Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey—NJ Supreme Court win

Represented amicus curiae the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey before the New Jersey Supreme Court in a case that considered whether the warrantless search of a car was consistent with the New Jersey Constitution when the car was parked on State Police property and the Defendant had already been arrested. The State argued that under John’s Law, which allows the police to impound a vehicle after a DWI arrest, the police had the right to search the vehicle without obtaining a warrant. The trial court and the appellate court both agreed with the State. In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the decision, agreeing with our argument that John’ s Law did not provide an automobile exception to the warrant requirement and that there was no inherent exigency to justify a warrantless search under the automobile exception in this case. The ruling makes clear that the automobile exception applies only to "on-site searches” and that New Jersey’s automobile exception is more restrictive and protective than its federal counterpart.