People use social media to share their lives with their friends and family. New parents and grandparents post endless pictures of their children or grandchildren. With the changes that social media has gone through in recent years, innocent people have been flagged...
On October 31, 1994, New Jersey enacted Megan’s Law. Named for Megan Kanke, the seven-year-old victim of rape and murder, the law establishes sex offender registration and community notification rules. Additional internet registration provisions were added in 2001....
Children are suggestible. They don't always tell the truth, especially if they think telling another story will keep them from getting into deeper trouble. Sometimes they just haven't developed a vocabulary that allows them to express exactly what they want to say....
New Jersey notable, Thomas Edison, is credited with inventing the light bulb. It didn't happen overnight. Supposedly, it took about 10,000 tries. When asked about that record, he said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Edison learned...
Sex offenses, especially those committed against children, spark social outrage. It's understandable. Such cases are shocking and among the most common dealt with by New Jersey courts. It's easy to see why popular opinion might slant toward taking anyone charged with...
The polygraph machine has been around since the early part of the last century. Despite early claims about how the so-called lie detector could use physiological measurements of a subject to determine if he or she is lying, results have always been questionable. The...
Intent is usually an important element when it comes to prosecuting a case. If the state has evidence that can prove that a defendant clearly intended to commit a crime, it's likely that a more serious charge with more serious penalties will be pursued. Experienced...
Obscenities are not protected free speech under the Constitution of the United States. The Supreme Court made that clear in 1957. What has remained less clear since then is just what can be considered obscene and thus illegal. According to that 1957 decision, the...
