Union County Violent Crime Lawyer
Welcome to Spodek Law Group. Our goal is to give you the reality of violent crime charges in Union County, New Jersey - not the sanitized version other attorneys present, not the Hollywood fiction, but the actual truth about what happens when you're facing assault, aggravated assault, manslaughter, or any charge that triggers New Jersey's No Early Release Act.
Here is what nobody tells you until it is too late: Good behavior in New Jersey prisons does not shorten violent crime sentences. At all. The No Early Release Act means you serve 85% of your sentence before you are even eligible for parole. If a judge sentences you to ten years, you will serve eight and a half years minimum. Not because you misbehaved. Because the law was designed that way.
This changes everything about how violent crime cases in Union County must be approached. The prosecutor does not need to prove you deserve the maximum sentence. They only need to prove you committed a NERA-qualifying offense. Once that conviction happens, the 85% requirement activates automatically. The judge has no discretion to reduce it. Your good behavior over years in prison cannot reduce it. It is baked into the statute.
The 85% Rule Nobody Explains Until Its Too Late
Heres the thing about NERA that catches people off guard. Most defendants hear about mandatory minimums and think of them as the floor - the starting point for negotiation. But under New Jersey's No Early Release Act, the 85% is not a minimum sentence. Its the minimum time you serve of whatever sentence you recieve.
Consider what this means practicaly. A second-degree aggravated assault conviction carries five to ten years. If the judge sentences you to seven years, you will serve 5.95 years before parole eligibility. Thats nearly six years regardless of whether your a model prisoner. Work programs dont help. Educational achievements dont help. Perfect disciplinary record dosent help. The 85% is the 85%.
And heres the kicker - 74% of New Jersey prisoners are currently serving mandatory minimum sentences. This is not some rare exception. This is how the system operates now. NERA has fundamentaly changed who goes to prison in New Jersey and for how long.
The crimes covered under NERA include murder, aggravated manslaughter, manslaughter, aggravated assault, robbery, sexual assault, aggravated sexual assault, kidnapping, vehicular homicide, disarming a law enforcement officer, carjacking, aggravated arson, and burglary. Attempting or conspiring to commit any of these offenses also triggers the 85% requirement. If your charge appears on this list, the parole math changes completly.
When Jose Melo pled guilty to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in Union County Superior Court in late 2024, he faced 28 years. Under NERA, that means 23.8 years before he can even apply for parole. The day before his girlfriend was killed, he posted a proposal video on Facebook. The next morning he called 911. Digital evidence became prosecution evidence. Sentancing math became the entire case.
The victim, Naket Jadix Trinidad Maldonado, was a 31-year-old mother of two. Prosecutors used the social media evidence to reconstruct the timeline and establish the relationship context. This is how modern violent crime prosecution works in Union County - your digital life becomes exhibit evidence.
Why Your Self-Defense Claim Becomes Your Confession
OK so heres were people really get confused about violent crime cases in New Jersey. Self-defense is what lawyers call an "affirmative defense." This sounds like a good thing. It is not. Affirmative defense means you are admiting you committed the act. Your not saying "I didnt do it." Your saying "I did it, but I had justification."
Think about that. Let that sink in.
The moment you claim self-defense, you have confessed to the violent act. Now the entire case becomes whether your justification holds up. And in New Jersey, justification has very specific requirements that most people dont know about until there already in handcuffs.
New Jersey has NO stand your ground law. Unlike Florida, Texas, and most other states, New Jersey requires you to retreat before using force - unless your in your own home. Even then, the castle doctrine has conditions people dont understand. You must first demand the intruder leave. Deadly force is only justified if theres an immediate threat to life - not property, not theft in progress, only imminent danger to a person.
What actually happens in Union County is this: You tell police exactly what occured. You explain how you were defending yourself. You think your being helpfull by providing details. Every single detail you provide confirms you committed the violent act. Now prosecution reviews whether you retreated when you could have. They examine wheather your force was proportional. They analyze if the threat was truly imminent.
Your detailed statement, the one you thought was exculpatory, becomes there star evidence. Todd Spodek has seen this pattern hundreds of times. Clients come in beleiving there statement would clear them. Instead it became the prosecution's roadmap.
The proportionality requirement is where most self-defense claims collapse. Someone shoves you in a bar. You punch them and they fall, hitting their head on the concrete. Serious injury. Now your facing aggravated assault charges because your response was disproportionate to the initial threat. The shove wasnt life-threatening. Your punch was. This is not theoretical - this is the exact scenario that fills Union County courtrooms.
If you discharge a firearm during what you beleive is self-defense and someone is seriously injured or killed, you will almost certainly be arrested. Police will hold you while they investigate. You could face charges ranging from aggravated assault to manslaughter to murder. The self-defense claim dosent prevent arrest - it becomes part of what you must prove at trial.
What Happens in the First 48 Hours After a Union County Arrest
Most people dont realize Union County operates differently then it used to. The Union County Jail in Elizabeth is a 1,100-bed facility that has transistioned into a central intake and temporary detention center. It no longer houses offenders long-term. This change was driven by decreasing jail populations and efforts to streamline correctional operations across the state.
