In light of the national emergency due to the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19), courts and law enforcement agencies at every level of Government have taken extraordinary actions: STATE OF NEW JERSEY ● The Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court has entered the Court’s Fifth Omnibus Order on Court Operations and Legal Practice. The … Read More

In light of the national emergency due to the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19), courts and law enforcement agencies at every level of Government have taken extraordinary actions: FEDERAL ● The District of New Jersey is extending the stay of in-person appearances in criminal cases until late September. Chief Judge Freda Wolfson entered Standing Order 20-06, … Read More

The Attorney General of New Jersey, Gurbir Grewal, has issued a new Directive (#2020- 5) for all state and local law enforcement agencies to begin to identify law enforcement officers (“LEOs”) who are disciplined for serious misconduct. From now on, all LEOs who are terminated, reduced in rank, or suspended for more than 5 days … Read More

The Supreme Court of New Jersey has approved a plan to resume in-person court operations beginning June 22, as the Administrative Office of the Courts (“AOC”) enters “Phase 2” of its COVID response plan. The following criminal matters “may” resume in-person appearances beginning June 22:  Completion of suspended jury trials (5 such trials statewide), with … Read More

This is a time that millions of Americans are righteously speaking out against our greatly flawed system of “criminal justice” (among other things) most recently evidenced by the horrific killing of George Floyd. Most thoughtful Americans recognize that systemic racisms stains nearly the whole fabric of our culture, but it is perhaps nowhere more obvious … Read More

Federal and New Jersey State Courts are reluctant to release prison inmates in the face of the COVID-19 outbreak, citing what they deem to be adequate measures by prison authorities to protect inmates and to grant early release under existing programs. On June 4, the Supreme Court of New Jersey unanimously denied an application for … Read More

The never-ending, always-expanding saga surrounding the federal government’s investigation and prosecution of President Trump’s first National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, is truly extraordinary. The case began simply enough with a guilty plea to a false statement charge under 18 U.S.C. § 1001 under a cooperating plea agreement which enabled Flynn (and, reportedly, his son) to … Read More

Last Thursday’s reversal of the Bridgegate convictions of Bridget Kelly and William Baroni by the United States Supreme Court was hardly surprising, especially given the Justices’ extreme skepticism, as expressed during oral argument in January, about whether the federal property fraud statutes charged (federal program fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 666, and wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. … Read More

In light of the national emergency due to the outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID-19), courts and law enforcement agencies at every level of Government have taken extraordinary actions: FEDERAL ● For more information, see our prior posts. STATE OF NEW JERSEY ● The New Jersey Supreme Court previously ordered that sentencing hearings may proceed via remote … Read More

In response to the ongoing COVID-19 emergency and widespread reports of the virus reaching prisons, the Massachusetts Federal Courts have issued a COVID-19 related order “Concerning Appointment of Counsel and Motions for Early Release Under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).” The referenced statute (18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)) permits courts, upon motion, to reduce a term of imprisonment … Read More