A successful New Jersey criminal defense attorney must avail himself to
every possible tool in fighting a criminal charge. One of the most useful of these tools is the
motion to suppress evidence.
A very helpful case was
recently decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court in the case State v.
Edmonds. An opinion written by a
former criminal defense attorney, Justice Albin suppressed a handgun found
hidden in a sofa in the defendant’s apartment.
In this case the Carteret
Police Department acting on an “unverified 9-11 call” (this wouldn’t be the
first time that the police made the bogus call to get inside an apartment),
knocked on the door of the defendant’s apartment claiming that someone called
saying that domestic violence was
occurring in the apartment which included the use of a handgun. When the police arrived the female residence
of the apartment said that there was no domestic violence in the apartment, and
that her son was inside the apartment.
Against her will the police under the pretext of being concerned for the
son entered the apartment and began to look around. Hearing a T.V. on in a closed room, the
police entered and saw Mr. Edmonds calmly sitting down watching T.V. However, they frisked him and started to
search the room in which they found a handgun under the sofa.
Because there was no
exception to the search warrant requirement, specifically, the
community-caretaking or emergency-aid doctrine the court suppressed the
handgun. The court noted at that point
the Carteret police needed a warrant based on probable
cause. The court pointed out that all
warrantless searches of homes are presumptively unreasonable and are subjected
to particularly careful scrutiny.
As pointed out in my
previous blogs sometimes the best opportunity to win a criminal case is with
filing pretrial motions. The motion to
suppress evidence is the most powerful of these motions because once the evidence
is suppressed there is no case. In this
case, once the handgun was suppressed the criminal charge of possession of a
weapon was dismissed.
If you are charged with a
handgun or weapons offense you must consult with an experienced NJ criminal
defense attorney. The law firm of
Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr., has represented hundreds of defendants charged with
various weapons and handgun offenses.
The law firm has represented individuals in almost every county in the
State of New Jersey, including, Union, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Bergen, Somerset,
Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Mercer, Burlington, Gloucester, Cumberland,
Atlantic, Sussex and Hunterdon counties.
October 15, 2012
Law Office of Vincent J.
Sanzone, Jr., Esq.
Office No. (908)
354-7006
Cell No. (201)
240-5716
Law Office of Vincent J.
Sanzone, Jr.
277
North Broad Street
P.O.
Box 261
Elizabeth, N.J. 07207
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