New Jersey Criminal Lawyer Blog

An arrest has reportedly been made of a high school senior, who is charged with third-degree aggravated criminal sexual contact and third-degree criminal sexual contact, which allegedly occurred in Seaside Heights, following his prom in northern New Jersey. It is said that the 18 year old woman was incapacitated when she was victimized in a hotel, meaning she was indisputably unable to or did not give consent and anything that may have transpired was not consentual. The young man, who is in the U.S. on a student visa from Zimbabwe, is being held on $125,000.00 bail in Toms River and has been relieved of his passport.

The fact that Mr. Kabete is on a visa makes his potential trouble even more severe for him since he can be deported if he is convicted with a crime. If he cannot make bail, Mr. Kabete will be sitting in jail for a while, since this matter will have to present for indictment with the grand jury. If the grand jury returns an indictment, he will then have to be arraigned, which means he must plead guilty or not guilty. This is the stage at which a public defender would enter the proceedings, unless Mr. Kabete can afford to hire a private attorney. After an indictment and at the arraignment, the law requires someone to be represented by a lawyer, assuming he hasn't chosen to represent himself. Mr. Kabete has no such right at this time and will have a long process to get there if the reports prove to be true. It is clear, however, that his interests would be best served by the counsel of a skilled attorney who has experience with these types of charges.

Details have yet to be provided, and the victim's identity continues to be protected due to age and the nature of the crimes. These charges can include a wide array of conduct involved with an act of sexual penetration such as use of a weapon, physical force, threats, the aid of another person, severe personal injury, or it coincides with assault on another. The severity of the charges remains to be seen, but the occurrence of this sort of crime is a huge fear often associated with risky behavior surrounding proms. It should serve as a warning, with weeks left in the prom season. If you find yourself in any way related to a similar occurrence, it is in your best interest to contact an attorney.

There is a reputation for loud, brutish behavior at Philadelphia sporting events and a Cherry Hill New Jersey man did nothing to refute that notion. Apparently, an off-duty police officer was attending the Phillies game with his daughters, and behind them sat a group of extremely intoxicated college aged men. This rowdy crew was certainly a problem, but their poor behavior hit an apex when one of the young men stuck fingers down his throat to vomit at will upon one of the off-duty police officer's daughters. Finally, some other nearby fans intervened and restrained the offender while security could move in to remove him. The man was charged with aggravated assault.

This is a great illustration how one can be charged with assault when the facts are not one a layperson would understand as assault, due to the intent of the law. Here, the young man was charged with aggravated assault because the vomit landed on the girl. The vomit is considered an extension of the man, and of course he willfully vomited, so the act rises to the level of aggravated assault. Many people commonly think that aggravated assault means assault, or harming another using a weapon (i.e. a baseball bat). However, in New Jersey, it is defined in N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1(b)(1) as "attempts to cause serious bodily injury to another, or causes such injury purposely or knowingly or under circumstances manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life recklessly causes injury..." Naturally, there are many more subsections, but that is the basic, fundamental standard for aggravated assault. Psychological trauma on the part of the young girl would certainly be conceivable harm in this case. Now this case is in Pennsylvania so the law may be different, but this gives one an idea of what the spirit and intent of the law is in this matter in New Jersey. A highly skilled attorney would be required to defend against charges such as these.

Sometimes a simple disorderly persons offense can lead its way to the 3rd degree assault on a police officer. This is what happens when you lay your hands on a police officer or in this instance squirt a substance, or bodily fluid, at a cop. Here, a Kentucky woman was being jailed for public intoxication, but she decided to express her displeasure by squirting breast milk in the face of a female police officer while she was changing into the intimate clothes. Her judgment was obviously impaired, but this was a big mistake because instead of probably merely paying a fine, this woman will face a potential criminal record and even jail time.

A common misconception out there is that you must punch or strike someone to qualify for criminal assault. This is simply not the case. As strange as it sounds squirting breast milk at someone can qualify as criminal assault because all that is necessary is that an actor makes contact with someone. The contact can be with your fist, a weapon, or in this case bodily fluid. To make matters worse, this woman assaulted a police officer, which usually carries a stiffer penalty than if she had done this to her neighbor or co-worker. While, Kentucky is a different jurisdiction than New Jersey of course, the laws are most likely similar in dealing with assault on law enforcement officers. This will be a rather expensive legal lesson for this Kentucky woman, but a good tutorial for everyone else out there. Remember when you are around police officers keep your hands, feet, and breast milk to yourself, and always retain an attorney if your behavior has been perceived as an assault.

For the second time in 12 months, Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger finds himself responding to questions about sexual assault. However, this time the woman did not wait a full year to report the crime.

