South Jersey Drug Offense Lawyer

Experienced Criminal Defense Attorney Fights for Clients Charged with Drug Offenses Throughout South Jersey

South Jersey drug offense defense lawyer John B. Brennan from The Law Office of John B. Brennan is a South Jersey defense lawyer who has made a career of fighting for those charged with drug offense (statute 2C:35-10). Defense lawyer Brennan believes those accused of drug offense deserve representation.

It is important for individuals accused of drug offense to have legal representation from a South Jersey defense lawyer to help them prove their innocence. John B. Brennan, from The Law Office of John B. Brennan, is a South Jersey drug offense defense lawyer with the knowledge to help you.

John B. Brennan from The Law Office of John B. Brennan has experience as a South Jersey drug offense defense lawyer and also as an attorney dealing with murder, manslaughter, aggravated assault, arson, armed robbery, bias intimidation and burglary.

New Jersey’s recently expanded Drug Court program authorizes judges to order drug addicted, non-violent criminal offenders to participate in court-supervised drug treatment instead of going to jail. For the first time, this law makes it theoretically possible for persons convicted of second degree burglary and second degree robbery (not involving a firearm) to be sentenced to a period of special probation in which they can avoid prison by undergoing supervised treatment.

In the past, offenders were subject to an automatic, categorical exclusion from the treatment–in-lieu of imprisonment program by virtue of their second degree robbery or burglary conviction. It is critical to note, however, that persons who have previously been convicted of or adjudicated delinquent for, or who have a pending charge of certain other specified crimes continue to be ineligible for special probation. The list of disqualifying offenses includes any violent crime (murder, aggravated manslaughter, manslaughter, kidnapping, aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault and sexual assault).

This revision to previous law proceeds from the premise that to the extent that the defendant committed such offense as a direct result of addiction, treating that addiction may break the cycle and prevent the defendant from committing similar crimes in the future.

The fact that a defendant may not be categorically ineligible to be sentenced to special probation does not mean that he or she has a right to be admitted to Drug Court. Rather, a person convicted of a non-violent, second degree robbery or second degree burglary still has a presumption of imprisonment, but also has the right to have the court consider at sentencing the use of Drug Court as a means to avoid the presumption of imprisonment. The decision of whether to admit a defendant to the Drug Court program is by no means guaranteed. Rather, the actual admission decision will account for numerous factors to be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Drug Court team and the Judge. An experienced criminal defense attorney can advise whether a defendant may be eligible for this program and advocate for his admission

This statute requires the court to make an affirmative finding on the record that “the present offense was committed while the person was under the influence of a controlled dangerous substance, controlled substance analog or alcohol or was committed to acquire property or monies in order to support the person’s drug or alcohol dependency.” In other words, the treatment-in-lieu-of-imprisonment (Drug Court) sentence can only be used when the court finds on the record that there is a direct link between the addiction and the criminal act.