Blog: NJ Laws

On February 26, 2014, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division overturned a lower-court’s decision regarding police officers’ actions in the case of State of New Jersey v. Ramier A. Dunbar (Docket No. A-5722-12T2). The lower court had suppressed evidence (a handgun), ruling that the “Terry Stop” of the defendant was unconstitutional. Here, the Appellate Division disagreed, ruling that the police acted constitutionally by stopping defendant. Because of this higher-court ruling, the State of...

Congress is currently considering the E-mail Privacy Act (HR 1852), a bi-partisan bill that would update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA). ECPA was passed in 1986 when e-mail was not widely used (‘e-mail’ as a term wasn’t even commonly used until around 1993!) and cloud storage was a futuristic fantasy. ECPA says that government entities like the NSA, IRS, DEA, and even local government agencies can get e-mail records and documents stored in the...

Employees are entitled to up to twenty days of unpaid leave if they, their child, parent, spouse, domestic partner, or civil union partner is a victim of domestic or sexual violence. Each incident of violence entitles the employee to leave, but in no case is the employee entitled to more than twenty days of leave in a twelve month period. The New Jersey Security and Financial Empowerment Act (New Jersey SAFE Act) applies to both...

Governor Christie signed a law yesterday, which would prohibit workplace discrimination against women because of pregnancy, child birth and child birth recovery. The New Jersey Senate unanimously passed the Bill and the Assembly passed the Bill 77 to 1. This law is an express prohibition on employers treating pregnant women less favorably than others who are not pregnant but have similar work abilities and positions. The new law requires employers to provide reasonable accommodations to...

Governor Chris Christie signed a law on January 22, 2014, which criminalizes cyber-harassment. This Bill which was passed unanimously in both the Assembly and Senate on January 13, 2014, makes it a fourth degree crime to use any electronic devise or social networking site with the purpose of harassing someone. This crime is punishable by up to 18 months in state prison, a fine as high as $10,000, or both...

In the matter of The Expungement Application of DJB, ____ , NJ ____ , 2014, the New Jersey Supreme Court has just held that a person who has obtained an expungement of juvenile adjudications is not barred from a later attempt to expunge an adult conviction. Prior to the court’s decision, many lower courts would deny an otherwise qualified applicant for an adult expungement, based on the fact they had received an expungement of their...

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS POLICE GENERALLY CANNOT SEARCH YOUR CAR WITHOUT A SEARCH WARRANT; HOWEVER ITEMS PROPERLY OBSERVED IN “PLAIN VIEW” CAN BE SEIZED BY POLICE. Law enforcement officers are required to obtain search warrants before they search anything including homes, cars, or businesses. There are exceptions to that rule. One of the exceptions to the warrant requirement is the “Plain View” doctrine. The essence of that doctrine is that for the “Plain View” exception to...

The Burlington County Bar Association has passed a resolution urging the Governor’s office as well as the State Senate to set aside their differences with respect to the appointment and reappointment of judges. The Bar Association implores the Governor and Senate to carry out their responsibilities considering only the qualifications of sitting and prospective judges without regard to political gain; renews their commitment to support the administration of justice in the State by educating the...

In May of this year, the Overdose Prevention Act went into law in the State of New Jersey. The purpose of this law is to encourage people to seek immediate medical assistance whenever a drug overdose occurs. There have been times when people have not sought medical attention for themselves or friends because they feared that they would be prosecuted or arrested for illegal drug use or prevention. The purpose of this act is to...

On July 18, 2013, The Supreme Court of New Jersey held in A basic cell phone operates like a scanning radio and contacts the nearest cell site towers every seven seconds. Cell phones can be tracked so long as they are not turned off. With advances in technology, cell-phone providers today can pinpoint the location of a person’s cell phone with increasing accuracy. The Court held that there is a reasonable expectation of privacy,...