During the late summer of 2009, a Reno casino employee accused Roethlisberger of sexual assault for an alleged incident that occurred in 2008. This woman filed a civil law suit in attempt to get money from Big Ben. This is much different matter. A woman claims she was assault last night and has filed criminal charges with local police in Georgia.

Naturally, this matter is in infancy, but the first few hours are critical in a sexual assault criminal investigation. Here reports indicate that the victim has already gone to the hospital where an forensic evidence will be gathered and she has told her story to police. The two-time Super Bowl champion QB will also be questioned, and he can choose to either refuse or answer the questions. Regardless of guilt or innocence, it is generally advised not to answer questions without a lawyer present.

As the police continue to gather information, it is important to remember that is an ongoing investigation. The fact that someone brought charges does not mean the police have to follow through with them. Rather the police must investigate the matter and if they find probable cause that alleged assault occurred then they can filed chargers against the Steelers QB.

Charges of a drug-fueled rape of a potential client do not do much to help the legal profession. Mr. Al Garcia's rape trial began with his accuser's testimony that when she appeared for a consultation for his legal services one evening, she was instead offered cocaine, raped and forced to perform sexual acts. While three others have come forward to testify that Mr. Garcia attempted to trade legal services for sex, the defense has offered evidence that shows no signs of force or injury in the medical report taken after the alleged attack.

While this story leaps of the page due to the "shock value" the case may still be a difficult for prosecutor's to prove based on the facts that have been publicized. This case ultimately comes down to the credibility of both the victim and the attorney. This is because the attorney's defense is not a denial that sexual acts occurred, but rather that the sexual acts were consensual. The fact that Judge is allowing three witnesses to testify appears to undermine the defense. Witness testimony like this can backfire, though, because the defense may argue that the victim in this case was accepting the attorney's offer. However, the fact that the attorney was allegedly using narcotics really damages the attorney's image for the jury. The jury is going to have to weigh the evidence, and the drug use may be a factor is convincing a jury that the attorney did sexually assault the victim and that there was no consent. An experienced attorney can determine the strongest defense against these types of charges, with extremely sensitive and nebulous circumstances, based upon the specific facts of each individual case.

In addition to the State trial, Garcia has been convicted in Federal Court as well for distribution of cocaine and methamphetamine, though the State jury will not know this, at least until the trial is over. Regardless of the outcome of the state trial, Garcia faces attorney discipline including potential disbarment. His law license has already been suspended, and he will probably be looking for a new line of work. The only question is whether he'll have a stopover in the state prison.

A defendant who pleaded guilty to assault, and charged with drunken driving, drug possession among other things, fled his home state recently. But according to a report, he virtually turned himself in using Facebook. He was living in a nearby state since the fall, and has been wanted by police for failure to appear at his sentencing. Perhaps he didn't realize that police use the Internet too. The tech-savvy police posted a thank-you note too, for the defendant's diligent status posts, which led them to his whereabouts.

Chargers Linebacker Shawne Merriman was arrested over Labor Day weekend for alleged assault and false imprisonment of Tila Tequila (real name: Tila Nguyen). Tequila best known for her MTV show "A Shot at Love," claims that Merriman restrained her and refused to let her leave his home. Merriman claims that he was merely attempting to prevent an intoxicated Tequila from driving an automobile.

New Jersey Criminal Lawyer Blog's Take: First, it should be noted that Tequila has signed a citizen's complaint against Merriman, but Merriman has not been charged by local law enforcement. At this stage the police are still investigating the matter. As for the charges it can be helpful to explain basic definitions. Assault means unwanted physical touching, it can be anything from striking a person with a closed fist to grabbing someone's arm to restrain them. Furthermore, there does not have to be any injury for an assault to take place. Many people get confused that assault has a higher threshold such as kicks and punches that leave bruises, but that is not the case.

False imprisonment sounds harsh as well. If one locked someone in the basement for days, most people would agree that is a clear example of false imprisonment. In this matter, it is alleged that Merriman refused to let Tequila leave his residence. That is actually enough to sign a complaint for false imprisionment. All one has to do is prevent someone from leaving. It can be as simple as pushing a door closed as the person attempts to leave the room.

Here, Merriman was arrested because once law enforcment arrived on the scene he was going to be taken into custody while they sorted out the case. Merriman promptly called his attorney and he was released while the matter is under investigation. Eventually, someone in the Sherrif's Department will make a decision on whether to formally charge Merriman. If they decline to charge the San Diego sackmaster, Ms. Tequila will be left with only potential civil remedies against Merriman.

Abuse probe continues - San Diego Union Tribune