Heres what this means practicaly. You get arrested in Plainfield for aggravated assault. Your processed at the Union County facility in Elizabeth. Then your transfered to Essex County or Hudson County correctional facility for actual detention. Your case is being handled in Union County Superior Court while your physicaly jailed in a completely different county.
Your family calls Union County looking for you. Your not there anymore. They have to figure out which county you were shipped to. Visits become complicated. Attorney meetings require coordination across county lines. The system is designed for efficency, not for defendant's convenience.
In October 2024, four men were indicted for aggravated manslaughter in the death of 28-year-old Kerline Charles. Union County grand jury returned the indictment. All four - Jeremyh Joseph Charles, Marvin Joseph Charles, Kern Charles, and Timothee Joseph Charles - were arrested and remanded to Essex County Correctional Facility. Not Union County. This is standard procedure now.
The Union County Sheriff's Office operates a Family Violence Unit, one of the first of its kind in New Jersey. They coordinate with the Union County Family Justice Center on domestic violence cases. If your violent crime charge involves domestic violence, you face additional layers of prosecution coordination and specialized investigation. The resources deployed against you are substantial.
For in-person records requests about someone arrested in Union County, you can visit the Sheriff's Office at 10 Elizabethtown Plaza, Elizabeth, NJ 07207. They're open Monday through Friday, 8am to 4pm. But call ahead at 908-527-4450 because if the person has already been transfered, they may not have current location information.
The Difference Between 2nd Degree and 3rd Degree Is Not What You Think
Listen, one of the most dangerous misconceptions in violent crime defense is that pleading down from a second-degree charge to a third-degree charge is a major victory. Your lawyer negotiates, the prosecutor agrees to reduce the charge, everyone acts like you won something. But heres the part nobody talks about.
Third-degree aggravated assault is still a NERA offense. The 85% rule still applies.
Second degree carries five to ten years with 85% required. Third degree carries three to five years with 85% required. If you plead to third degree and recieve four years, you serve 3.4 years minimum. Thats still years of your life. And good behavior still dosent help.
Heres were the sentancing math gets really uncomfortable. Second-degree aggravated assault with a 10-year sentence means you serve 8.5 years before parole eligibility. Third-degree with a 5-year sentence means 4.25 years. The "victory" of pleading down from second to third degree might save you four years - but only if the judge sentences at the maximum for second degree and minimum for third degree. Often the actual differance is much smaller then defendants expect.
At Spodek Law Group, we focus on avoiding NERA-qualifying convictions entirely. That means looking for charges that dont trigger the 85% requirement. Simple assault instead of aggravated assault. Disorderly conduct instead of assault. Complete dismissal if the evidence supports it. The goal is not "a better NERA sentence." The goal is no NERA sentence.
Pre-Trial Intervention exists for third and fourth degree offenses. This is a diversionary program that can result in dismissed charges if completed succesfully. You enter probation, meet all conditions, and the original charges are dismissed. No conviction. No NERA. No 85%.
But PTI is not availible for second-degree violent crimes. If your charged with second-degree aggravated assault, diversion is off the table from day one. Another reason why the specific charge matters enormously - and why early intervention in your case can make the differance between eligibility for dismissal and mandatory years in prison.
When Castle Doctrine Wont Save You
People hear "castle doctrine" and think its a blank check to use force in their home. This is wrong. It is dangerously wrong. And the consequences of misunderstanding it can mean the differance between freedom and a decade in prison.
New Jersey's castle doctrine requires specific conditions before deadly force is justified.
First, the intruder must have already used or threatened deadly force against you or someone in the home. Not threatened to steal. Not broken a window. Threatened death or serious injury. Second, you must reasonably beleive someone present will suffer serious bodily harm without your use of force. Third - and this is were cases fall apart - you cannot have been the initial aggressor.
In May 2025, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in State v. Bragg that a trial court committed plain error by failing to properly instruct the jury on the castle doctrine. The conviction was reversed and a new trial ordered. This tells you something important: even judges sometimes get the castle doctrine wrong. If judges make mistakes on these requirements, imagine how easily a scared homeowner at 3am will misunderstand what they can legally do.
Heres were it gets interesting. Even inside your home, you may need to demand the intruder leave before using force. The law still requires proportionality. Shooting a retreating burglar who has your television is not castle doctrine protection - its potentialy murder. The doctrine allows defense of persons, not defense of property.
And if the confrontation is anywhere outside your home? Full duty to retreat applies. You cannot stand and fight if retreat is possible. The irony is stark: New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in America, yet even if you legally own a firearm, you must run before you can use it to defend yourself anywhere outside your residence.
New Jersey lawmakers have never passed a stand your ground law. This makes New Jersey one of the most restrictive states in America for self-defense claims. The castle doctrine is the only exception to the duty to retreat, and even that exception has multiple requirements that must all be satisfied.
