2053 Woodbridge Avenue - Edison, NJ 08817

Monday, August 18, 2014

E421 NJ State Bar Vice-President Election; Attorneys Please Vote for Kenneth Vercammen 2. Inexperienced Drug Sniffing Dog can provide Probable Cause for Search.

 E421 In This Issue:

1. 5 Days Left in NJ State Bar Vice-President Election; Attorneys Please Vote for Kenneth Vercammen

2. Inexperienced Drug Sniffing Dog can provide Probable Cause for Search.

3. No right to counsel in DV cases.

4. Community Events







Greetings Kenneth Vercammen,   

1.  5 Days Left in NJ State Bar Vice-President Election

  Attorneys Please Vote for Kenneth Vercammen

   The Municipal Court Section endorses me and over 500 attorneys signed my petition. I represent the hard working NJ attorneys and seek to continue to represent our interests before the NJSBA, and on Legislation in Trenton. Even if you are not a member of the NJ State Bar or not an attorney, you can ask your attorney friends to vote for me. 

  Voting in this election is important to all NJ attorneys.This election you have a choice of three excellent candidates- a Criminal/Municipal court attorney [me], an Essex County employment law attorney and a New York government attorney. I handle matters throughout New Jersey. There is also a ballot question to clarify if our NJ officers should primarily practice in New Jersey. I know the struggles of traveling from court to court, going from a Probate Will contest in Monmouth, then handling a criminal arraignment in Middlesex in the afternoon, then going to Brick for Municipal Court at night. I am running to help.

 NJ State Bar Election 2013 Details for attorneys:      
     For all members who have an active email address on file, the online ballot and voting instructions was emailed on April 15. Attorneys will not receive a paper ballot unless you call Votenet and request one immediately. Save that April 15 email and follow those directions. The voting is from April 15- May 6. The ballot must be postmarked by May 6.

  Members can contact the bar and ask for a paper ballot. If attorney members have any questions about online voting, or you wish to vote by paper ballot, please call Votenet at 866-543-8750 ASAP. You will need to provide your NJSBA membership ID number. (You may obtain your membership ID number by contacting NJSBA member services at 732-249-5000 (press 1) or at info@njsba.com.)

 Service to educate and improve the Bar has been important to me over the past 25 years. I recently spoke as a volunteer at the NJ ICLE seminars "Municipal Court College", "Handling Drug, DWI & Serious Motor Vehicle Violations in Municipal Court" and "Elder Law and Estate Administration Nuts & Bolts". The speakers such as myself are all volunteers and devote many hours to preparing quality materials and forms on CD to be used by our members. I also make these forms and articles available to New Jersey attorneys who are starting a practice in criminal, traffic probate and estate administration. It's about helping others. Please email me if you need these forms.

2. Inexperienced Drug Sniffing Dog can provide Probable Cause for Search. Florida v. Harris 113 S. Ct. 1050 Feb 19, 2013 Docket No. 11-817
When, subject to challenge by the defendant, the police provide evidence of a drug-sniffing dog's satisfactory performance in a certification or training program, the dog's alert can provide probable cause to search a vehicle. 

3.   No right to counsel in Domestic Violence cases.D.N. VS. K.M. __ NJ Super. __ (App. Div. 2013)A-3021-11T3;

      In these back-to-back appeals of Family Part orders in two domestic violence matters, the court reviewed whether there is a right to assigned counsel, and particularly, whether counsel should be appointed for indigent litigants presenting or defending domestic violence complaints. The court concluded the relief a court may grant and the remedies available under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act (the Act), N.J.S.A. 2C:25-17 to -35, are curative. Therefore, the protections of due process do not require the appointment of counsel for indigents presenting or defending a private party's civil domestic violence action. Also, the Legislature did not intend to invoke the power of the State to prosecute civil requests for restraining orders. Rather, the Act provides a plaintiff with a cause of action for civil relief for which there is no entitlement to assigned counsel.

4. Community Events

May 3, 2013    Rock for Autism D'Jais with Holme Band free buffet 5pm, band 7pm

   Sunday. May 5 from 11AM to 3PM Hailey's Harp and  Pub,
 Metuchen, NJ 08840-Fundraiser                                               

   Please join us in helping to support and raise money for our staff member, Tracy Coleman in her fight against breast cancer. Tickets are $20.00 which includes complimentary buffet, beverage, giveaways and silent auction. Contact Hailey's Harp and Pub at 732-321-0777 or Courtney Coleman at 732-404-07502 for further details. 


May 6, 2013  Elder Law Nuts & Bolts seminar 5PM-9PM  NJ Law Center 1 Constitution Sq. New