Allan Marain and Edward J. Byrne are New Jersey lawyers who defend persons arrested for violating laws relating to marijuana. They refer to themselves here as “Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™”. The primary objective of Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ is to keep the person with a marijuana arrest from having a marijuana conviction. When a marijuana conviction cannot be avoided, the objective of Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ is to keep their client from being sentenced to jail or prison, and to save their clients' driving privileges, all on account of what is often no more than a joint or a blunt. Over the years, Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ have developed and refined techniques towards reaching these objectives.

For a combined total of about seventy years, Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ have been representing both adults and juveniles in New Jersey charged with marijuana and marijuana-related offenses. They have obtained acquittals for persons found with nickel bags of marijuana, or a few marijuana seeds, as well as persons found with many pounds of weed. Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ have successfully represented persons arrested in their homes for pot, marijuana in New Jersey college dormatories, marijuana in cars, marijuana on New Jersey streets, and marijuana even inside New Jersey prisons. Their marijuana cases have included people arrested following issuance of a search warrant, as well as searches with no warrant. Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ fight for clients arrested for marijuana possession, marijuana distribution, or possession of marijuana with intent to distribute. They fight marijuana cases in federal court, municipal court, the Superior Court of New Jersey, juvenile court, and on appeal.

Persons found guilty in New Jersey of marijuana possession, marijuana distribution, marijuana possession with intent to distribute, growing marijuana, or possession of drug parpahernalia are subject to loss of their New Jersey driver's license. The minimum period of driver license suspension is six months. The driver license suspension can be for up to twenty-four months. New Jersey also imposes a mandatory dollar penalty for convictions for marijuana-related offenses. The minimum penalty is $500.00. For large amounts of marijuana, New Jersey mandatory penalty can be up to $4,000.00. Beyond these mandatory marijuana penalties, New Jersey marijuana law allows discretionary fines. These discretionary fines can be as much as $300,000.00. Prison sentences can range from none to life. This range of fines, penalties, and sentences depends upon many factors. These factors include the defendant's past record and the amount of marijuana involved. For just a single marijuana joint or a few marijuana seeds, the jail sentence from a municipal court in New Jersey can be as much as six months.

First-time marijuana offenders in New Jersey are often eligible for Pretrial Intervention (PTI) or for a conditional discharge. These are both "diversion" programs. Diversion programs exist in all New Jersey state criminal courts. A similar program is often available in federal court. Under diversion, the person arrrested for a marijuana offense is placed on probation. There is usually no trial. There is usually no guilty plea. And, most importantly, there is no record of having been convicted. New Jersey driving privileges are usually retained. When probation is successfully completed, the marijuana charges are dismissed. After a short waiting period, the New Jersey arrest record can then be expunged. After expungement, the fact that the person was even charged with an offense involving marijuana will not appear on public record searches.

Whether a person can have marijuana charges diverted in New Jersey depends on many factors. Persons with a previous marijuana or drug conviction are not eligible. They may be ineligible even if the previous marijuana conviction was not in New Jersey. Other factors include the amount of marijuana involved, and whether the arrest occurred within a certain distance of a school, a public housing project, or public park. Diversions are not available in Juvenile Court. Other methods are available for juveniles, however, that can ultimately result in there being no conviction.

A diversion for persons charged with possessing a small amount of marijuana is not always in that person's best interest. On account of that, and other reasons, not everyone arrested for a marijuana offenses in New Jersey wants a diversion. And, as just mentioned, not everyone arrested for a New Jersey marijuana offense is eligible for diversion. In such situations, the marijuana defendant must either enter a guilty plea or have a trial. This determination to try the case, seek a diversion, or negotiate a plea is one of the most crucial decisions that the person charged with a marijuana offense must make. Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ weigh the likelihood of success against the risks of losing, and advises the client. But it is the person that was arrested who makes that ultimate decision, not Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™.

Marijuana cases, as with all drug cases, typically involve numerous legal issues. These issues include whether the arrested person is eligible for and wants a diversion; whether the police found the suspected marijuana only on account of an illegal search; whether the prosecutor established a “chain of custody” for the suspected marijuana; the validity of the New Jersey State Police Laboratory identification of the suspected marijuana; whether the person arrested and accused actually possessed the suspected marijuana; and whether the accused was unlawfully entrapped by the police. Persons charged in New Jersey with possessing mariunana, or other marijuana-related offenses, need a New Jersey marijuana lawyer to review issues such as these for their clients. Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ represent their marijuana clients with understanding, skill, and compassion. They talk to clients in English, not “legalese.” They return clients' phone calls.

Centrally based in New Brunswick NJ, Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ accept marijuana cases for people arrested in Bergen, Burlington, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Somerset, Sussex, Union, and Warren Counties. Their cases have included arrests at the Sports Complex, and the PNC Arts Center. Frequent hot spots for New Jersey marijuana arrests include Seabright NJ, and Seaside Heights NJ. Rutgers University arrests in New Brunswick NJ and Piscataway NJ are also “frequent fliers”. Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ represent persons charged with offenses relating to marijuana possession, marijuana sales, marijuana distribution, marijuana paraphernalia, and medical marijuana. They also represent persons seeking expungement of NJ marijuana arrests or convictions statewide.

Marijuana Lawyers in New Jersey™ offer no-cost consultations. They would welcome the opportunity to review your situation.

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