Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Bail in NJ 7:4-3. Form and Place of Deposit; Location of Real Estate; Record of Recognizances, Discharge and Forfeiture


Bail in NJ Rule 7:4-3. Form and Place of Deposit; Location of Real Estate; Record of Recognizances, Discharge and Forfeiture

  • (a) Deposit of Bail. A defendant admitted to bail shall, together with the sureties, if any, sign and execute a recognizance before the person authorized to take bail or, if the defendant is in custody, the person in charge of the place of confinement. The recognizance shall contain the terms set forth in R. 1:13-3(b) and shall be conditioned upon the defendant's appearance at all stages of the proceedings until the final determination of the matter, unless otherwise ordered by the court. The total recognizance may be satisfied by more than one surety, if necessary. Cash may be accepted, and in proper cases, within the court's discretion, the posting of security may be waived. A corporate surety shall be one approved by the Commissioner of Insurance. A corporate surety shall execute the recognizance under its duly acknowledged corporate seal, and shall attach to its bond written proof of the corporate authority and qualifications of the officers or agents executing the recognizance. Real estate offered as security for bail for non-indictable offenses shall be approved by and deposited with the clerk of the county in which the offense occurred and not with the municipal court administrator.
  • (b) Limitation on Individual Surety. Unless the court for good cause otherwise permits, no surety, other than an approved corporate surety, shall enter into a recognizance if there remains any previous undischarged recognizance or bail that was undertaken by that surety.
  • (c) Real Estate in Other Counties. Real estate owned by a surety located in a county other than the one in which the bail is taken may be accepted, in which case the municipal court administrator of the court in which the bail is taken shall certify and transmit a copy of the recognizance to the clerk of the county in which the real estate is situated, and it shall be there recorded in the same manner as if taken in that county.
  • (d) Record of Recognizance. In municipal court proceedings, the record of the recognizance shall be entered by the municipal court administrator or designee in the manner required by the Administrative Director of the Courts to be maintained for that purpose.
  • (e) Record of Discharge; Forfeiture. When any recognizance shall be discharged by court order on proof of compliance with the conditions thereof or by reason of the judgment in any matter, the municipal court administrator or deputy court administrator shall enter the word "discharged" and the date of discharge at the end of the record of such recognizance. When any recognizance is forfeited, the municipal court administrator or deputy court administrator shall enter the word "forfeited" and the date of forfeiture at the end of the record of such recognizance and shall give notice of such forfeiture by ordinary mail to the municipal attorney, the defendant and any surety or insurer, bail agent or agency whose names appear in the bail recognizance. Notice to any insurer, bail agent or agency shall be sent to the address recorded in the Bail Registry maintained by the Clerk of the Superior Court pursuant to R. 1:13-3. When real estate of the surety located in a county other than the one in which the bail was taken is affected, the municipal court administrator or deputy court administrator in which such recognizance is given shall immediately send notice of the discharge or forfeiture and the date thereof to the clerk of the county where such real estate is situated, who shall make the appropriate entry at the end of the record of such recognizance.
  • (f) Cash Deposit. When a person other than the defendant deposits cash in lieu of bond, the person making the deposit shall file an affidavit or certification explaining the lawful ownership thereof, and on discharge, such cash shall be returned to the owner named in the affidavit or certification, unless otherwise ordered by the court.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

2C:33-17. Availability of alcoholic beverages to underaged, offenses


  1.  a.  Anyone who purposely or knowingly offers or serves or makes available an alcoholic beverage to a person under the legal age for consuming alcoholic beverages or entices or encourages  that person to drink an alcoholic beverage is a disorderly person. 

This subsection shall not apply to a parent or guardian of the person under legal age for consuming alcoholic beverages if the parent or guardian is of the legal age to consume alcoholic beverages or to a religious observance, ceremony or rite.  This subsection shall also not apply to any person in his home who is of the legal age to consume alcoholic beverages who offers or serves or makes available an alcoholic beverage to a person under the legal age for consuming alcoholic beverages or entices that person to drink an alcoholic beverage in the presence of and with the permission of the parent or guardian of the person under the legal age for consuming alcoholic beverages if the parent or guardian is of the legal age to consume alcoholic beverages.

b.     A person who makes real property owned, leased or managed by him available to, or leaves that property in the care of, another person with the purpose that alcoholic beverages will be made available for consumption by, or will be consumed by, persons who are under the legal age for consuming alcoholic beverages is guilty of a disorderly persons offense. 

This subsection shall not apply if:

 (1)    the real property is licensed or required to be licensed by the Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control in accordance with the provisions of R.S.33:1-1 et seq; 

 (2)    the person making the property available, or leaving it in the care of another person, is of the legal age to consume alcoholic beverages and is the parent or guardian of the person who consumes alcoholic beverages while under the legal age for consuming alcoholic beverages; or 

 (3)    the alcoholic beverages are consumed by a person under the legal age for consuming alcoholic beverages during a religious observance, ceremony or rite.  

2C:14-4. Lewdness law in NJ



      a.   A person commits a disorderly persons offense if he does any flagrantly lewd and offensive act which he knows or reasonably expects is likely to be observed by other nonconsenting persons who would be affronted or alarmed. 

    b.   A person commits a crime of the fourth degree if:

      (1)  He exposes his intimate parts for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of the actor or of any other person under circumstances where the actor knows or reasonably expects he is likely to be observed by a child who is less than 13 years of age where the actor is at least four years older than the child. 

