Fairfield NJ Criminal Defense Lawyers

Fairfield NJ Criminal Defense Lawyers

You got arrested in Fairfield Township last week, maybe charged with theft after you were accused of shoplifting at a store on Route 46 where they claimed you concealed merchandise worth $300 and the store security stopped you in the parking lot, maybe charged with DWI after police stopped you on Route 46 for swerving between lanes and you failed field sobriety tests and blew .12% on the breath test, maybe charged with simple assault after a fight outside a bar in Fairfield where someone claimed you punched them in the face causing a bloody nose, 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 domestic dispute at your home where neighbors called police and you were yelling loudly in the street, and you don’t know whether your case is in Fairfield Township 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 is simple assault handled in municipal court or aggravated assault that goes to Superior Court, whether you can get PTI if it’s an indictable offense or conditional discharge if it’s a disorderly persons offense, whether you need to hire a lawyer or can handle this yourself, whether you’ll lose your job if you’re convicted, whether this will affect your immigration status if you’re not a citizen, and the answer depends on the degree of the offense where disorderly persons offenses are handled in Fairfield Township Municipal Court at 230 Fairfield Road with court sessions on Thursdays at 2:30 PM before the municipal court judge, while indictable offenses are initially filed in Fairfield 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 theft charges in Fairfield are particularly common since Fairfield Township has one of the highest theft rates in Essex County where shoplifting at retail stores along Route 46 leads to frequent arrests, and if the value of stolen property is under $200 the charge is a disorderly persons offense handled in Fairfield Municipal Court, but if the value is $200 to $500 it’s fourth-degree theft which is indictable and gets forwarded to the Essex County Prosecutor, and if the value exceeds $500 it’s third-degree theft or higher depending on the amount, 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 Fairfield Township 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 jurisdiction.

Fairfield Township Municipal Court has jurisdiction over disorderly persons offenses, petty disorderly persons offenses, traffic violations, 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 petty disorderly persons offenses carry up to 30 days jail and a $500 fine, while indictable offenses are more serious crimes that get forwarded from Fairfield Municipal Court to the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the prosecutor decides whether to present the case to a grand jury for indictment or downgrade it back to the municipal court as a disorderly persons offense since indictable offenses are prosecuted at Essex County Superior Court in Newark and carry state prison sentences ranging from 18 months for fourth-degree offenses up to 20 years for first-degree offenses.

Theft charges in Fairfield.

Fairfield Township has one of the highest rates of theft in Essex County, making theft and shoplifting charges common where theft is graded under N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3 based on value, and if the value is under $200 it’s a disorderly persons offense with six months maximum, while $200-$500 is fourth-degree indictable carrying 18 months, $500-$75,000 is third-degree carrying three to five years, and over $75,000 becomes second-degree or first-degree, and the amount determines whether you’re in municipal court or Superior Court, whether you’re eligible for conditional discharge or PTI, and prosecutors sometimes inflate the value to push cases into indictable territory while defense strategy involves challenging the alleged value since a few hundred dollars can be the difference between municipal court resolution and Superior Court proceedings.

Route 46 runs through Fairfield Township, and DWI arrests are common along this corridor where state troopers and Fairfield police conduct traffic stops that lead to DWI investigations, and DWI in New Jersey is a traffic offense handled in Fairfield 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.

Simple assault is a disorderly persons offense handled in Fairfield Municipal Court if it involves a fight, shoving, or minor injury, while aggravated assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1 is an indictable offense that gets forwarded to Essex County Superior Court if the assault involved serious bodily injury, a weapon, or if the victim was a police officer or other protected class, and drug possession charges depend on the substance and amount where possession of marijuana under 50 grams is a disorderly persons offense in Fairfield Municipal Court, but possession of marijuana over 50 grams or possession of cocaine, heroin, or other controlled dangerous substances is an indictable offense forwarded to the Essex County Prosecutor, while disorderly conduct and harassment are common municipal court charges arising from domestic disputes, neighbor disputes, or disturbances where someone used offensive language, created a hazardous condition, or engaged in alarming conduct.

Former Essex County prosecutors who now practice criminal defense in Fairfield know the Fairfield Municipal Court judges, know the municipal prosecutors who handle cases at the Thursday afternoon sessions, 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, while local counsel familiarity with Fairfield court procedures, with the police officers who testify in DWI and drug cases, with the standards the judge applies for conditional discharge eligibility, and with the Essex County assistant prosecutors who review cases forwarded from municipal court provides strategic advantages in case evaluation, plea negotiation, and trial preparation since attorneys who regularly appear in Fairfield Municipal Court understand that many cases initially charged as indictable offenses get downgraded to disorderly persons offenses when the prosecutor reviews the evidence and determines that the case doesn’t warrant Superior Court prosecution, but effective advocacy is required to secure those downgrades by presenting mitigating factors, challenging evidence, and demonstrating weaknesses in the State’s case.

Call 212-300-5196.