New Jersey
Criminal Attorney -
NJ Criminal Defense
Have you been
accused of a crime in the State of New Jersey? As soon as you come
into contact with the legal system, you need immediate assistance
from an experienced NJ criminal lawyer. Prompt assistance can mean
difference between keeping or losing your personal freedom. I have
the skills and experience to provide an aggressive defense. I
invite you to contact my office to review your case.
Below I provide general information on the criminal justice system
in the State of New Jersey.
How Does a Criminal Case in
the Superior Court of New Jersey Get to Trial?
All criminal actions before the Superior Court of New Jersey are
prosecuted in the name of the State of New Jersey. This is because
when the offense is committed, it is the laws of the state that are
broken, and the offense is against the people of the state. Either
a civilian or a police officer may fill out a criminal complaint. If the complaint alleges a felony and there is probable cause to
file the complaint, it is then forwarded to the county prosecutor’s
office for a determination of whether the criminal charges should be
brought before a grand jury. In some cases, the
defendant may waive his or her rights to an indictment by a grand
jury and the offense charged may be brought directly to court for a
trial by jury or other resolution. An experienced NJ criminal
lawyer can advise you on your best defense strategy.
The primary function of the grand jury is to determine whether there
is a prima facie (Latin meaning at first glance) case leading
the grand jury to believe that a crime was committed and that the
accused committed the crime. In short, the grand jury serves as a
screening mechanism to protect citizens from having to respond to
unfounded charges although experienced NJ criminal lawyers typically
agree that the screening function of the grand jury does not provide
significant protection to citizens. The function of the grand
jury, however, is not to determine whether someone is guilty or not
guilty of a crime – that is the responsibility of the petit jury,
otherwise known as the trial jury. The grand jury considers whether
there is sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against a
person. The standard before a grand jury is not the same as the
standard before the criminal trial jury and a complete trial is not
conducted before the grand jury. Also, the technical rules of
evidence do not apply to the grand jury.
After the charge is presented, the grand jury will hear testimony
and review the evidence the State of NJ has gathered in support of
its charges. The grand jury has the power to compel witnesses to
attend its hearings; the accused and any witness on behalf of the
accused generally do not testify. Grand jury hearings are not
conducted in public so that witnesses may speak freely and so that
the accused will not be publicly tainted if no indictment is
returned. This is different from civil and criminal trials where,
except in the case of family and juvenile matters, the trials are
open to the public. The grand jury may either return a no
bill, which means no indictment, or a true bill,
which is an indictment. Each offense charged must be separately
stated, although the charges may be combined into one indictment.
Each charge in an indictment is called a count.
Some time before the trial, the defendant will appear before a judge
at an arraignment and enter a plea of
guilty or not guilty. If the defendant
pleads not guilty, experienced NJ criminal attorneys prepare for
status conferences, pre-trial conferences before the trial judge
resolving all pre-trial issues in the case and, if no resolution is
reached between the defendant and the State of NJ, the case is
scheduled for trial typically before the same trial judge.
In addition, before trial there is a process called discovery,
which requires both parties to provide a list of their possible
witnesses and other information. The information provided by the
prosecutor representing the State of NJ must include all relevant
evidence, including things that may incriminate the defendant, as
well as information that may be helpful to the defendant.
At this point, do you have any rights? Yes, see
New Jersey Constitutional
rights in criminal cases.
State of New Jersey Criminal
Defense Resource Links
State
of New Jersey Constitution, Statutes and Regulations
This site
includes include the current Constitution of the State of New
Jersey, the New Jersey Permanent Statutes Database, the Chapter Laws
from 1996 forward, Legislative Bills from 1996 forward, Public
Hearings from 1996 forward, and, beginning in 2001, audio and video
recordings of some floor and committee proceedings. For enactment
information on this site more recent than that in the “Chapter Laws”
section, check the recent issues of the “Legislative Digest,”
looking at the end of each issue under “Bills Signed Into Law Since
Last Session.” Caution: the Permanent Statutes Database currently
includes some expired sections; see the disclaimer on the site.
State of New Jersey homepage
Courts
Supreme
Court of New Jersey
Superior Court of New Jersey Model Criminal Jury Charges
State of New Jersey- Office of
the Attorney General
NJ Superior Court
Vicinages
Atlantic County Criminal Court House
Bergen County Justice Center
Burlington County Court Facility
Camden County Hall of Justice
Cape May County Courthouse
Cumberland County Courthouse
Essex County Veterans Courthouse
Gloucester County Courthouse
Hudson County Administration
Building
Hunterdon County Courthouse
Mercer County Courthouse
Middlesex County Courthouse
Monmouth County Courthouse
Morris County Courthouse
Ocean County Courthouse
Passaic County Court House
Salem County Courthouse
Somerset County Courthouse
Sussex County Judicial Center
Union County Courthouse
Warren County Courthouse
When fighting for your personal freedom call on New Jersey attorney,
John F. Renner, an experienced and aggressive federal and state
criminal defense attorney.
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