Maplewood Criminal Defense Lawyer
Maplewood Criminal Defense Lawyer
You got arrested in Maplewood Township last week, maybe charged with DWI after police stopped you on Springfield Avenue late at night and you failed field sobriety tests and blew over .08% on the breath test, maybe charged with theft after you were accused of shoplifting from a store on Valley Street or Maplewood Avenue where they claimed you concealed merchandise worth $350 and store security stopped you in the parking lot, maybe charged with simple assault after a fight at a local establishment where you allegedly punched someone causing a bloody nose or black eye, maybe charged with drug possession after police found marijuana in your car during a traffic stop and they’re claiming it was over 50 grams which makes it indictable instead of a disorderly persons offense, maybe charged with disorderly conduct after a loud argument with neighbors or a domestic dispute where police were called, maybe charged with harassment after repeated phone calls or text messages to someone who claims you were threatening or harassing them, and you don’t know whether your case is in Maplewood Municipal Court or at Essex County Superior Court in Newark, you don’t know the difference between a disorderly persons offense and an indictable offense, whether you’re facing six months in county jail or five years in state prison, whether your theft charge is municipal or indictable based on the amount stolen, whether your assault charge stays in municipal court or gets forwarded to Superior Court, whether you need to hire a lawyer or can represent yourself, whether you’ll lose your job if you’re convicted, whether this will show up on background checks for employment or housing applications, and the answer depends on the degree of the offense where disorderly persons offenses are handled in Maplewood Municipal Court while indictable offenses are initially filed in municipal court but then forwarded to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office in Newark where a prosecutor reviews the case and decides whether to present it to a grand jury for indictment or downgrade it back to the municipal court as a disorderly persons offense, and disorderly persons offenses carry a maximum penalty of up to six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine with no possibility of state prison, while indictable offenses carry years in state prison where fourth-degree indictable offenses bring up to eighteen months in state prison and a $10,000 fine, third-degree offenses bring three to five years in state prison and a $15,000 fine, second-degree offenses bring five to ten years in state prison and a $150,000 fine, first-degree offenses bring ten to twenty years in state prison and a $200,000 fine, and Maplewood is a diverse suburb in Essex County where cases are handled either in the local municipal court for disorderly persons offenses and traffic violations or forwarded to the Veterans Courthouse in Newark for indictable prosecution where you’ll face a grand jury indictment and potentially years in state prison, and thanks for visiting Spodek Law Group, a second-generation law firm managed by Todd Spodek where we’ve represented clients in Essex County criminal cases for over 40 years, many, many cases at Maplewood Municipal Court for disorderly persons offenses and traffic violations, many, many cases at the Veterans Courthouse in Newark for indictable offenses, and if you’re reaching out to us we understand the stakes you’re facing.
Municipal court vs Superior Court.
Maplewood Municipal Court has jurisdiction over disorderly persons offenses, petty disorderly persons offenses, traffic violations including DWI, and local ordinance violations where disorderly persons offenses are less serious than indictable offenses but they’re still criminal charges that result in a criminal record if you’re convicted, and common disorderly persons offenses include simple assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1, disorderly conduct under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-2, harassment, shoplifting or theft where the value is under $200, drug possession of marijuana under 50 grams, and possession of drug paraphernalia, while the maximum penalty for a disorderly persons offense is six months in county jail and a $1,000 fine, and indictable offenses are more serious crimes that get forwarded from Maplewood Municipal Court to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office where the prosecutor decides whether to present the case to a grand jury or downgrade it to a disorderly persons offense, and indictable offenses are prosecuted at Essex County Superior Court in Newark.
Theft charges in Maplewood are graded under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3 based on the value of property stolen where if the value is under $200 it’s a disorderly persons offense handled in municipal court with six months maximum jail, while $200-$500 is fourth-degree indictable carrying up to 18 months in state prison, $500-$75,000 is third-degree carrying three to five years, and assault charges depend on severity where simple assault involving a fight, shoving, or minor injury is a disorderly persons offense in municipal court, while aggravated assault involving serious bodily injury, use of a weapon, or if the victim was a police officer is an indictable offense forwarded to Superior Court, and drug possession of marijuana under 50 grams is a disorderly persons offense, but over 50 grams or possession of cocaine, heroin, or other controlled dangerous substances is indictable.
DWI is a traffic offense, not a criminal offense, but it’s handled seriously in Maplewood Municipal Court under N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 where first offense brings three-month to one-year license suspension depending on BAC, fines, IDRC classes, and ignition interlock device, while second offense brings two-year suspension and jail time, third offense brings ten-year suspension, and DWI cannot be plea bargained or downgraded in New Jersey since viable defenses involve challenging the motor vehicle stop, probable cause, Alcotest procedures, or field sobriety test administration.
First-time offenders charged with disorderly persons offenses in Maplewood Municipal Court may be eligible for conditional discharge where sentencing is deferred while you complete probation, and upon successful completion the charge gets dismissed, while first-time offenders charged with indictable offenses may be eligible for PTI at Essex County Superior Court where you complete probation and the charges get dismissed, but PTI requires prosecutor approval, and both conditional discharge and PTI are only available for defendants with no prior criminal record.
Former Essex County prosecutors who now practice criminal defense in Maplewood know the municipal court judges, know the municipal prosecutors, know which indictable cases the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office typically downgrades back to disorderly persons offenses, and know when to fight a case in municipal court versus when to prepare for Superior Court proceedings since attorneys who regularly appear in Maplewood Municipal Court understand that many cases initially charged as indictable offenses get downgraded when the prosecutor reviews the evidence.
Call 212-300-5196.
NJ CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEYS