Monday, 22 January 2018

An Article Relating To Disorderly Persons Offense NJ

By Shirley Bailey


The municipal courts usually prosecute indictable offenses that are also called misdemeanor crimes. They are usually petty crimes, and they fall into the category of simple assaults, a few drugs, and petty theft among others. These Disorderly Persons Offense NJ is usually handled in the township where the crime occurred, and the state is supposed to prove all the elements of the DP charge beyond reasonable doubt.

These misdeeds are not considered to be crimes, and the defendant is usually not entitled to a jury trial or a grand jury for the DP charge. However, the defendants will still have a criminal record even if he/she will not face the jury. In this event a person is convicted of the petty faults, he will not be disqualified from serving on a court jury.

New Jersey has come up with a rule that if one is arrested for petty crimes, he/she will be required to face imprisonment for six months or less. The reason behind this is that these charges do not qualify to be classified as felonies. This means which is the lawbreaker will not be required to face trial thus he will not have a jury hearing. Additionally, the person will not lose any legal privileges.

Although these DP charges are not categorized in the felony crimes, one is still convicted in a municipal court. Therefore, it is clear that the defendant will have criminal record attached to his profile especially when a potential employer does a background check. The defendant will still be in a position to face serious charges, and fines can be imposed on them. Additionally, the individual can lose driving privileges.

There is a possibility for the petty misdeeds to be erased. Nevertheless, one has to wait for five years before the DP convictions can be expunged. Hence, the defendant should be ready to wait for a maximum of five years if he/she wants the misdeeds to be eliminated or annihilated form the record.

The penalties that one is liable to face when he commits these misdeeds are several. As an instance, the lawbreaker can be stripped of the rights to participate in community service and institutions. Also, he may be fined an amount starting from 1000 dollars or a jail term of six months. One can even have his driving license revoked for two or more years.

Other more serious consequences of the DP misdeeds are that an individual can face immigration issues. Also, the state workers, nurses, doctors, pharmacists, stockbrokers, and attorneys among other workers can lose their jobs as well as their working licenses. This can be a big blow to an individual especially if he/she is the only breadwinner in the family.

Another disadvantage of being convicted by the municipal court under these petty charges is that your record is kept. Therefore, on the off chance, you are convicted of a crime that is more serious in the future, you are more likely to face a sentence that is more severe. More so, the judge can be so hard on you because the crime will now be considered as a felony.




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