Legal Updates
Please note: ESPOS Test Prep provides "LEGAL UPDATES" as a resource to assist candidates and law enforcement personnel. However, no changes to existing policies, procedures, rules and regulations are recommended without the direct guidance of and consultation with your respective agency’s legal advisor. We only provide updates to keep you informed.
Megan’s Law: Lifetime Registration Requirements for Juvenile Sex Offenders Held Unconstitutional
Posted May 15, 2018 - In State In Interest of C.K. (NJ 2018), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that N.J.S. 2C:7-2(g) is unconstitutional as applied to juveniles adjudicated delinquent as sex offenders. The Court held that “subsection (g)’s lifetime registration and notification requirements as applied to juveniles violate the substantive due process guarantee of Article I, Paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution.” Click here to read more.
NJ Appellate Court Sends Harsh Message in Police Interpreter Case
Posted April 22, 2018 - A NJ Appellate Court sends a harsh message to Departments that rely on police officer interpreters during custodial interrogations of non-English-speaking suspects. In State v. A.M. (App.Div. 2018), the Appellate Division held that defendant’s incriminating statements should have been suppressed because the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that defendant made a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary decision to waive his Miranda rights. Click here to read more.
U.S. Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Police in a Deadly Force Case
Posted April 16, 2018 - In Kisela v. Hughes, 584 U.S. ___, (2018), a §1983 civil rights lawsuit involving an officer’s use of deadly force, the United States Supreme Court held that the officer was entitled to qualified immunity because his actions did not violate “clearly established law.” Click here to read more.
US Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Police in D.C. House Party Case
Posted January 29, 2018 - In District of Columbia v. Wesby, 583 U.S. ___ (2018), the United States Supreme Court rejected a claim made by sixteen trespassing partygoers that the police lacked probable cause to arrest them. The circumstances unfolded at about 1:00 a.m. in the middle of March, when District of Columbia police officers responded to a complaint about loud music and illegal activities at a house described as “vacant” by the caller, a former neighborhood commissioner. Upon arrival, several neighbors confirmed that the house should have been empty. Click here to read more.
NJ Supreme Court Clarifies the Malfunctioning Taillight Issue
Posted January 31, 2018 - In State v. Sutherland (NJ 2018), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that Title 39 requires a motor vehicle to have two working rear lamps, with at least one working lamp on each side. The trial court found the stop unlawful, but the Appellate Division reversed, holding that the relevant motor vehicle statutes were ambiguous and, based on Heien v. North Carolina, the officer’s stop of Sutherland’s car was based on a reasonable mistake of law, and therefore did not require suppression. The New Jersey Supreme Court disagreed and reversed. Click here to read more.
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