Parenting Time During the Holidays There's no more difficult time of the calendar year to grapple with divorce than the holiday season. This major life transition is naturally complicated when children are involved. Divorce often results in a much more complicated holiday schedule than pre-di...
Back in October, we told you about a bill pending before the New Jersey State Legislature that would have extended conditional discharge eligibility to first time offenders for a number of non-drug related offenses: A condition discharge is what the name implies. The charges against a def...
Abraham Lincoln: His Best Speech The only confirmed photo of Abraham Lincoln (circled) at Gettysburg, taken about noon, just after Lincoln arrived and some three hours before the speech. To Lincoln's right is his bodyguard, Ward Hill Lamon. Credit Wikipedia Today is the anniversary of the the G...
Justice Sonia Sotomayor Appears on Sesame Street to Discuss Careers On the weekends we tend to look at the lighter side of the law. A United States Supreme Court Justice appearing on a children's show certainly qualifies as the lighter side of the law. However, the message she brings to the S...
Alimony Reform Remains a Hot Button Issue In December of last year we wrote about the Alimony Reform Movement in New Jersey. New Jersey State Senator, Sean Kean, announced he would introduce legislation to study New Jersey's alimony laws. As a result of re-districting, Senator Kean became Ass...
Employment Law in the Next Term Dan Schwartz The election is over. Not all of the ballots may not have been counted but we have declared winner. It has been a full week since America cast its ballot to determine our political leaders. Since that time there has been no shortage of commentary on...
A Day to Remember Those Who Serve and Those Who Have Served Today is Veterans Day, a day we remember and reflect on the sacrifices of the men and women in uniform who served our country. We also recognize and reflect upon the the sacrifices of their families and communities who faithfully supp...
Defending Against a Petition to Change Child Custody Gloucester County Superior Court Issues involving the custody and care of children are always fraught with emotion. Today, we successfully defended against a petition to change child custody. We represented the father of the child. Our clien...
Voters to Decide Elected Officials and State Constitutional Amendment Tomorrow is election day. This day will draw to conclusion the countless television ads, radio ads and mainstream commentary on what should be a very close presidential election. Our citizens, in addition to voting for elected...
Some New Jersey Courts Will be Open on November 1, 2012 As of 4:20 pm today the New Jersey Judiciary announced that several county courts would be closed November 1, 2012. The following Courts will be closed tomorrow: Ocean County Monmouth County Hunterdon County Somerset County Warren County...
The New Jersey Judiciary Remains Closed for a Third Straight Day Our thoughts and prayers remain with those who have been most dramatically affected by this historic storm. The devastation from the storm was obvious and severe especially on the coast. Assessing the damage and cleaning up will t...
UPDATE: The entire New Jersey Judiciary and its court facilities in all 21 counties are closed today, Monday, October 29th and on Tuesday, October 30th as Hurricane Sandy bears down upon the East Coast of the United States. Typically, each county's assignment judge makes an independent decision...
New Unreported Decision Discusses Constitutional and Procedural Requirements of a Domestic Violence Complaint This is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, so DeMichele & DeMichele's blogger-attorneys will be focusing on this very important issue, one which we deal with every day as par...
Reasonable Justification Required for Inspection of Alcotest Room Alcotest 7110 The answer to the question, “What discovery is a defendant entitled to when defending against a DWI charge?” is ever changing. Earlier today the Appellate Division approved for publication the consolidated case, S...
When it Comes to Sentencing There is a Difference Between a Prior DWI and a Prior Refusal A conviction for driving while intoxicated or refusal has stiff penalties in New Jersey. The penalties are enhanced if the defendant has prior convictions for these offenses. However, the enhanced penaltie...
Didn't Resume Your Maiden Name at the Time of Divorce? Don't Worry. It's Not Too Late! The best stage of any divorce or civil union dissolution is when it's “final,” which means the Court has entered a “final judgment” and made the marriage's end official. Congratulations! You've earned it. A...
Statements to Police Without a Lawyer Excluded Recently, the Appellate Division of the New Jersey Superior Court suppressed the confession of the Defendant in State v. Funchess, A-2435-10. The Court ruled that the Defendant's confession was inadmissible because the police (interrogators) failed...
A Municipal Court Defendant's Right to a Speedy Trial Today the New Jersey Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case State v. Cahill. The case involves a defendant's right to a speedy trial in New Jersey municipal court. The decision in this case could have wide sweeping implications n...
Proposed Law to Increase the Availability of a Conditional Discharge in Municipal Court The New Jersey Senate today approved legislation (S-2169) to provide a conditional assistance program in Municipal Court for certain first-time offenders. The legislation was co-sponsored by Senator Christo...
Incarceration Leads to a Suspension of Enforcement of Child Support Questions regarding child support obligations and enforcement of those obligations often arise when a family is in crisis. This is certainly the case when a child support payer is sentenced to a jail term. Obviously, a parent w...
National Domestic Violence Awareness Month or DVAM. This past weekend we took a break from the seriousness of the law to share some of the funnier sides of the legal profession. As we noted in our blog entry What not to do! The Legal Edition we generally stay focused on the serious nature of the ...
Actually the Law Can Be Funny It's the weekend and from time to time we like to share the lighter side of the law. Saturday is a time to take a break from the serious side of the law and have some “legal” fun. Below are two videos that demonstrate “what not to do” when it comes to your case. ...
Defending a Refusal in New Jersey There are few things in life quite as scary as being pulled over on the road by a police officer and hearing these five words: “Have you been drinking tonight?” The next step is usually a roadside field sobriety test. If you “fail,” then you're likely to be...
Choosing a Family Law Attorney; Comfort and Communication are Essential In today's world the practice of law has become very highly specialized. Gone are the days where the client would walk into his or her lawyer's office and the lawyer could competently perform a wide range of services from pro...
The Right to a Lawyer is Not Guaranteed for Everyone Today we are featuring an ABA Death Penalty Representation Project highlighting the Association's efforts to provide pro-bono attorneys to those that need it most; indigent defendants on death row. Currently there's no federal constituti...
