E296 February 24, 2009

NJ Laws Email Newsletter E296 February 24, 2009 Kenneth Vercammen, Attorney at Law 1. Brendan Vercammen wins wrestling District championship South Brunswick's Brendan Vercammen (171) won the District 20 wrestling championship on February 21. He defeated a defending champ from Old Bridge.

South Brunswick's Joe Dougherty was named the District 20 Coach of the Year.

Winning 2nd place and earning a trip to the Region 5 tournament were Cody Shelcusky, Colin Preacher, Kevin Wadiak and James Pagano. Finishing 3 rd place and also participating in the Region 5 championships are Tyler Jaramillo and Jeff Goldhagen.

The Regions are at North Hunterdon High School on Route 31 on Tuesday, Friday & Saturday. Come out & support the team.

Joe Dougherty of South Brunswick led his squad to a third­place finish in the Districts and a 19­9 record this season to be named district Coach of the Year. Also helping this great team record were seniors Manny Ortiz, Edmund Jasabe, Josh Weinstein, plus Mike Blaine and the super freshmen Fran White, Drew Seroka, and Justin Lopez.

Home News article: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009902210354 Star Ledger http://www.nj.com/hssports/results/wrestling/index.ssf/2009/02/district_20_results_high _schoo.html Wrestling Blog: http://blogs.mycentraljersey.com/onthemat/?s=vercammen

2. Recent cases Appellate Division in dicta Says All 3rd Offense Unsafe Have 4 Points. Patel v. MVC 403 NJ Super. 373 (App. Div. 2008)

New Jersey's unsafe driving statute, N.J.S.A. 39:4­97.2, provides that the Motor Vehicle Commission shall assess the driver points for a third or subsequent offense.

The statute also affords relief from the assessment of points when an offense is committed more than five years after a prior offense. In this appeal, the court has construed that language to apply only to offenses that occur after the third offense.

3. Conflict of Interest if Trial Counsel Represents Both Defendant and Another Person Who May Have Committed Offense. State v. Alexander 403 NJ Super. 250 (App. Div. 2008)

In this appeal, the court reversed the denial of post­conviction relief because trial counsel's representation of both defendant and another individual, who allegedly participated in crimes with defendant, placed counsel in a per se conflict of interest.

The court held that because the conflict arose between the entry of a guilty plea but before sentencing, there was no cause to disturb the plea, but that defendant was entitled to be resentenced following a determination of what might have occurred had defendant sought to cooperate with law enforcement regarding his alleged cohort.

4. Defendant Should be Present in Court and Advised of the Right to Appeal Unless They Waive Appearance. State v. Taimanglo 403 NJ Super. 112 (App. Div. 2008) Part III of the Rules govern municipal appeals in the Law Division. Defendant must be afforded right to be present and allocution unless waived on the record. He must also be advised of right to appeal and State v. Molina, 187 N.J. 531 (2006) applies in the absence of adherence to R. 3:21­4(h). The conviction in this case is affirmed because the remand conducted pending the appeal permitted defendant to raise all issues in the Law Division and the de novo review cured defects in the municipal court proceedings.

5. D.V. Related Assault Can Be Expunged. In the Matter of the Expungement of the Criminal Records of N.M.H. ___ NJ Super. ___ (Law Div. Decided January 17, 2008) No. 14­3­2048

A person who has pleaded guilty to simple assault is not prevented from having the offense expunged solely on the basis that it constitutes an act of domestic violence.

5 2009 Metuchen Public Defender Volunteer Internships The Public Defenders provide Indigent individuals charged with criminal or serious motor vehicle charges with free or limited cost legal defense. The Public Defender of Metuchen invites students interested in attending law school or a career in law enforcement to apply to serve as volunteer interns. Volunteer Law Clerk interns will attend Wednesday evening and Friday afternoon court sessions.

The Kenneth Vercammen & Associates Law Office in Edison also offers a law clerk volunteer internship. Information regarding our Law Office plus articles on some of the type of matters students may work on can be found on the Internet website www.njlaws.com. Please post these positions.

Interested students must mail or fax a cover letter indicating the internship they are applying for and resume. If no personal cover letter by student, the resume will not be considered.

Details on internships at http://www.njlaws.com/intern.htm

VOLUNTEER LEGAL INTERNS NEEDED PUBLIC DEFENDER OF METUCHEN

Court times: WEDNESDAY 3pm PM [approx]­ 8:15 PM, Friday 9am, plus hearing preparation work.

VOLUNTEER INTERNSHIP DESCRIPTION: ­INTERVIEW CLIENTS FACING CHARGES IN MUNICIPAL COURT INCLUDING DRUG POSSESSION, DRUNK DRIVING, ASSAULT, THEFT, DRIVING WHILE SUSPENDED AND OTHER DISORDERLY AND TRAFFIC OFFENSES ­MAKE DEMANDS FOR DISCOVERY AND REVIEW POLICE REPORTS ­ATTEND TRIALS AND LEARN FROM EXPERIENCED TRIAL ATTORNEYS, ­PREPARE MOTIONS TO SUPPRESS AND MOTIONS TO DISMISS ­CONDUCT APPROPRIATE LEGAL RESEARCH ­ ACQUIRE SKILLS IN CRIMINAL LAW AND PROCEDURE BY ACTIVE PARTICIPATION ­ PARTICIPATE IN PUBLIC RELATIONS ACTIVITIES and help set up seminars ­ Update Lists of Prosecutors, Judges and Attorneys for publication of NJ Municipal Court Law Review ­ Revise criminal and traffic law Articles and submit to Law Journals and criminal law websites.

Volunteer to help indigent people charged with criminal and motor vehicle offenses of magnitude. In additional to time in court, you will be given research assignments. You can work more hours if you want. Help people less fortunate than you who are down on their luck.

Program lasts 12 weeks. Minimum time commitment September­ May is 10 hours per week.

For Summer­ College graduates and Law students only. Minimum Volunteer time commitment in summer­ 18 hours per week. Send cover letter and resume. After sending resume, call to schedule interview 732­572­0500.

We sponsor a state wide website www.njlaws.com with information on criminal, litigation, personal injury, and probate matters. It is helpful if applicants have some familiarity with HTML programming, web page design and maintenance and Internet technology. If you can update a website, please indicate so in the first paragraph of your cover letter. This office is committed to excellence and service to clients and the community. Applicants must have attention to detail. We attempt to give assignments which will be meaningful and memorable but, nevertheless, expect that interns will pitch in on whatever needs to be done.

Mail or fax cover letter and resume to Kenneth Vercammen, Esq. Public Defender for the Borough of Metuchen

c/o 2053 Woodbridge Ave., Edison, NJ 08817 Fax 732­572­0030

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