Timothy S. Farrow Criminal Law Blog

On Wednesday, New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey S. Chiesa announced a statewide ban on all forms of synthetic marijuana, which are combinations of chemicals designed to mimic the effect of marijuana. ... Read More

Timothy Farrow has been telling his clients for years now to be very careful about pleading guilty to a criminal offense, even if it is just a “minor misdemeanor”.  The main consequence of course is employment.  With the expansion of the internet, background checks are much easier to conduct.  It used to be only possible to obtain a background check through the NJ State Police.  Now just type it into Google and you will see pages and pages of sites and comp... Read More

On New Year’s Eve in Oklahoma, Sarah McKinley shot an armed intruder to death, while the accomplice to the break-in fled.  Last week it was announced that Ms. McKinley will not face charges for the shooting, while the surviving accomplice was charged with first-degree murder.... Read More

As with much of America, I was shocked and appalled at Jerry Sandusky's interview.  Unlike most of America, it was not so much by what he said, but that he and his attorney said anything at all.  I recognize that our clients always have the final say, and yes I have had some clients go against my advice and make the wrong decision. ... Read More

On October 29, 2007, Timothy Farrow’s client, his client’s brother, and mother were all charged with aggravated assault on two law enforcement officers, charges which were later upgraded by the Prosecutor to included attempted murder against the brother, and two counts of second degree aggravated assault against Farrow’s client. Four years after the offense and after a nearly 2-week trial, the jury returned verdicts of Not Guilty.... Read More

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, nearly 5,500 people died and half a million were injured in 2009 (the most recent year for which statistics are available) in accidents involving a distracted driver.  The New Jersey Legislature is currently considering distracted driving-related bills (S1950 and A2816), which would create tougher penalties for driving while distracted.... Read More

Many of us at this point might think it’s a fairly easy call to accept that the Italian system of justice failed miserably in this case, but do you really know why?  In looking at this case from the inception and investigation through the trial and appeal process, it is evident that there are significant differences between our two systems.... Read More

     Sure, bullying is a serious issue, and recent highly-publicized cases such as the Tyler Clementi case at Rutgers merited at least some consideration by our Legislature.  However, as is often the case with highly-publicized cases, the action taken by them is an overreaction.  There are plenty of ways for our government officials to address a tragedy like Clementi’s death, besides hastily passing legislation without adequate consideration of its con... Read More

             False confessions might sound like an oxymoron, but it is actually a phenomenon that has been prevalent throughout the history of our criminal justice system.  It has only been brought to light recently through defense attorneys and expert psychologists like those in Misskelly’s case.  Even as a defense attorney myself, I have been guilty of the natural rush to judge a client’s confession without... Read More

In the case of State of New Jersey in the Interest of B.P.C., the New Jersey Appellate Division recently upheld the adjudication of delinquency of two fourteen (14) year-old juveniles for acts of criminal sexual contact and most notably, the accompanying sentence of registration as a sex offender pursuant to Megan’s Law.  In sum, the facts alleged consisted of the juveniles pressing their bare buttocks against the face of a twelve (12) year old during the course of severe bully... Read More