Category: Criminal
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Feds Can’t Prosecute Man in NJ for Cybercrime Committed Elsewhere.
Andrew Auernheimer’s was a resident of Arkansas at the time that he allegedly assisted in perfecting a program to collect emails through a security flaw in AT&T’s website. He had no connection to New Jersey, other than that about 4 percent of the collected emails involved New Jersey residents. But New Jersey was where the feds…
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The Case Of The Private Duty State Trooper
One day, Rich thought he could use an oil change. He drove his car to Pete, the local mechanic. When Rich arrived, Pete suggested they clean the battery terminal and flush the radiator as well. Rich said okay, and went inside to wait for the work to be done. A bit later, Rich noticed a…
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All’s Fair in Love and Chemical Warfare, or the Wife Who Turned Toxic
When Carol Anne found out that her husband was cheating on her, she was understandably upset. But when she learned that her husband’s paramour was Myrlinda, one of Carol Anne’s close girlfriends, she was even more upset. Then it turned out Myrlinda was pregnant. At that point, Carol Anne lost it. She began making a…
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A Case of Extravagant Tax Evasion
James and Theresa D. owned and operated a Somerville engineering and surveying business. Between 2002 and 2008, James and Theresa withheld over half a million dollars in payroll taxes from their employees’ paychecks. Curiously, the money never made it to the IRS and of course, caught the government’s eye. James and Theresa were penalized and…
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The Case of The Unwarranted Inspection
Garfield has an ordinance that allows its construction official to make inspections to determine the condition of residential dwellings. (For those of you not familiar with the municipal law, Construction Official is a Latin term that means “an engineer who knows a politician.”) The ordinance allows the construction official to enter all dwellings at any…
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The Case Of The Pilfered Purse
A gentleman named Davon was removed from a bus in Clinton because he allegedly was carrying a machete. He was incarcerated in the Hunterdon County jail for several weeks, awaiting trial. Davon claimed that he could not afford a private lawyer. Attorney Hermenia Moreira of the Hunterdon County Public Defender’s office was assigned to represent…
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Special Jury Instruction If God Told You To Do It
A New Jersey man was convicted at trial of murdering his pregnant girlfriend after God told him to do it. Not surprisingly, the defendant pled insanity. An appeals court recently reversed the conviction. The appellate court ruled that the trial judge should have told the jury that even if they thought that the man knew…
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Cell Phone Law Lets You Push Buttons
A state appeals court recently overturned a conviction under the New Jersey law that bans talking on a handheld cell phone while driving. The driver in this case was pulled over after a police officer saw him pressing buttons on this cell phone. The problem with this is that the law expressly allows “activating, deactivating,…