I have been an attorney in New Jersey since 1985. I have appeared in municipal court hundreds if not thousands of times. I have seen it all and believe I know the system that we are dealing with. Recently, in a small municipality in Passaic County, I reached a point where I can no longer remain silent.

I represented a 19-year old college student who had been charged with possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of alcohol (underage), all contained in her college dorm room. A dorm RA (resident advisor/assistant) smelled the odor of marijuana and called a campus police officer who knocked on the door and proceeded to do a search of the room finding my client’s stash—literally a thimble-full of pot. Prior to the case being heard in court my client had already been kicked out of her dorm (which had been paid for in full), had a full disciplinary proceeding from the University (for which she had been placed on probation) and had to contend with all of this while studying for finals in a very difficult major. Due to the implications of the full charges, we were offered we accepted a conditional discharge which involved approximately $850 in fines and surcharges to go along with a one-year term of probation served through the Passaic County Probation Department. Along with a legal fee for my services, it was a very expensive evening for a student who could ill afford it.

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