Cape May County Criminal Defense Law Blog

Sex crimes involving minors in particular are looked at with a level of disgust that almost surely means being ostracized from the community at large following conviction. However, individuals can be accused of crimes that he or she did not commit. It is imperative to aggressively defend against accusations of sex crimes in order to mitigate the serious consequences and stigma associated with such a conviction.

Residents of New Jersey often yield little objection to forcing individuals convicted of charges relating to child pornography to lifelong registration as a sex offender in New Jersey. However, a conviction of child pornography may not always mean what the uninformed could be quick to assume. What about a defendant that is a juvenile facing charges of child pornography for nude pictures of him- or herself?

A 15-year-old high school female was charged out-of-state with manufacturing and disseminating child pornography when she photographed herself without clothing and posted the pictures on the Internet. This teen is by no means the only young female to make a poor decision and post inappropriate pictures, and she is by no means the last teen that will do so. Does that make these kids sex offenders?

Drug crimes, even ones involving small quantities of illicit substances, can have significant long-term consequences. A drug conviction can make it difficult to get a job or secure a professional license, and can remove eligibility for some student financial aid programs. In some cases, drug convictions can also cause legal immigrants to be deported from the United States.

A recent decision by the United States Supreme Court may put a stop to the practice of immigrants being deported for mere possession of small amounts of marijuana.

The War on Drugs has evolved since it was first launched in the 1970s, but the aim of eradicating drug use and distribution has remained steadfast. But it is not working. The usage of opiates in particular, which are highly addictive, have hugely increased. Instead of helping these people struggling within the grips of addiction, we throw them in jail.

Our jail systems are flooded with people convicted of drugs crimes, or violent crimes in relation to attempting to secure drugs to feed their addiction. One report indicates that almost 90 percent of individuals that are conviction of a drug crime and sentenced to jail time will commit another crime after being released.

The frontrunner of a pain pill distribution ring in New Jersey pleaded guilty relating to the charges stemming from the operating which funneled a reported 40,000 prescription narcotics a week across New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts after it was busted following an extensive investigative operation. The New Jersey man has been sentenced to 11 years behind bars in a plea agreement.

The Attorney General says of this case, "By locking up the leader of this ring and his accomplices, we shut down their criminal enterprise so they can no longer contribute to the deadly national epidemic of painkiller abuse, which is killing roughly 40 Americans each day." Distribution of prescription medications has increased in recent years, and is leading to more charges and convictions.