Petty and Disorderly Persons Offenses-Drugs and Alcohol Violations

In municipal court, an individual can be charged with a petty disorderly persons offense or a disorderly persons offense, which has a potential of jail exposure. If you are a first time offender facing one of these charges and the charges are drug related, you may be eligible to apply for a conditional discharge, which will afford you the opportunity of having your charges dismissed, provided that you do not receive any new charges and may be required to participate in treatment. If your charges are not drug related, there is a bill pending in the Legislature entitled the Conditional Dismissal Bill, which would also afford you the opportunity to have your charges dismissed, if you are accepted into the program and comply with the probation monitoring requirements for a one year period of time.

In you do not qualify as a first time offender in the municipal court, you may want to have an attorney subpoena records, interview witnesses and have an attorney pursue a defense on your behalf. Once you have obtained the needed records and have a defense to present at trial, in the event that your case is not resolved, you will then be prepared with your attorney to go to trial. It is therefore important that you have an attorney that will assist you in gathering the required records, witnesses and to prepare for trial. We can therefore ensure that you receive aggressive representation in the municipal court to assist you in getting your case resolved or in going to trial.