Weehawken Criminal Defense Attorney

You might think of significant crimes, like murder or auto theft, when you think about getting arrested and sent to jail in Weehawken Township. But you would be surprised to learn that many more minor infractions you might never suspect come with jail sentences also. Disorderly persons and petty disorderly persons charges for disorderly conduct, fighting in public, or shoplifting, though lesser offenses, are violations of the law that carry jail sentences and other harsh consequences. If the police catch you outside a business establishment in a drunken rage, screaming profanity at the occupants, you may find yourself arrested, sitting in a jail cell, and required to appear in court to defend your innocence.

What a Weehawken Criminal Defense Attorney Can Do to Help

When facing a criminal charge in Weehawken, New Jersey, a defense attorney can serve as your best advocate, counselor, and representative. Hiring a criminal defense lawyer is smart for a multitude of reasons when you want to reach the best resolution in your case and preserve your rights in the process. When you have been charged with an offense, especially those that may affect your future career, housing, or educational plans, you should have highly qualified assistance. You do not want to go it alone against a prosecutor, as they have the advantage when you go without a lawyer.

William Proetta Criminal Law is a Hudson County defense firm that represents clients charged with criminal and serious traffic offenses in Weehawken, New Jersey. As founding attorney, Will Proetta, Esq., has successfully handled thousands of criminal, DWI, and motor vehicle cases during his career. We typically defend clients in Weehawken who have been charged with Disorderly Conduct, Simple Assault, Marijuana Distribution, Harassment, Terroristic Threats, and Theft. These charges can carry serious penalties such as probation, loss of your driver’s license, high fines, and even county jail or prison. Our firm puts our client’s well-being at top priority and we will aggressively defend your charges by pinpointing weaknesses in the State’s evidence against you to negotiate a downgrade or dismissal. If you are interested in speaking with a Weehawken defense lawyer then contact our office located in nearby Jersey City at (201) 793-8018.

Weehawken Municipal Court

The Weehawken Township Municipal Court is located at 400 Park Avenue, Weehawken, NJ 07086. Weehawken Municipal Court holds normal hours of operation Monday thru Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for people looking to post bail or make payments. Your court appearance will be scheduled on a designated time and date and it is important that you arrive on time and are prepared to pay for your fines. If you have questions regarding your upcoming court appearance or would like to request an adjournment you can contact the Weehawken Municipal at (201) 319-6028 and speak with Karen Hablitz the court administrator. The court can also be contacted via facsimile at (201) 806-6850. Judge Charles P. Daglian oversees all the municipal court cases in Weehawken such as disorderly persons offenses, traffic tickets, and municipal ordinances.

Criminal Charges, Ordinances, & Traffic Offenses in Weehawken NJ

There are a multitude of state and local law infractions, and most people understand certain behaviors are not legal, like using a fake identification card or license to get in a bar when you are underage. Still, you are not likely to get arrested for breaking local municipal ordinances. You may pay fines like you do when you get a traffic ticket, but you probably will not go to jail for keeping the neighbors up past ten or eleven o’clock with your noisy friends. But then there are traffic law violations that can result in a fine, jail time, license suspension, or all three, depending upon whether you are speeding or drunk driving or violating another New Jersey traffic law. Traffic violations are not crimes but can have severe consequences to your livelihood, liberty, and bank account. Every year, Weehawken processes hundreds of motor vehicle tickets including DWI, Driving without Insurance, Leaving the Scene of an Accident, and Driving While Suspended. A conviction for any one of these offenses carries suspension of driver’s license, not to mention DMV points, and ultimately higher insurance rates.

Types of Crimes That Can Lead to Arrests in Weehawken Township

New Jersey crimes and offenses divide into indictable crimes, disorderly persons offenses, and petty disorderly persons offenses. All indictable crime sentences include jail or prison time as a possibility, the number of days or years corresponding to the crime severity.

The most severe crimes are first degree crimes that have the longest sentences, from 10 years to a lifetime, for drug trafficking, murder, and other significant crimes, including enhanced penalties for aggravating circumstances. Serious crimes or enhancements to less severe crimes typically involve the perpetrator showing complete callousness toward another’s life or their activities affect many lives, such as is the case in running a drug manufacturing and distribution operation.

Second degree crimes are less severe but still significantly punished with five to ten-year prison sentences and high fines for aggravated assault and robbery, which place human lives in danger. Third and fourth degree crimes also have prescribed penalties attached to them, three to five years and up to 18 months, respectively. Still, a defendant has a better chance to avoid prison or jail for lesser crimes, like drug possession or stealing inexpensive items, which are third and fourth degree crimes, especially if it is your first criminal violation. You are most likely to serve a prison sentence for first and second degree crimes.

The law regarding disorderly persons offenses like lewdness and petty disorderly persons offenses also prescribes jail time, up to six months for the former and 30 days for the latter, and fines of $1,000.00 and $500.00. Suppose the prosecutor charges you with one of these offenses. In that case, your case goes to municipal court, where minor offenses, traffic and local ordinance violations occur. Each city, town, or borough has one or more municipal courts for criminal and non-criminal offenses handling after a defendant is arrested or ticketed. If the prosecutor charges you with both indictable and minor violations in Weehawken, your case may start in municipal court but end up in Hudson County Superior Court.

Expunging a Weehawken Criminal Case

Convictions for arrests and violations of law become part of your criminal record, even municipal court criminal charges. However, you can get your record expunged of most violations, though serious crimes, like kidnapping, rape, murder, abuse of public office, and others, may not be erased. Expungement means the conviction is removed from your criminal record so that an employer, landlord, licensing bureau, or other person or entity running a background check does not see the conviction on your record. After satisfying the wait period based on the charges and case resolution, you can apply for expungement.

An attorney at our firm can help you ensure the process is handled expertly and with the best chance of success. Often, school administrators, employers, or public housing officials deny applications to those with criminal records. Some convictions are worse than others, and more minor offenses may not weigh as heavily in an employment consideration as other more severe convictions. However, having to answer in the affirmative when asked if you have ever been convicted of a crime can be problematic in all situations, which is why clearing your criminal record can be so valuable for the rest of your life.

Where Is Weehawken Township, New Jersey?

Weehawken is a township in Hudson County, New Jersey that is only about 0.8 square miles in land area with a total population of about 12,500. Weehawken is part of the New York metropolitan area, situated on the western shore of the Hudson River, along the southern end of the New Jersey Palisades across from Midtown Manhattan, it is the location of the western terminus of the Lincoln Tunnel. Weehawken is one of the towns that comprise North Hudson, sometimes called NoHu in the artistic community. Route 495 travels east-west between the Lincoln Tunnel and the New Jersey Turnpike with interchanges for Route 3 and U.S. Route 1/9. If you like more information on Weehawken, New Jersey please visit their website at http://www.weehawken-nj.us/

Weehawken NJ Harassment Defense Lawyers

William Proetta Criminal Law is committed to representing our clients against criminal and municipal court charges. Our office prides itself on working closely with our clients throughout the entire case so you can be involved in the decision making. If you would like to discuss the details of your case with a Weehawken criminal defense attorney then contact our local office today at (201) 793-8018.