Prepared for the People as
a public service by the Law Office
of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr.
Most people have watched
the reality show, “The First 48-Hours”, in which the theme of the show is the
necessity of law enforcement to solve the crime in the first 48-hours of the
alleged crime. Statistics show on
average that if the crime is not solved within the first 48-hours, the chance
of capturing a suspect goes down with each passing day.
The reason for this is
that witnesses’ memories fade, evidence is lost or destroyed; important and
essential witnesses’ disappear or cannot be found because they have left the
area.
Although not all crimes
are solved within this time frame, most are.
Unfortunately, law enforcement is not always right and sometimes charges
the wrong person. Most people are not
aware (more than we will admit) that a percentage of the people who are
actually charged are innocent. The rule
is in law enforcement, once a person is charged with a crime, the investigation
stops and the file is closed.
Just as it is important
for law enforcement to attempt to get a jump on the crime within 48-hours in
the attempt to solve the crime, it is even more important for an arrested
individual to retain an experienced New
Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney to begin to conduct his own investigation
to determine whether law enforcement has gotten its facts right. Also, it is important that the suspect obtain
an attorney to send/fax various evidence preservation letters to the law
enforcement agencies that investigated the crime, or the place or jurisdiction
where the alleged crime took place to prevent law enforcement from destroying
evidence.
For example the City of
Jersey City Police Department has a policy, which is illegal and against state
law, to destroy dispatcher communication audio tapes after 30-days, even when there
is pending criminal case or quasi-criminal case which is evidence and relates
to the case. However, Jersey City Police
Department, like many other towns and cites in New Jersey continue to violate
state law and tape-over and/or destroy these audio tapes, thus making it
difficult to prove that the officer lied as to what happened, e.g.,
motion to suppress, eluding case, etc.
Therefore, it is mandatory
that someone charged with a crime or serious motor vehicle offense retain an
experienced NJ Criminal Attorney
to investigate and immediately put law enforcement on notice that they are not
to destroy valuable evidence, evidence which often exculpates and proves that
the suspect is in fact innocent.
Law Office of Vincent J. Sanzone, Jr., Esq.
P.O. Box 261
277 North Broad Street
Elizabeth, N.J. 07207
(908) 354-7006
No comments:
Post a Comment