the right to address the court at sentencing. Such statements are offered in mitigation of punishment, and typically include acceptance of responsibility and/or some showing of remorse for the underlying conduct. The New Jersey Supreme Court recently addressed the parameters of this right in State v. Jones. …
Effective January 1, 2017, Missouri sex offenders guilty of 13 different sex crimes based on acts committed on or after August 28, 2006, are subject to additional security requirements. They will be required to wear GPS monitoring devices for the rest of their lives. This includes defendants who were sentenced…
Jeff Sessions, our new Attorney General, issued a Memorandum to all United States Attorneys on May 10, 2017 which states, in relevant part, that “it is a core principle that prosecutors should charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense [] By definition, the most serious offenses are those…
The New Jersey Supreme Court decided State v. Joe on March 7, 2017. The case is significant because it relates to the issue of jail credit, which is an important issue in any case where the sentence includes the imposition of a custodial term. Briefly, the two types of credit…
Many defendants focus exclusively on only one issue in their case – Am I going to jail? If there is even a possibility that this question may be answered affirmatively, follow-up issues concerns the length of the sentence and the facility where it may be served (e.g., state prison vs.…
We have written before about federal sentencing issues. A recent US Supreme Court decision again focuses our attention on this important topic and, specifically, the central role that the advisory guidelines play in the federal sentencing process, and how sentencing mistakes can – and should – be corrected. By way…
One of the many defendants I have represented in federal district court in New Jersey resolved his case by pleading guilty to certain offenses that typically call for the imposition of a prison sentence. After long and difficult negotiations with the US Attorney’s Office, and in light of other facts…
John Mahoney shot and killed his father. He was subsequently indicted for first-degree murder, weapons offenses and hindering apprehension, and the case proceeded to trial. His defense was battered child syndrome – his actions toward his father were motivated by the latter’s physical and emotional abuse. The jury convicted him…
The NJ Appellate Division recently decided the companion cases of State v. Fitzpatrick and State v. Brister. These cases focus primarily on the statutory bar date prior to which the State must appeal from a trial court’s denial of the imposition of a Drug Offender Restraining Order, or DORO. Although…