New Jersey Murder Charges Criminal Defense Attorney
The Iler Law Firm represents clients charged with violent crimes including aggravated assault, aggravated sexual assault, manslaughter, and murder throughout New Jersey including in Freehold, New Brunswick, Toms River, and Newark, New Jersey. Our experienced criminal defense lawyers are available immediately for a free initial consultation to advise you of your rights, the charges against you, and the potential penalties involved with those charges. Please contact our office at (732)842-7787.
Violent Crimes and Defenses: Murder
A criminal charge for murder in New Jersey is govenred by N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3 which provides in pertinent part:
§ 2C:11-3. Murder
a. Except as provided in N.J.S.A. 2C:11-4, criminal homicide constitutes murder when:
(1) The actor purposely causes death or serious bodily injury resulting in death; or
(2) The actor knowingly causes death or serious bodily injury resulting in death; or
(3) It is committed when the actor, acting either alone or with one or more other persons, is engaged in the commission of, or an attempt to commit, or flight after committing or attempting to commit robbery, sexual assault, arson, burglary, kidnapping, carjacking, criminal escape or terrorism pursuant to section 2 of P.L.2002, c.26, and in the course of such crime or of immediate flight therefrom, any person causes the death of a person other than one of the participants; except that in any prosecution under this subsection, in which the defendant was not the only participant in the underlying crime, it is an affirmative defense that the defendant:
(a) Did not commit the homicidal act or in any way solicit, request, command, importune, cause or aid the commission thereof; and
(b) Was not armed with a deadly weapon, or any instrument, article or substance readily capable of causing death or serious physical injury and of a sort not ordinarily carried in public places by law-abiding persons; and
(c) Had no reasonable ground to believe that any other participant was armed with such a weapon, instrument, article or substance; and
(d) Had no reasonable ground to believe that any other participant intended to engage in conduct likely to result in death or serious physical injury.
b. (1) Murder is a crime of the first degree but a person convicted of murder shall be sentenced, except as provided in paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of this subsection, by the court to a term of 30 years, during which the person shall not be eligible for parole, or be sentenced to a specific term of years which shall be between 30 years and life imprisonment of which the person shall serve 30 years before being eligible for parole.
(2) If the victim was a law enforcement officer and was murdered while performing his official duties or was murdered because of his status as a law enforcement officer, the person convicted of that murder shall be sentenced by the court to a term of life imprisonment, during which the person shall not be eligible for parole.
(3) A person convicted of murder shall be sentenced to a term of life imprisonment without eligibility for parole if the murder was committed under all of the following circumstances:
(a) The victim is less than 14 years old; and
(b) The act is committed in the course of the commission, whether alone or with one or more persons, of a violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2 or N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3.
Explanation of the Statute and Potential Defenses
As you can see from the above statute, murder essentially requires purposefully or knowingly causing the death of another. Further, under the "felony murder doctrine", if you are involved in the commission of a felony (say a robbery for example) and someone dies during the commission of that felony, even if you did not intentionally kill that person and you were not involved in the killing yourself, you can be charged with murder under New Jersey law.The potential penalties associated with a murder charge typically range from 30 years in state prison (without the possibility of parole) to life in prison.
Obviously, the potential defenses against a murder charge depend on the circumstances of the case. Self-defense is a potential defense to murder or that the death was accidental and not intentional may be a defense to the charge. For additional information and for a free initial consultation, contact our experienced criminal defense lawyers at (732)842-7787.
