E438
NJ LAWS
EMAIL NEWSLETTER
Kenneth
Vercammen, Attorney at Law
Dear Kenneth,
In this issue:
1. Points in Motor Vehicle Violations
2. Defendant can be
entitled to Adjournment to Select Own Counsel.
3. Juvenile adjudication does not bar adult expungement.
1. Points in Motor Vehicle Violations
Motor vehicle violations
and criminal charges can cost you. If
you plead guilty by mail or in court for almost all traffic tickets, you will
have to pay fines in court and will later receive points on your
driver’s license. Both the DMV/MVC and your car insurance company will impose
surcharges and eligibility points for one-three years.
N.J.A.C. 13:19-10.1 Point Assessment
Any
person who is convicted of any of the following offenses, including offenses
committed while operating a motorized bicycle, shall be assessed points for
each conviction in accordance with the following schedule:
N.J.S.A. Statutory
Violation Description Points
39:4-14.3 Operating motorized bicycle on restricted highway 2
39:4-14.3d More than 1 person on a
motorized bicycle. 2
39:4-35 Failure to yield to pedestrian in
crosswalk. 2
39:4-36 Failure to yield to pedestrian or passing
a vehicle
yielding to pedestrian in
crosswalk 2
39:4-41 Driving through safety zone. 2
39:4-52 Racing
on Highway 5
39:4-55 Improper action or omission on grades and
curves
2
39:4-57 Failure to observe directions of officer.
2
39:4-66 Failure to stop before crossing
sidewalk 2
39:4-66.1 Failure to yield to pedestrians or vehicles
while
entering
or leaving highway 2
39:4-66.2 Driving on private property to avoid traffic
signal
or
stop sign 2
39:4-71 Improper driving on sidewalk 2
39:4-80 Failure to obey direction of officer 2
39:4-81 Failure to observe traffic signal 2
39:4-82 Failure to keep right 2
39:4-82.1 Improper operating of vehicle on divided
highway
or divider 2
39:4-83 Failure to keep right at
intersection 2
39:4-84 Failure to pass right of vehicle proceeding
in
opposite direction 5
39:4-85 Improper
passing on right or off roadway 4
39:4-85.1 Wrong
way on one-way street 2
39:4-86 Improper
passing, in "No Passing" zone 4
39:4-87 Failure
to yield to overtake vehicle 2
39:4-88 Failure
to observe traffic lanes 2
39:4-89 Tailgating 5
39:4-90 Failure
to yield at intersection
2
39:4-90.1 Failure
to use proper entrances to limited access
highway 2
39:4-91
Failure to yield to
emergency vehicle 2
39:4-96 Reckless
driving 5
39:4-97 Careless
driving 2
39:4-97a Destruction
of agricultural or recreational property 2
39:4-97.1 Slow
speed blocking traffic 2
39:4-98 or
Speeding up to 14 mph above limit 2
39:4-99 Speeding
15-29 mph above limit 4
Speeding 30 mph or more above limit 5
39:4-105 Failure
to stop at traffic light 2
39:4-115 Improper
turn at traffic light 3
39:4-119 Failure
to stop at flashing red signal 2
39:4-122 Failure
to stop for police whistle 2
39:4-123 Improper
right or left turn 3
39:4-124 Improper
turn: from approved turning course 3
39:4-125 Improper
U-turn 3
39:4-126 Failure
to give proper signal 2
39:4-127 Improper
backing or turn in street 2
39:4-127.1 Improper crossing of railroad grade crossing 2
39:4-127.2 Improper crossing of bridge
2
39:4-128 Improper
crossing of railroad grade 2
39:4-128.1 Improper passing of school bus
5
39:4-128.4 Improper passing of frozen dessert truck 4
39:4-129 Leaving
scene of accident- No injuries 2
39:4-129 Personal
Injury 8
39:4-144 Failure
to observe of stop or yield signs 2
39:5D-4 Moving violation out-of-state 2
27:23-29 Moving
against traffic-NJ Turnpike, Garden State
Pkwy. and Atlantic City
Expressway 2
27:23-29 Improper
passing-NJ Tpke., Garden State Pkwy.
and Atlantic City Expressway 4
27:23-29 Unlawful
use of median strip-NJ Tpke., Garden
State
Pkwy. and Atlantic City Expressway 2
39:3-20 Operating
Constructor vehicle in excess of 45 mph 3
DWI, Driving While Suspended, No insurance, unlicensed
driver and other violations also have both MVC/DMV surcharges and car insurance
surcharges/ increases. More details at www.njlaws.com
Recent
Cases:
2.
New cases: Defendant can be
entitled to Adjournment to Select Own Counsel. State v Kates __ NJ __ (2014) (A-40-12)
The judgment
of the Appellate Division is affirmed substantially for the reasons expressed
in Judge Ostrer’s opinion below. Deprivation of a defendant’s right to counsel
of choice is found where, as here, a trial court denies an adjournment without
properly considering the relevant factors or abuses its discretion in doing so.
The Appellate Division held Defendant
Entitled to Adjournment to Select Own Counsel. State v. Kates 426 NJ
Super. 32 (App. Div. 2012)
The Appellate Division concluded the trial court
mistakenly exercised its discretion in denying defendant a continuance to
enable him to retain counsel of his choice, after he learned on the eve of
trial that the assistant deputy public defender who had been representing him
was about to deployed for active military service. Although the right to counsel of choice is
not absolute and may be balanced against the court's interest in managing its
calendar, the trial court failed to weigh the appropriate factors governing the
discretionary decision whether to grant the requested continuance. The availability of competent counsel not of
defendant's choice was an insufficient basis for denying the continuance. As deprivation of counsel of choice is a
structural error not subject to harmless error analysis, reversal of
defendant's conviction and a new trial is mandated.
3. Juvenile adjudication
does not bar adult expungement. In the Matter of the Expungement Application of
D.J.B. __ NJ __ (2014)
Based on its language and legislative
history, N.J.S.A. 2C: 52-4.1(a) applies only to the expungement of juvenile
adjudications and does not transform a juvenile adjudication into a
"crime" that would bar a later attempt to expunge an adult conviction
under N.J.S.A. 2C:52-2.
