Having a lawyer at your side when you face criminal charges is not only a protected constitutional right but one of the most important things to have in a criminal case. Your lawyer can put their experience in the criminal justice system to use, challenge evidence against you, seek to have charges dropped or dismissed, and work to negotiate plea deals that could avoid jail time.
When you are charged with a crime, you could be looking at having your entire life upended. Our lawyers can step in, keep the government from abusing its power, and work to get your charges dismissed by the judge.
For a free evaluation of your case, call our criminal defense lawyers at the Law Offices of John J. Zarych at (609) 616-4956 right away.
Fighting for Bail and Ending Pretrial Detention in Haddon Heights
If you have been arrested on criminal charges, our first priority is to get you out of jail. Our lawyers can call for a bail hearing to challenge your pretrial detention if the court has ordered you to stay in jail before trial.
In most cases in New Jersey, pretrial detention is not supposed to be used. Courts are only supposed to put you in jail while you await trial if you are found to be a flight risk and a danger to the community. Otherwise, NJ judges are not supposed to rely on cash bail or require high payments before releasing defendants.
Our criminal defense lawyers know that it is much easier to fight criminal charges if you are able to keep your freedom so that you can spend time with your family, keep your job, and show that you are not a risk to your community. It is also simply easier to fight charges when you are continuing to work – which you cannot do from jail – giving you the funds to afford a lawyer and time to meet with your attorney to go over the case.
Types of Charges Our Defense Lawyers Handle in Haddon Heights, NJ
Our attorneys handle all sorts of criminal cases, from very light offenses to traffic offenses to serious criminal charges and even murder cases. The following are some of the more common charges we handle and some of the general ways that we approach defending these cases:
Theft and Shoplifting
If you are accused of stealing something, we can fight the case by challenging the government’s accusation that you actually intended to steal. In many cases, what is charged as theft or shoplifting is a simple misunderstanding, such as accidentally failing to scan an item in a self-checkout lane. In some cases, you might have mistakenly thought what you are accused of stealing was yours, such as mixing up a bag at the gym.
DUI/DWI
Drunk driving charges are often quite serious even though they are considered traffic offenses and not actually “crimes.” However, our lawyers can challenge the pullover and the arrest by investigating whether the officer had reasonable suspicion to pull you over and probable cause to arrest you in the first place. We can also challenge things like the field sobriety tests used, the blood or breath test to determine your BAC, and post-arrest interrogation procedures to try to get evidence kept out.
Assault and Aggravated Assault
If you are charged with assaulting someone else, there is often some negotiation and haggling to be had over the specific degree of assault you are charged with. In many cases, what is initially charged as aggravated assault does not meet the criteria and must be reduced to simple assault. There may also be an opportunity to “plea down” simple assault charges to charges for disorderly conduct for engaging in a fight.
Trespassing and Burglary
Trespassing charges usually need to be linked to some “actual communication” that you were not allowed on the premises. Burglary is ultimately a crime about trespassing in order to commit another crime – often theft – but is not itself a theft offense. In these cases, there must be evidence that you actually intended to commit another crime. Otherwise, charges might be reduced to lower-level trespassing charges.
Robbery
Robbery is theft directly from a person, usually through violence or threats. This makes it a much more serious crime than theft because it is considered a violent crime. As such, our lawyers will need to challenge the evidence against you and try to show that your actions were not intended to be threatening or perhaps that the police arrested the wrong person entirely.
Drug Crimes
If you are accused of possessing, using, or selling drugs, our lawyers can attack the case against you from multiple angles. First, we can challenge seizures and arrests by investigating whether the police actually had the necessary evidence against you to stop you, search you, and arrest you. We can also challenge interrogations and the evidence or confessions obtained in those interrogations if you were not properly read your rights. There are also challenges that can be put forth against their proof that you actually knew you possessed drugs, e.g., if they were someone else’s and you did not know they were in your house or car. We can also challenge accusations that you possessed drugs with the intent to deliver them (“PWID” charges) by showing that the drugs were merely for personal use, not for sale or transport.
Rape and Sexual Assault
Charges for sexual assault often have many unclear facts and stem from situations where passions were high and alcohol was involved, often making the facts even more confusing. In many of these cases, the evidence can be challenged and plea negotiations can help keep your charges from going to trial, potentially resulting in a reduced sentence or charges for a reduced offense.
Call Our Criminal Defense Lawyers in Haddon Heights Today
For a free evaluation of your case and help with your charges, call (609) 616-4956 to speak with the criminal defense lawyers at the Law Offices of John J. Zarych.
