Author Archives: TCLAW202
Should a Defendant testify in front of a grand jury in New Jersey
As we have previously indicated, there is no one way for a lawyer to defend a client charged with a sex offense in New Jersey. Thus, taking the position that the defendant will never testify in front of the grand jury is ridiculous. However, such a tactic is very, very risky. Only an experienced sex crimes defense lawyer can make a proper determination as to whether or not this is the right move. There are a number of considerations.
The first of which is the facts of the case as presently known by the defense. Its not always easy to get a good picture of the State’s case pre-indictment. If plea discussions are underway (and they should be in every case regardless of the Defendant’s position) the defense attorney should have at least some pre-indictment discovery. This may take a while to get if it is ever received. Thus, one early source of information is a bail motion. The State will likely divulge at least a few facts about the case. While the defendant is another source of information, it is not always the most reliable source of information.
Knowing your prosecutor is very important. Of course, that doesn’t mean that you have to deal with this person every day. In fact, some of our best wins came from prosecutors that we had just met. Like any other group of people, there are many different types of prosecutors. If the prosecutor is the type that will stop at nothing to convict the defendant, than you might not want to put the defendant up in front of the grand jury. However, if the prosecutor has actually suggested that the defendant testify, then there is a much better chance for a no-bill (i.e. the grand jury will not indict the defendant). Of course, not every prosecutor is so overt. Most may fall somewhere in the middle. Thus, an experienced sex crimes defense lawyer knows that you have to not only size up the case but size up the prosecutor as well.
Before the client testifies in front of the grand jury, a dry run should be conducted. Even if the defense lawyer is a former prosecutor from many years ago, I don’t suggest that the defense lawyer conduct a mock examination of the defendant. The prosecutor is a stranger to the defendant that should be feared. Its hard to fear the person that has been paid to protect you. Thus, my preference is to bring in a recently retired former prosecutor to do the mock examination without any prior introduction. It would also help to have a few mock grand jurors to evaluate the performance of the defendant. If the defendant does not perform well, the same will likely be repeated in front of the grand jury.
If the defendant does testify, he or she still has a 5th amendment right at all times. Thus, the defense attorney should insist on being present outside the grand jury room. At any point, the defendant should be permitted to consult with the attorney prior to answering the question. Of course, this will agitate all involved so it should only be done in the most extreme circumstances. However, I’ve never seen a client have to actually come out and use this option. Sometimes the mere availability of such an option presents the necessity of using it.
While this isn’t a common option in most cases, it has been successful in every time this firm has utilized it. However, that is only due to the work that gets put into the decision making process itself. If you need help with any sex crime, call our team of New Jersey Sex Crimes Attorneys today.
The importance of hiring a lawyer when you are accused of a sex crime in New Jersey
If you have been accused of a sex crime in New Jersey, you clearly have a lot of questions. Hopefully, your research has led you to this blog and I hope it has helped you answer some of your questions. One of the fist issues you will have to decide if whether or not to hire a lawyer. As a general rule of thumb, if you are asking yourself this question for any reason, the answer is YES. This is so obvious that many people not faced with such an accusation may be surprised that this is even an issue, but unfortunately, it is.
There are a number of reasons why people may not want to hire a lawyer right away but the primary reason is likely that hiring a lawyer makes you look guilty. What most people don’t realize is that if you are under investigation, you are likely already guilty in the minds of those investigating you. The investigation is often not to determine if you are guilty, but to determine if they can prove it. I know this from working with prosecutors and law enforcement for many years and in many different capacities. One quick example not related to sex crimes is a person I represented that was accused of engaging in a multi-million dollar stock fraud. 2 US attorneys, 2 FBI agents and 1 IRS criminal division agent all told me that they were 100% certain that my client was guilty. However, through working up the case, I was able to prevent him from ever getting arrested. While not every prosecutor or detective will give their personal opinion like that, you can read between the lines. Nevertheless, we have helped many people avoid getting charged. And remember, if you never get charged, you never get convicted.
There is no one way to assist a client accused of a sex offense. Thus, saying something like “I never let my client speak to law enforcement” or “I always do this or that” is foolish and is often the mark of an amateur (in my opinion anyway). While lawyers of course learn from past experience and build upon that, every case presents its own unique set of circumstances and challenges. As a result, the defense strategy at the beginning of the case should also be unique.
