The Court continued: The attorney’s receipt of the threats in New Jersey is not a matter related to her “status” or other attendant circumstance that does not support territorial jurisdiction. To the contrary, defendant’s alleged attempted extortion was complete upon his delivery of his threats to the attorney in New Jersey. Defendant’s delivery to, and […]

On February 26, 2019, a three-judge appellate panel decided the Middlesex County case of State v. Robert Aloi. The principal issue was whether there was whether there was jurisdiction in New Jersey to charge a defendant in Maryland with attempted extortion for communicating threats to victim’s attorney in New Jersey. The court held in relevant […]

Justice Fernandez-Vina continued in relevant part: State v. Brown sets forth the Court’s general approach to merger issues, a “flexible approach that requires focus on the elements of the crimes and the Legislature’s intent in creating them, and on the specific facts of each case. The overall principle guiding merger analysis is that a defendant […]

The Court continued in relevant part: At the time Miller committed the relevant offenses in this case, the statute he violated defined a “child” as any person under sixteen years old and prohibited the possession of material depicting a child engaging in a “prohibited sexual act,” defined as “sexual intercourse” and “nudity,” among other things.  […]

Justice Fernandez-Vina continued in relevant part: The Appellate Division reversed and remanded Miller’s sentence. The panel concluded that the trial court “engaged in impermissible double-counting,” reasoning that “by its nature, child pornography inherently is especially heinous, cruel and depraved, and Miller’s possession and distribution of it in this case was no different.” 449 N.J. Super. […]

On February 20, 2019, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided the Monmouth County case of State v. Michael D. Miller. Justice Fernandez-Vina wrote for a unanimous court. The principal issue was whether the trial court abused its discretion in applying aggravating factor one and in refusing to merge the offenses of possession of child pornography […]

The unanimous Court concluded in relevant part: Applying those legal principles to the facts and circumstances of this case, the Court concludes that the detention of the motel room occupants, including Chisum and Woodard, was unconstitutional. Just because a location to which police officers are dispatched is a high-crime area does not mean that the […]

The New Jersey Supreme court continued in relevant part: There is no rigid time limitation on Terry stops. However, an investigatory detention may become too long if it involves a delay unnecessary to the legitimate investigation of the law enforcement officers. The reasonableness of a continued detention is determined through application of a two-pronged inquiry. […]

Justice Fernandez-Vina continued in relevant part: The trial court denied defendants’ motions to suppress the evidence. Chisum pled guilty to one weapons charge; Woodard pled guilty to one weapons offense and to a drug possession offense arising from an unrelated indictment. The Appellate Division panel affirmed. The Court granted defendants’ petitions for certification “limited to […]

The Court continued in relevant part: The officers then asked Reevey and the other occupants of the room for their identification. The officers relayed the occupants’ information to dispatch to check for outstanding warrants. Officer Harris stated that the occupants of the room were not allowed to leave until the results of their individual warrant […]