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         Choosing the right lawyer to handle your legal problem is a challenge. It is a challenge, however, that you must prepare to handle through research and open communication with any one of the New Jersey Lawyers you consider hiring to represent you. New Jersey law is complex and the best New Jersey lawyers will be able to fully answer all your questions regarding your legal problem . An experienced lawyer can provide a framework for you to examine all potential outcomes of your case. People often begin looking for a New Jersey lawyer to represent them when they are in crisis. They may be dealing with a family death, serious injury, divorce or criminal charge. Many times it is easiest to choose a New Jersey lawyer who is friendly. You need more! Your search for the right New Jersey lawyer is a challenging process but one that should yield substantial rewards. Begin the process as soon as possible to avoid losing your right to sue under a statute of limitation or other deadline and that evidence is preserved. 

           There is no substitute for a face to face meeting , if possible, when trying to select an attorney. You can not only learn about the lawyer’s credentials but also determine whether you can form a good working relationship. At the meeting, provide a clear summary of your legal problem and the assistance you seek from the New Jersey lawyer. Come prepared with all relevant documents and a summary of all important dates, times, names, addresses to provide the basic background information. The New Jersey lawyer should be able to describe the degree of communication afforded his or her clients. Is there shared decision-making? Is there an open door policy? The best New Jersey lawyers are willing to explain procedures and answer questions. Understand what is expected of you and what your role would be during the course of the representation. The importance of creating a comfortable working relationship with your New Jersey lawyer cannot be underestimated. Teamwork is the key to the relationship and achieving the goals agreed upon by you and your lawyer. The best New Jersey lawyers, after hearing the facts presented by the client and other needed inquiry, should have an idea about the strengths and weaknesses of the client’s position and the likelihood of achieving the goals as set forth

         In the end, it is the United States Supreme Court that best summarized the lawyer-client relationship. The best New Jersey lawyers adhere to this description of the relationship:

"There are few of the business relations in life involving a higher trust and confidence than that of attorney and client, or, generally speaking, one more honorably and faithfully discharged; few more anxiously guarded by the law, or governed by sterner principles of morality and justice; and it is the duty of the court to administer them in a corresponding spirit, and to be watchful and industrious, to see that confidence thus reposed shall not be used to the detriment or prejudice of the rights of the party bestowing it."

     It can be confusing when trying to choose an attorney to meet your legal needs. You may have never needed an attorney before, so you ask a friend to refer you to someone or you look in the Yellow Pages where hundreds of attorneys are listed. But how do you choose one attorney over another and how can you be sure that you will choose the right attorney to handle your particular legal problem?

     Finding the right attorney is to the benefit of both you and the attorney you choose. That is why the Supreme Court of New Jersey has directed the Board on Attorney Certification to administer the attorney certification program in an effort both to protect consumers from false advertising and to raise the level of competence of attorneys in this State. This program is designed to help you make an informed decision when seeking and selecting a lawyer.

     The Board on Attorney Certification was established by the Supreme Court of New Jersey in 1980 for the purpose of helping consumers find attorneys who have a recognized level of competence in particular fields of law. Attorneys may be designated by the Supreme Court as "certified attorneys" if they: are able to demonstrate sufficient levels of experience, education, knowledge and skill in a specific area of law or practice; have passed a rigorous examination; and have been recognized by their peers as having sufficient skills and reputation in the designated specialty.

     The Supreme Court, through recommendation by the Board, currently certifies attorneys in four areas: civil trial law, criminal trial law, matrimonial law, and workers' compensation law.

     An attorney must meet the following requirements to become certified:

• has been a member in good standing of the New Jersey Bar for at least five years;

• has taken a specific number of continuing legal education courses in the three years prior to filing an application;

• demonstrates substantial involvement in preparation of litigated matters;

• demonstrates an unblemished reputation by submitting a list of attorneys and judges who will attest to the applicant's character and ability; and

• passes a written examination covering various aspects of practice in the designated specialty.

(as posted at the New Jersey Board on Attorney Certification Website, http://www.njbac.org )

As a courtesy to our readers, New Jersey lawyer, John F. Renner, Esq. provides Monday morning coffee - a short commentary providing insight on timely legal topics of interest. Thanks for having Monday Morning Coffee with us!

