Understand the evidence
Read the reports, watch the video, test the timeline, review the records, and separate what is known from what is assumed.
Criminal Defense
New JerseyCriminal Defense
A charge is the State's accusation. The defense begins by testing the evidence, the procedure, and what the government can actually prove.
How a Case Moves
How the case moves.
Not every case follows the same path, but understanding the stages makes it easier to see where a defense can change the result.
01
Complaint, arrest, summons, or investigation
The first issue may be release, a first appearance, preservation of evidence, or simply stopping an informal investigation from becoming worse.
Learn about this stage →02
Discovery and factual investigation
The defense obtains and reviews the State's evidence, then looks for missing evidence, contradictions, legal defects, and information that changes the factual picture.
Learn about this stage →03
Grand jury and indictment, when applicable
Indictable cases are handled in the Superior Court Criminal Division. Some charges may be downgraded or otherwise resolved before an indictment, while others proceed through the grand jury process.
Learn about this stage →04
Motions, negotiation, and diversion
Depending on the case, the defense may litigate suppression or other legal issues, negotiate with the prosecutor, or evaluate diversionary options such as Pretrial Intervention for an eligible defendant.
Learn about this stage →05
Trials & negotiated resolutions
A plea is not automatically a failure and a trial is not automatically a victory. The question is which path produces the best available result after the evidence and risks are understood.
Learn about this stage →06
Sentencing and mitigation, if necessary
When the case does not end in dismissal or acquittal, the defense may shift toward grading, sentencing exposure, mitigating factors, alternatives to incarceration, and preserving issues for further review.
Learn about this stage →The Defense Approach
Prepare before deciding.
The objective is not to force every case into the same strategy. Know when to negotiate, know when to litigate, and be prepared to try the case when trial is the rational path.
Challenge what can be challenged
Searches, statements, identification, scientific evidence, grading, witness credibility, intent, and procedure can all matter depending on the case.
Negotiate from preparation
Negotiation is stronger when both sides understand that the defense has identified the issues and is prepared to litigate them.
Mitigate when mitigation is the right fight
Sometimes the evidence is strong. Then the work may shift toward reducing exposure, improving the grading or disposition, and building the strongest sentencing position available.
Direct Attorney Involvement
When you hire Michael, you deal with Michael.
The case is not passed to an associate or filtered through a case manager. Michael reviews the evidence, speaks with the client, develops the strategy, appears in court, and remains responsible for the matter.
Defense Across the Spectrum
Common Criminal Charges
Some cases turn on identification. Others turn on intent, consent, possession, credibility, a search, a statement, a laboratory result, digital evidence, or the grading of the offense itself.
Assault, Threats & Person Offenses
Simple and aggravated assault, terroristic threats, stalking, harassment-related criminal charges, and other allegations involving injury or threatened harm.
Charges and elements →Theft & Property Offenses
Theft, shoplifting, burglary, criminal mischief, receiving stolen property, embezzlement, and property-related accusations.
Charges and elements →Fraud & Financial Allegations
Credit-card allegations, insurance fraud, business and financial offenses, bribery-related charges, and cases built around records and transactions.
Charges and elements →Drug Charges
Possession, distribution, possession with intent, paraphernalia, and related cases where search-and-seizure issues may be central.
Charges and elements →Obstruction, Hindering & Related Charges
Cases involving alleged interference with law enforcement, hindering apprehension, resisting, eluding, or conduct surrounding an investigation or arrest.
Charges and elements →Other Criminal Matters
Indictable and municipal offenses that do not fit neatly into a single category, including cases where several different statutes or factual theories overlap.
Explore other matters →The First Job
The police report is not the case.
A criminal complaint can arrive after an arrest, a police investigation, a summons, or an accusation made by another person. Whatever the starting point, the first task is not to guess how the case will end. It is to understand what happened, what the State can prove, and what legal or factual issues may change the direction of the case.
That can mean reviewing body-camera video, statements, text messages, phone data, laboratory results, photographs, financial records, witness accounts, warrants, and police procedure. It can also mean identifying evidence the government does not have. When technical, scientific, medical, financial, or forensic issues matter, qualified expert analysis may become part of the defense.
The goal is simple: make decisions from the evidence, not from fear, momentum, or assumptions.
New Jersey Criminal Law
Crime or disorderly persons offense?
New Jersey uses first, second, third, and fourth-degree crimes for indictable offenses. Disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses are not “crimes” within the meaning of the New Jersey Constitution, although they can still carry jail, fines, and other serious consequences.
First Degree10 to 20 years
Second Degree5 to 10 years
Third Degree3 to 5 years
Fourth DegreeUp to 18 months
Municipal Court offenses still matter.
Disorderly persons offenses can carry up to six months in jail. Petty disorderly persons offenses can carry up to 30 days. These matters are normally heard in Municipal Court rather than the Superior Court Criminal Division.
Those are ordinary statutory ranges. Particular offenses can carry different fines, mandatory minimum terms, parole restrictions, registration requirements, license consequences, or other collateral effects. The actual exposure depends on the charge and the facts.
Selected Federal Matters
Federal cases can begin long before an arrest.
Michael Justice is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and handles selected federal criminal matters. A federal matter may begin with contact from an agent, a subpoena, a grand jury investigation, a complaint, or an indictment.
Federal criminal practice has its own rules, discovery procedures, detention issues, grand-jury practice, plea process, and sentencing framework. By the time charges are filed, federal investigators and prosecutors may already have spent months or years developing the government's theory of the case.
That makes the investigation stage important. If federal agents want an interview or a subpoena arrives, the decision about how to respond should be made deliberately, with an understanding of the person's status, the scope of the investigation, and the risks of speaking or producing information.
Federal Contact
Before you explain, understand the posture.
- Are you a witness, subject, target, or defendant?
- Is the contact voluntary, compelled by subpoena, or connected to a warrant?
- What documents, devices, accounts, or records are involved?
- Has anything been seized, copied, frozen, or preserved?
- What should happen before the next conversation with the government?
Do not destroy, alter, conceal, or fabricate evidence. Preserve what exists and get advice before deciding how to respond.
Questions People Ask First
Questions that matter early.
Should I talk to the police if I think I can explain what happened?
That is a decision to make carefully. People often speak because they believe context will clear things up, but a statement can become evidence and an investigator may already know facts the person does not know are important. Getting legal advice before an interview is usually safer than improvising one.
What is an indictable offense in New Jersey?
New Jersey calls first, second, third, and fourth-degree offenses “crimes.” They are indictable offenses and are generally handled in the Superior Court Criminal Division. Disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons offenses are normally handled in Municipal Court.
Can a criminal case be resolved without a conviction?
Sometimes. Dismissal, acquittal, downgrading, and diversionary programs can be available depending on the offense, the evidence, the person's history, prosecutorial decisions, and the governing statutes and court rules. Pretrial Intervention is one example for eligible defendants.
What if federal agents contact me before I have been charged?
Pre-charge federal representation can be important because the investigation may already be well developed. Before deciding whether to speak, provide documents, consent to a search, or respond to a subpoena, it is useful to understand the person's status and the scope of the government's investigation.
New Jersey Criminal Defense
Start with the facts.
Based in Newton, Michael's practice is centered in Sussex County and Morris County, with representation in other New Jersey courts when appropriate and selected matters in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.