    (2)  He exposes his intimate parts for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of the actor or of any other person under circumstances where the actor knows or reasonably expects he is likely to be observed by a person who because of mental disease or defect is unable to understand the sexual nature of the actor's conduct. 

    c.   As used in this section:

      "lewd acts" shall include the exposing of the genitals for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of the actor or of any other person. 

Monday, August 20, 2012

2C:17-2 Causing or risking widespread injury or damage.


a.  (1)  A person who, purposely or knowingly, unlawfully causes an explosion, flood, avalanche, collapse of a building, release or abandonment of poison gas, radioactive material or any other harmful or destructive substance commits a crime of the second degree.  A person who, purposely or knowingly, unlawfully causes widespread injury or damage in any manner commits a crime of the second degree.

(2)A person who, purposely or knowingly, unlawfully causes a hazardous discharge required to be reported pursuant to the "Spill Compensation and Control Act," P.L.1976, c.141 (C.58:10-23.11 et seq.) or any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto, or who, purposely or knowingly, unlawfully causes a release or abandonment of hazardous waste as defined in section 1 of P.L.1976, c.99 (C.13:1E-38) or a toxic pollutant as defined in section 3 of P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-3) commits a crime of the second degree.  Any person who recklessly violates the provisions of this paragraph is guilty of a crime of the third degree.

b.A person who recklessly causes widespread injury or damage is guilty of a crime of the third degree.

c.A person who recklessly creates a risk of widespread injury or damage commits a crime of the fourth degree, even if no such injury or damage occurs. A violation of this subsection is a crime of the third degree if the risk of widespread injury or damage results from the reckless handling or storage of hazardous materials.  A violation of this subsection is a crime of the second degree if the handling or storage of hazardous materials violated any law, rule or regulation intended to protect the public health and safety.

d.A person who knowingly or recklessly fails to take reasonable measures to prevent or mitigate widespread injury or damage commits a crime of the fourth degree, if:

(1)He knows that he is under an official, contractual or other legal duty to take such measures; or

(2)He did or assented to the act causing or threatening the injury or damage.

e.For purposes of this section, widespread injury or damage means serious bodily injury to five or more people or damage to five or more habitations or to a building which would normally have contained 25 or more persons at the time of the offense.

2C:5-2 Conspiracy.


2C:5-2 .  Conspiracy.  a.  Definition of conspiracy.  A person is guilty of conspiracy with another person or persons to commit a crime if with the purpose of promoting or facilitating its commission he:

(1)Agrees with such other person or persons that they or one or more of them will engage in conduct which constitutes such crime or an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime; or

(2)Agrees to aid such other person or persons in the planning or commission of such crime or of an attempt or solicitation to commit such crime.

b.Scope of conspiratorial relationship.  If a person guilty of conspiracy, as defined by subsection a. of this section, knows that a person with whom he conspires to commit a crime has conspired with another person or persons to commit the same crime, he is guilty of conspiring with such other person or persons, whether or not he knows their identity, to commit such crime.

c.Conspiracy with multiple objectives.  If a person conspires to commit a number of crimes, he is guilty of only one conspiracy so long as such multiple crimes are the object of the same agreement or continuous conspiratorial relationship.  It shall not be a defense to a charge under this section that one or more of the objectives of the conspiracy was not criminal; provided that one or more of its objectives or the means of promoting or facilitating an objective of the conspiracy is criminal.

d.Overt act.  No person may be convicted of conspiracy to commit a crime other than a crime of the first or second degree or distribution or possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance or controlled substance analog as defined in chapter 35 of this title, unless an overt act in pursuance of such conspiracy is proved to have been done by him or by a person with whom he conspired.

e.Renunciation of purpose.  It is an affirmative defense which the actor must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that he, after conspiring to commit a crime, informed the authority of the existence of the conspiracy and his participation therein, and thwarted or caused to be thwarted the commission of any offense in furtherance of the conspiracy, under circumstances manifesting a complete and voluntary renunciation of criminal purpose as defined in N.J.S.2C:5-1d.; provided, however, that an attempt as defined in N.J.S.2C:5-1 shall not be considered an offense for purposes of renunciation under this subsection.

f.Duration of conspiracy.  For the purpose of N.J.S.2C:1-6d.:

(1)Conspiracy is a continuing course of conduct which terminates when the crime or crimes which are its object are committed or the agreement that they be committed is abandoned by the defendant and by those with whom he conspired; and

(2)Such abandonment is presumed with respect to a crime other than one of the first or second degree if neither the defendant nor anyone with whom he conspired does any overt act in pursuance of the conspiracy during the applicable period of limitation; and

(3)If an individual abandons the agreement, the conspiracy is terminated as to him only if and when he advises those with whom he conspired of his abandonment or he informs the law enforcement authorities of the existence of the conspiracy and of his participation therein.

g.Leader of organized crime.  A person is a leader of organized crime if he purposefully conspires with others as an organizer, supervisor, manager or financier to commit a continuing series of crimes which constitute a pattern of racketeering activity under the provisions of N.J.S. 2C:41-1, provided, however, that notwithstanding 2C:1-8a. (2), a conviction of leader of organized crime shall not merge with the conviction of any other crime which constitutes racketeering activity under 2C:41-1.  As used in this section, "financier" means a person who provides money, credit or a thing of value with the purpose or knowledge that it will be used to finance or support the operations of a conspiracy to commit a series of crimes which constitute a pattern of  racketeering activity, including but not limited to the purchase of materials to be used in the commission of crimes, buying or renting housing or vehicles, purchasing transportation for members of the conspiracy or otherwise facilitating the commission of crimes which constitute a pattern of racketeering activity.