New Jersey Criminal Lawyer

Criminal Defense for People Who Have Never Needed It

Most of the people who call us have never been arrested before. They are a retail worker accused of taking merchandise, a college student who threw a punch outside a bar, a spouse served with a restraining order the morning after an argument, a professional whose license is suddenly in question over something that lasted ninety seconds. They are scared, embarrassed, and working off whatever they read online or heard from the last person they talked to.

The most useful thing we do in a first meeting is replace that with an accurate picture: what you are actually charged with, what the realistic outcomes are, what the collateral consequences are, and what happens next week.

Understanding the Charge

New Jersey does not use the words “felony” and “misdemeanor.” Indictable offenses, graded first through fourth degree, go to Superior Court and carry the most serious exposure. First and second degree crimes come with a presumption of prison. Disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses are handled in municipal court, with maximums of six months and thirty days. The grading decides which court you are in, what the procedure looks like, whether diversion is available, and whether a grand jury is involved.

New York uses felonies (classes A through E), misdemeanors, and violations. It also has one disposition New Jersey does not: the adjournment in contemplation of dismissal, where the case is put on hold and, if nothing else happens, dismissed and sealed.

The Charges We Handle Most

Shoplifting. New Jersey grades it by the value of the merchandise, from a disorderly persons offense up to a second degree crime, and a first conviction comes with mandatory community service. These cases turn on details: whether there was concealment, whether the item made it past the last point of sale, whether the store’s video actually shows what the report says, whether the detention itself was lawful, and whether the civil demand letter you got in the mail has anything to do with the criminal case. It usually does not.

Assault. Simple assault is generally a disorderly persons offense. Aggravated assault is indictable and depends on how badly someone was hurt, whether a weapon was involved, who the victim was, and what the defendant intended. Self-defense, mutual fights, and how the police report characterizes the injuries come up again and again. If the people involved are in a qualifying relationship, an assault charge also triggers the domestic violence process.

Domestic violence and restraining orders. These run on two tracks at once, and people consistently underestimate the civil one. A temporary restraining order can be issued without you being there. A final restraining order in New Jersey never expires. To get one, the plaintiff has to show a predicate act of domestic violence and that an order is needed to protect them from immediate danger or further abuse. An FRO means fingerprinting, entry in a central registry, and consequences for firearms, employment, and immigration. The final hearing is often within days of the temporary order. Do not go to it without a lawyer. New York handles the same territory through orders of protection from criminal, family, or supreme court, sometimes more than one at a time.

We represent people accused of domestic violence and people seeking protection from it.

Diversion

New Jersey has several ways to resolve a case without a conviction, and the eligibility rules are technical.

Pretrial Intervention is available for many indictable offenses, usually for first-time offenders, and ends in dismissal if you complete the program. Conditional Discharge covers certain disorderly persons drug offenses in municipal court. Conditional Dismissal covers other eligible disorderly persons offenses, including many shoplifting and simple assault cases.

Each of these is generally a one-time opportunity. Using it on the right case matters. When a prosecutor objects to admission, we litigate it.

The Consequences Nobody Mentions at Arraignment

We ask about these first, because they often matter more than the sentence.

Immigration. If you are not a citizen, your lawyer has a constitutional duty to tell you what a plea will do to your status. Some dispositions trigger mandatory removal regardless of the sentence. A plea that looks like a good deal can be a disaster, and that has to be figured out before you take it.

Professional licenses. Nurses, teachers, lawyers, financial professionals, contractors, and commercial drivers all have reporting obligations and licensing boards that act independently of the criminal court.

Everything else. Firearms, employment, housing, security clearances, and student aid each have their own triggers.

How We Defend a Case

We get the full discovery file, meaning the reports, body camera and surveillance video, 911 audio, witness statements, and any forensic material, and we compare it against the charging document, because they do not always match. We move to suppress when a stop, search, seizure, or statement was unlawful. We file discovery motions when the State’s production is incomplete, which under New Jersey’s criminal justice reform and New York’s rewritten discovery statute carries real timing consequences for the prosecution. And we prepare every case as if it is going to trial, because that is the only position from which a good resolution actually gets negotiated.

If You Have Been Charged

Say nothing to investigators and call a lawyer. That advice is free and it is the most valuable thing on this page.

Call (201) 431-6199 or email info@wenstrandlaw.com. Offices in Cranford, New Jersey and on Madison Avenue in Manhattan.