The recently decided NJ Supreme Court case of State v. Baum stemmed from a prosecution for aggravated manslaughter and death by auto. Baum, the driver, struck and killed two teenage girls who were walking in the bicycle lane of a major roadway in Kinnelon. Baum had battled alcoholism for approximately…
A US Magistrate Judge in California ruled recently that technology giant Apple could be required to create specialized software to help federal investigators bypass the security protocols on the encrypted Iphone 5S used by Syed Farook, one of the San Bernardino shooters. This ruling conflicts with the ruling of a…
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…
Robert Goodwin recently learned that New Jersey is serious about convicting defendants charged with insurance fraud. He was found guilty at trial of second-degree insurance fraud and sentenced to a prison term of seven years on account of false statements made to an insurance carrier in connection with an insurance…
In 1963, just two weeks after his 17th birthday, Henry Montgomery killed Charles Hunt, a Louisiana deputy sheriff. Montgomery was originally sentenced to die but, on retrial in 1970, received a mandatory sentence of life without parole. Montgomery is now 69 years of age and, by all accounts, became a…
The latest decision from the NJ Appellate Division involving sex offenders, State v. F.W., consists largely of a rather complex discussion concerning the interrelationship of Community Supervision for Life (“CSL”), Parole Supervision for Life (“PSL”), The Sex Offender Monitoring Act (“SOMA”), and the Ex Post Facto clauses of the Federal…
On July 2, 2009, at 11:30 pm, a car pulled up next to a woman who was walking to her home in Jersey City. The passenger got out, approached her, tapped her hip with a gun, and asked for her phone. The woman surrendered her purse which contained her phone…
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…
Many defendants convicted in State court proceedings will, after exhausting their State level appeals and post-conviction applications, seek habeas relief in Federal court. Generally speaking, the process focuses upon violations of Federal constitutional law in the underlying State proceedings, and is commenced by filing a habeas petition and supporting papers…
As we approach the end of the year, many of us are preparing to file our 2015 tax returns. As we do so, it is important to remember that errors and omissions relating to compliance with the tax laws can result in criminal charges. What follows is a very brief…