What Union County Prosecutors Look For in Violent Crime Cases
Union County prosecutors handle violent crime cases with a specific pattern that defense attorneys who practice here understand intimatly. The County Prosecutor's Office operates out of Elizabeth, and they maintain close coordination with local police departments across the county - Elizabeth, Plainfield, Westfield, Summit, all of them.
Heres the reality check. Prosecutors want convictions on the highest provable charge. Violent crime convictions are politicaly valuable because they generate headlines and demonstrate "tough on crime" positioning. But experienced prosecutors also know which cases will hold up at trial and which wont.
What they look for:
- Injury severity (worse injury = stronger case for aggravated assault)
- Weapons involvement (any weapon, even improvised, elevates charges)
- Witness statements (especially from people not involved in the altercation)
- Your statements (anything you said to police, on social media, to the alleged victim)
- Prior history (previous violent offenses make conviction more likely and sentencing harsher)
- Digital evidence (texts, social media posts, surveillance footage)
Notice what is not on that list? Who started it. Prosecutors in violent crime cases dont always care about initiation. They care about who caused more harm, who used disproportionate force, who could have retreated and didnt. Todd Spodek tells clients this consistently: the question is not "who swung first" but "who swung harder and could have walked away."
The digital evidence piece cannot be overstated. Text messages you sent before the incident. Social media posts that show your state of mind. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses. Ring doorbells from neighboring houses. Modern violent crime prosecution uses all of it. The Jose Melo case shows this perfectly - his Facebook proposal video the day before became part of the prosecution's narrative about the relationship.
At Spodek Law Group, we analyze these same factors from the defense perspective. Where is the weakness in there case? What evidence can be challenged? What witnesses have credibility problems? What constitutional violations occured during the investigation?
The Supervised Release You Dont Know About
Most people focus entirely on the prison sentence without understanding what comes after. NERA dosent just require 85% time served before parole eligibility. It also imposes mandatory supervised release after you get out.
For first-degree violent crimes, you face five years of supervised release after completing your prison sentence. For second-degree crimes, its three years. This is not optional. This is not negotiable. This is part of the NERA statute.
During supervised release, you report to a parole officer. You face restrictions on where you can live, who you can associate with, where you can travel. Violations can send you back to prison. The "ten year sentence" for second-degree aggravated assault becomes 8.5 years in prison plus 3 years of supervised release. Thats 11.5 years of your life under state control.
Heres what nobody explains clearly. If you violate supervised release conditions, you can be sent back to prison to serve the remaining portion of your original sentence. The parole system becomes another trap, another way to extend your time under incarceration.
The Felony Record That Follows Forever
Even after prison. Even after supervised release. The violent crime conviction follows you permanantly. Employment applications ask about felonies. Background checks reveal the conviction. Professional licenses can be revoked or denied.
In New Jersey, certain violent crime convictions trigger automatic disqualification from specific professions. Healthcare workers, teachers, law enforcement, security guards - entire career paths close permanantly. This is not about whether employers will hire you. This is about whether the state will even allow you to work in your field.
Housing applications routinely check criminal history. Landlords can legally deny applications based on violent crime convictions. Public housing has federal restrictions on admitting violent offenders. The apartment you thought you'd rent after release may not be availible to you.
The consequence cascade extends for decades. The violent crime conviction becomes a permanant part of your identity in the eyes of every institution that runs a background check. This is why the stakes are so high, why avoiding the NERA conviction matters more then reducing the sentence.
The Path Forward When Youre Facing NERA Charges
The window to avoid a NERA conviction begins closing the moment your arrested. Every statement you make, every piece of evidence collected, every witness interviewed - all of this happens in the days and weeks after arrest. By the time most people hire an attorney, the prosecution has already built significant portions of there case.
This is why timing matters so much in Union County violent crime cases. An attorney who intervenes early can:
- Advise you on what NOT to say (protecting you from the self-defense confession trap)
- Challenge probable cause for the arrest itself
- File suppresion motions before evidence becomes entrenched
- Negotiate with prosecutors before they become invested in a particular charging decision
- Identify witnesses who support your version before memories fade
- Preserve evidence that helps you before it disappears
The consequnce cascade of a violent crime conviction extends far beyond prison. After serving your 85%, you face supervised release. Then theres the felony record that follows you everywhere. Employment barriers. Housing restrictions. Professional license revocations. The ten years in prison becomes twenty years of consequences.
Heres the reality of your situation right now. If your reading this at 11pm because you or someone you love was arrested today, the system has already started moving. Union County processes arrests through Elizabeth and transfers to Essex or Hudson. The prosecutor's office is reviewing charges. Witnesses are being interviewed. Evidence is being catalogued.
The next 48 hours determine the next decade of your life.
At Spodek Law Group, we understand that violent crime charges in New Jersey carry stakes most lawyers never adequatly explain. We understand NERA. We understand the self-defense trap. We understand how Union County prosecutors build these cases and where those cases can be challenged.
The difference between a NERA conviction and a non-NERA resolution can be the differance between mandatory prison time and a diversionary program. Between 85% of a decade and probation. Between a violent felony record and dismissed charges.
That window is closing. 212-300-5196 reaches someone who understands what your actualy facing.
