The state of New Jersey generally must defend and indemnify county prosecutor’s offices and their employees in civil suits over property seized in the course of a criminal investigation that is allegedly lost or destroyed, the New Jersey Supreme Court held Sept. 9.
The decision in Lavezzi v. State of New Jersey parsed a landmark precedent from 2001 that drew a line between the law enforcement actions of county prosecutors’ offices—which fall under the supervision of the Attorney General’s Office and trigger an obligation of the state—and their administrative functions, for which counties are solely responsible.
