NJ LAWS EMAIL NEWLETTER E431
Kenneth Vercammen, Attorney at Law
In this Issue:
1. Investigator violated rules by destroying
notes.
2. Cellphone can't be tracked without warrant.
3. Landlord could call police to advise saw
drugs.
4. Next Events, Reminder: Holiday Happy Hour
& Networking Social, Friday, December
6, 2013;
5:00PM - 7:00PM Bar A, Belmar
1. Investigator violated rules by destroying
notes. State v. Dabas __ NJ __ (2013)(A-109-11)
The prosecutor's office violated its
post-indictment discovery obligations under
Rule
3:13-3, when its investigator destroyed his notes of a two-hour pre-interview
of defendant. The trial court abused its
discretion in denying defendant's request
for a charge that would have allowed the jury to
draw an adverse inference from
the destruction of the interview notes more than
a year after the return of the
indictment.
2. Cellphone can't be tracked without warrant
State v. Earls __ NJ __ (2013)( A-53-11)
Article I, Paragraph 7 of the New Jersey
Constitution protects an individual's privacy
interest in the location of his or her cell
phone. Police must obtain a warrant
based on a showing of probable cause, or qualify
for an exception to the warrant
requirement, to obtain tracking information
through the use of a cell phone.
3. Landlord could call police to advise saw drugs
State v Wright __ NJ Super. __
(App. Div.
2013) A-4813-10T1
This appeal concerns the "third-party
intervention" (or "private search") doctrine,
which courts have applied in authorizing the police
to inspect or search a defendant's
property in certain instances without a warrant,
so long as the police do not exceed
the scope of the private actor's intrusion that
led to the police's involvement.
The trial court relied upon this doctrine in denying
defendant's motion to suppress
drugs and other incriminating evidence seized by
the police from his girlfriend's
apartment. The landlord had entered the apartment
at the girlfriend's request to
repair a
leak. While he was there, the landlord observed drugs on a nightstand
and, in fear, he called the police. The police
responded to the scene, were let
into the apartment by the landlord, and confirmed
his observation of the drugs and
other contraband in open view. The girlfriend
then arrived and the police secured
her consent to a search of the apartment, through
which they found a gun and other
evidence of criminal conduct.
Given the heightened constitutional protection
that the Fourth Amendment of the
United States Constitution and Article 1, paragraph
7 of the New Jersey Constitution
accord to the privacy of residential premises,
the court joins with several other
courts in limiting the extent to which the
third-party intervention doctrine may
authorize
warrantless police searches of private residences. In particular, the
court
holds that, at the very least, the doctrine does not apply in situations
where the third party who provides the police
with access to a dwelling has entered
it unlawfully or otherwise in violation of the
resident's property rights or her
reasonable
privacy expectations. Apart from that limitation, the doctrine also
should not apply if the totality of the intrusion
by the private party and law enforcement
officials is objectively unreasonable.
Because these residency-related limitations were
not violated here, the court affirmed
the denial of the suppression motion and
defendant's ensuing conviction.
4. Next Events
Tue, Dec 10 @ 6:00p
Annual Young Lawyers Holiday Brew Ho-Ho
[http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=ze9oujpab.0.0.ijlzbhpab.0&id=preview&r=3&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mcbalaw.com%2Fcde.cfm%3Fevent%3D391362]
Mike's Courtside Tavern
1 Elm Row
New Brunswick
Heavy Hors D'oeuvres, Open Bar, Games,
Co-Sponsored by the NJSBA Young Lawyers Lawyers
Division
Cost: $20 Law Clerks; $30 Young Lawyers; $40 MCBA
Members; and $60 All Others
_________________________________________________
REMINDER:
Clients,
Friends, Attorneys Professionals, Business owners
and their staff invited to Holiday
Happy Hour & Networking Social
Friday, December 6, 2013
5:00PM - 7:00PM
at Bar Anticipation
703 16th Avenue
Lake Como/ Belmar, NJ 07719
Free !
5-7PM Hot & Cold Buffet with carving station
The reduced price Happy Hour is 6-7PM with $1
House Drink, Bud/BudLt draft & House
Wine Special
Sorry if this is a Duplicate but we did not want
to miss anyone
Please bring a canned food donation for the St.
James Food Bank Hands of Hope, continuing
providing food and help to individuals in need.
Email Ken Vercammen's Law Office so we can put
your name on the VIP list for wristbands
@ VercammenLaw@Njlaws.com
Https://www.facebook.com/events/595540683835671/
Co-Sponsored by this year the NJSBA Municipal
Court Section, Solo & Small Firm Division,
Criminal Law Section, Young Lawyers Division,
Family Law Section, Entertainment
Arts & Sports Law Section, Banking Law
Section, Women in the Profession Section,
Minorities
in the Profession Section, LGBT Rights Section, Government & Public
Sector Lawyers Special Committee.
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