Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Tweet By Defendant Can Be Admissible in a Criminal Case




The Defendant charged with assault tweeted, “shoe to ya face” to the victim.

The State in the prosecution of the defendant proffered a tweet by the defendant which was admitted by the trial court.  The defendant objected on appeal and argued that the tweet was not properly authenticated, and could have been easily forged.  The defendant was convicted and appealed.

The appellate division in State v. Hannah (December 20, 2016), held that the tweet was admissible and that in this case there was sufficient circumstantial evidence that the tweet in fact had come from the defendant.  In all such cases the court held that the traditional rules set forth in N.J.R.E. 901, and that each case in which this type of evidence is being moved into evidence court must examine the rule, and admit such evidence if admitting such evidence would not be an abuse of discretion.

Law Office of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr., Esq.
30-years of experience as criminal lawyer in Elizabeth, Newark, Jersey City, New Brunswick, Union, Hudson, Middlesex and Essex County
(908) 354-7006
CriminalDefenseNJ.com

Monday, February 20, 2017

Expungement of CDS Conspiracy Charge in New Jersey





Provided as a public service by Attorney Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr.

Expungement of criminal records under New Jersey law is not as easy and simple as one might expect.  New Jersey Expungement Law is complex and the interpretation of the law is often difficult to understand.  A recent appellate division case addressed the issue of whether a conspiracy to commit a drug offense should be treated differently than the substantive crime for expungement purposes.
In June of 2016, the New Jersey Appellate Division ruled In the Matter of the Expungement Petition of D.P., that a conviction for Conspiracy to Distribute CDS is not similar to the substantive crime of Intent to Distribute or accomplice liability of Intent to Distribute.  The Court held that the conspiracy offense unlike the substantive crime (or accomplice liability) is expungable.


Before you retain and attorney to expunge your criminal records you should seek an attorney with extensive experience in New Jersey Expungement Law.  Law Office of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr., has been helping people expunge their criminal records for 30-years, allowing them to get a fresh start in life and move forward with productive lives.  In today’s economy it is almost impossible to obtain employment with a criminal conviction.

Law Office of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr., Esq.
Elizabeth, N.J.
(908) 354-7006