NEW JERSEY LAWYERS REFLECT UPON REQUEST OF FEDERAL PROSECUTORS TO DENY PUBLIC ACCESS TO PLEA RELATED DOCUMENTS IN CRIMINAL CASES IN THE FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT OF NEW JERSEY AND ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

New Jersey lawyers representing the accused before the United States District Court of New Jersey in the Camden, Trenton or Newark vicinages are familiar with the process of negotiating plea agreements.   Most cases brought before the Court are resolved via plea agreements.  If the agreement is not sealed by the District Judge, it is accessible by the public on the court website.  This policy has been in place since 2004 but most federal courts throughout the United States did not formally institute public access via the internet until typically from 2005 to 2007.  The increased public access  has led to concerns from the Department of Justice- particularly in view of an increase in the prosecution of violent crimes in federal courts throughout the country.   According to a letter submitted by the Department of Justice: We are witnessing the rise of a new cottage industry engaged in republishing court filings about cooperators on Web sites…or the clear purpose of witness intimidation, retaliation or harassment.   Also, according to the Department of Justice, sealing the plea agreements is not sufficient because of the notation of sealed appears over the internet making the notation a “red flag” for someone who is in fact cooperating with the government against other defendants.   

In response, the Judicial Conference of the United States has called for a period of public comment regarding the current policy of allowing internet access to non-sealed plea agreements. 

Legal Quote of the Week:

There is nothing new in the realization that the Constitution sometimes insulates the criminality of a few in order to protect the privacy of us all.

Antonin Scalia, majority opinion, Arizona v. Hicks, March 3, 1987

NEW JERSEY LAWYERS REPRESENTING THE ACCUSED IN NEW JERSEY MUNICIPAL COURTS REVIEW RECENT CASE UPHOLDING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF A MUNICIPAL SIGN ORDINANCE AGAINST SEVERAL GROUNDS OF OBJECTION RAISED BY THE DEFENDANT.

The Defendant in the case brought before the Lawrence Township Municipal Court used a balloon in the shape of a rat to protest against unfair labor practices.   The Defendant was issued a summons for violating a sign ordinance in the town.   The NJ Municipal Court Judge found the defendant guilty of the ordinance violation.  The Defendant appealed.  

The first contention on appeal was that the conduct of the Defendant did not fit the definition of the ordinance.  That is, an inflatable rat balloon is not a sign within the definition of the ordinance.   Even though the word “sign” was not defined, the Court nevertheless gave the plain meaning to the word and found that the balloon did have a symbolic message in protest of labor practices.   The next argument advanced by the Defendant involved whether the ordinance itself was preempted by federal law under the Supremacy Clause of the United State Constitution- that is, whether federal law in this case applies over the municipal ordinance.  The Court held that there is no preemption here as there is no conflict with federal law or a frustration of a federal scheme.   The Defendant unsuccessfully argued that the National Labor Relations Act took precedence over the New Jersey municipal ordinance.

Another argument raised involved free speech protections under the federal and state constitutions.   In rejecting this argument, the Court noted that the ordinance is content neutral- all signs of a type were prohibited- and narrowly tailored to meet the stated governmental objectives of the ordinance- protect the public and promote overall aesthetics of the area.   The Court also found that the ordinance was not void for vagueness as a person of reasonable intelligence would be able to determine from the language of the ordinance exactly what types of signs were or were not prohibited by the that municipal law.

Legal Quote of the Week:

Life is like an artichoke, each day, week, month, year, gives you one little bit which you nibble off- but precious little compared with what you throw away.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Letter from Holmes to Pollock, January 17, 1887
 Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead, 1943

NEW JERSEY LAWYERS PONDER RECENT NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT CASE UPHOLDING THE CONSTITUTIONALITY OF DNA COLLECTION EFFORTS FROM ALL PERSONS IN NJ CONVICTED OF A CRIME. 

New Jersey criminal defense lawyers deal with the New Jersey DNA Database and Databank Act of 1994 requiring that all persons convicted of a crime in the State of New Jersey submit to the collection of a DNA sample to be maintained in a bank of records for potential comparison purposes in other crimes should the need arise in the future.  The NJ Supreme Court applied a special needs test as an exception to the warrant and probable cause requirements under the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution and equally applicable under the New Jersey Constitution under Article 1, Paragraphs 1 and 7.  A special need of law enforcement can provide a separate and independent justification for the government to act independent of the warrant or probable cause requirements.   If the requirements are not practical under normal law enforcement procedures, the requirements can be dispensed with.

In consideration of the arguments of the New Jersey lawyer on behalf of the defendant, the NJ Supreme Court held that while law enforcement was involved with the collection process, the main purpose of DNA collection procedures was in fact not to charge the donor with a criminal charge but to obtain and maintain a database similar in fact to the already existing databases for fingerprints.   The DNA data collection procedures may be an invasion of privacy but no more than that which is necessary and widely accepted procedure for the taking of fingerprints. 

Legal Quote of the Week:

Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy.  The savage’s whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of the tribe.  Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.