Protecting Your Constitutional Rights In New Jersey

I know that it can be overwhelming to be accused of a crime. I know the anxiety that mounts as the trial date approaches and your future hangs in the balance. I want to help those wrongly accused of a crime. I am also especially passionate about preserving the constitutional rights of individuals. With 15 years of experience as a criminal prosecutor before founding The Law Office of Jill R. Cohen and over 30 years of criminal justice experience, I have seen firsthand how your constitutional rights can be violated. I fight tirelessly on behalf of my clients in Camden County and the surrounding communities to fight these injustices.

Pretrial Motions In Criminal Court

An experienced criminal defense attorney will start working on your behalf immediately. A successful pretrial motion can attack the prosecutor’s evidence in advance of trial and may even result in a dismissal of the case against you. In all criminal cases, the prosecution has the responsibility to prove that the evidence against you proves beyond a reasonable doubt that you committed the crime. By attacking the evidence it is possible to get a case dismissed and resolved before it even goes to trial.

Motions To Dismiss Unlawful Charges

A motion to dismiss a criminal case due to unlawful charges disputes the legality of the criminal charges. Essentially, this motion argues that the prosecution does not have enough evidence to charge a defendant with a crime, and therefore, the charges against the accused are unlawful and the case should be dismissed. It means that the prosecutor’s evidence is not enough to prove the crime charged, or that the allegations don’t add up to meet the elements of the crime.

Motions To Suppress Unlawfully Obtained Evidence

Again, the prosecution has to be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused committed a crime. Another way to attack the prosecution’s evidence is to try to suppress it. Law enforcement is not allowed to violate anyone’s constitutional rights while gathering evidence. If a defense attorney can show that your constitutional rights were violated and the evidence against you was obtained illegally, the judge could rule that the evidence against you may be suppressed. Examples of unlawful or illegally obtained evidence include:

• Unlawfully using a wiretap
• Searching for evidence without probable cause
• Conducting a search for evidence without a warrant
• Improperly seizing evidence
• Illegally detaining the defendant
• Coercing a confession from the defendant

When the judge rules that evidence should be suppressed, the prosecutor is not allowed to use that evidence against a defendant in a trial. Any suppression of the prosecutor’s evidence might possibly mean that the prosecution would not be able to prove that the defendant is guilty of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt, and the case could ultimately be dismissed. For example, if a police officer does not have probable cause to pull over a vehicle for a traffic violation, and the driver was arrested for driving under the influence, the judge may rule that any evidence of alcohol from that traffic stop must be suppressed. Without the evidence from the traffic stop, the prosecutor will not be able to prove that a defendant was driving under the influence and the case will most likely be dismissed.

Accused Of A Crime? Call Now.

If you have been accused of a crime, the faster you hire an experienced criminal defense attorney, the more likely you are to successfully defend the charges against you. Call 856-754-5501 today or send an email through the website to schedule your free, initial consultation.