By not hiring an attorney before you are arrested, you are either going to stonewall the police or you will give a statement. Neither tactic will likely benefit you. If you stonewall them, they may decide that you are guilty and that they are onto something. If you talk to them, you may give the detectives key evidence that they can use against you without even knowing about. Trust me when I tell you that you are not prepared for their interviewing techniques. Have some people given statements to police and walked out unscathed? Of course, but this is not the norm. A large percentage of people sitting in prison right now are there because they gave a statement. Without it, the State is left in the dark. But again, there is more to defense than simply taking the 5th.
Of course, hiring a lawyer before you are arrested does not mean that you will not be arrested. I can only say that in our experience, the vast majority of clients that have hired us prior to arrest have never been arrested (and thus, not convicted). However, early involvement in the case could lead to a much better plea bargain. While this has been obvious in our practice, prosecutors have often told us that we are getting a better deal primarily because jumped in the case so early. In fact, one prosecutor told me that she was talking to another prosecutor before our meeting, who said “that Jef Henninger is really on top of his cases…he calls us right away”. They clearly deal with many lawyers so that fact that I stood out speaks volumes to our strategy.
As if all of this wasn’t a good enough reason to hire a lawyer at the first sign of trouble, one of the best reasons to hire a lawyer at the first sign of trouble is that it could save you a ton of money, not to mention embarrassment and stress. Without having to attend court appearances and prepare for trials and motions, it is very cost effective to hire a lawyer right away. While we make a lot less money, we still encourage everyone accused of a sex offense (or any other crime for that matter) to hire us right away. Our focus is our client’s best interests, not ours. Besides, if we have to choose between making a lot of money but having our client risk being convicted versus not making much but making sure our client never gets convicted, we’ll choose the latter every single time.
One last thing to keep in mind is that sex crimes allegations do not always come directly from law enforcement. They could come from parents of the child, schools, medical professionals and DYFS. Unlike many defense lawyers, our team of tough, smart defense lawyers have extensive experience with DYFS (now known as DCPP). We also have extensive experience with custody disputes and divorce as well. Thus, we are fully equipped to handle any sex abuse allegation that may arise.
Getting out on bail for a sex offense in New Jersey
Every defendant sitting in jail is looking to get out at all costs. However, this rush can be to his or her detriment. The first focus should be on hiring an aggressive sex crimes defense lawyer and budgeting properly for a possible trial. This will leave most families with little to no money to bail out the defendant. Unfortunately, many people are in such a rush to get out of jail that they wind up spending a long time in prison because they have their priorities out of order. After spending a ton of money on a bail bondsman (money that they will never get back), there is no money for a top defense lawyer.
If there is money left over after the lawyer is retained (and then budgeted for properly) the next step is to determine if the bail can be lowered by the lawyer filing a bail motion. Most bails for sex offenses are set very high. Despite the fact that bail guidelines are in place, most judges will point out that these are just guidelines and not rules. Thus, they will usually go above them. Thus, a bail motion could help lower this figure to make it more manageable for the family.
As part of the bail motion, the lawyer will want to address all of the factors that court must consider. The age of the defendant and the lack of criminal record are always important to highlight but don’t expect that to carry the day. Many sex offenders are first time offenders so this will likely not move the judge. Instead, consider character letters and a risk assessment done by an expert that the judge respects. Our team of aggressive sex crimes defense lawyers work with some of the best experts in New Jersey.
Once all of this is assembled into a motion, it could like quite impressive. A quality presentation like this may set your motion apart from the pack and thus result in a lower bail. The defense attorney can also propose a number of bail conditions such as surrendering of passport and a monitoring bracelet to help this go down easier for all parties involved. However, that is not the end of the analysis. When to bail out is just as important as if the defendant should bail out.
Sex crimes investigations in New Jersey take time to develop. There is a good chance that the investigation will continue after the defendant is arrested. Our team of NJ defense lawyers have seen defendants bail out only to be arrested again just a few weeks later as the investigation leads to additional charges. A new bail will then be set and with no additional money, the family has lost the money they put up for bail and the defendant is still sitting in jail with no hope to get out.
If your loved one is sitting in a jail in New Jersey for a sex offense or any other crime, call us to see how our team of NJ Sex Crimes Lawyers can help you.
The Sex Crimes Lawyers 