Legal Question in Criminal Law in New Jersey

Re: The Rules on discovery Packet

You were not misinformed. The prosecutor is obliged to provide discovery only after an indictment is returned. So the public defender is certainly at least technically correct. Some counties will provide pre-indictment discovery, some will not. You didn't state what County you are in.

It is possible that a private attorney might have more luck getting the pre-trial discovery, and more motivation to do so.

While public defenders usually know the law, and the system, inside and out, they have to serve a lot of clients. It isn't efficient to move your family members case to the top of the list.

If you can afford a private attorney, and a private investigator, you should make that investment.

If you can't, and the public defender is unable to get pre-indictment discovery, you should offer to help the public defender'si investigation in any way possible.

And don't discount the abilities of the public defender. People often suspect that the public defender isn't working for them, because they are not paying the public defender. I was a public defender for many years, and heard over and over that my client was going to hire a real lawyer. I saw plenty of those client's come in with attorney's who had no real trial skills, and didn't take enough of a retainer to properly investigate and litigate the case. Most of the Public Defenders in New Jersey are very well compensated, have held their jobs for years, and are often far more experienced than the prosecutors and other attorneys in the courtroom, including the judges.

Re: The Rules on discovery Packet

Usually a defendant is not entitled to discovery until an indictment, the formal charge by the grand jury is returned. Discovery is also provided if a preindictment proceeding is scheduled for plea bargaining purposes.

Call me if you like.

Gary Moore, Esquire

Hackensack, New Jersey

www.garymooreattorneyatlaw.com

Re: The Rules on discovery Packet

As Mr. Moore said, you normally get discovery after indictment. Due to the way we handle case pre-indictment, we often get discovery well before indictment. If your county does PIP conf's, you'll get discovery that way too.

I would suggest you meet with a private attorney to at least figure out how much your case would cost before you assume you can't afford it.