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National Love Your Lawyer Day is a day in which lawyers and judges are celebrated for all the good they do, often thanklessly. On this day, the public is asked to let their favorite legal eagles know how much they love and appreciate them. “Call your attorney and say Happy Lawyer’s Day! or thanks for a doing a great job, or even send a gift, flowers or a card,” Anise says. “Lawyers are always painted...

Some of Frank Hartman’s colleagues may be surprised that more cases in which he’s litigated haven’t been made into books and movies. Many more are shocked that in roughly six decades, he was never named the Burlington County Bar Association’s Professional Lawyer of the Year — until now. Read More (Subscription Required)...

The New Jersey Supreme Court has now made it easier for police to conduct warrantless searches of vehicles. In State v. Witt, the court overturned the previous standard for searching vehicles which required the police to get a warrant in most circumstances because they found the was unworkable in practice. The warrantless search of a vehicle is permitted “when police have probable cause to believe that it contains contraband or evidence of a crime and where...

Expungements are like an eraser that can wipe your record clean. You can get an expungement after two years for a Municipal Ordinance Conviction, five years after a Disorderly Persons Conviction or ten years after you have completed probation or a prison sentence for an eligible indictable crime. Recently the court has been willing to entertain expungement applications earlier that listed above if certain conditions are met. In an apparent switch in their philosophy to...

In a unanimous decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court the court held that law enforcement cannot enter a disabled vehicle to gather proof of registration and insurance, without asking the driver for the information or asking permission. In the case, State v. Keaton, a state trooper was on I-295 when he was called to an accident. The driver had been taken from the car and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) were treating him. In order...

Governor Chris Christie is currently considering a Bill that will dramatically change DUI law in New Jersey. The Bill has already passed through both houses of the New Jersey Congress and proposes a change in the license suspension requirement following a conviction for DUI. Under current New Jersey law, a person with a BAC of 0.08% or greater, who operates a motor vehicle is considered to be driving under the influence. In addition to other...

If you are convicted of Driving While Intoxicated, or Refusal (to provide a breath sample), your license will be suspended. If you drive during that period of suspension, and you have previously been convicted of driving during that suspension period, you face mandatory jail time. In fact, you could be charged with a fourth degree indictable crime (felony) and face a mandatory minimum of 180 days in jail. The New Jersey Appellate Court has just...

New Jersey has special Expungement Rules for young drug offenders who wish to clear their record. In order to get the Young Drug Offenders Expungement it must be not less than one year after conviction, termination of probation or parole or discharge from custody, whichever is later. The charge could only be for possession or use of drugs, or sale or distribution of certain amounts of Hashish or Marijuana. If you were charged with sale...

Katherine Hartman, Esquire will be a speaker on...

If a driver doesn’t use a seat belt or doesn’t make their passengers use one, then the driver could face jail time. The Seat Belt Law, enacted in 1984, has not been used in this way until now. Previously, the Seat Belt Law would be a traffic ticket that would require a municipal court appearance, now violators could go to state prison. The amount of jail time being faced depends on the injuries involved. The...