New Jersey

Man worried about transportation to court is charged with stealing a friend’s car

A New Jersey man was accused of stealing his friend’s car last Friday, a day after expressing concern about how he would find transportation to a court appearance. Police say they arrested Jorge Ramirez-Sierra of Riverdale, New Jersey, when he returned the car to his friend’s home, report NJ.com and…

Apr 17, 2015 6:15 AM CDT

Municipal judge who resigned after bounced bar-dues checks is now accused of client extortion

A municipal judge in Trenton, New Jersey, who resigned after she tried to pay bar dues with bounced checks is now accused of extorting fake fines from immigration clients. Renee Lamarre-Sumners is accused of getting three clients to pay more than $17,000 in phony fines and keeping the money for…

Apr 15, 2015 8:58 AM CDT

Lawyer who read medical document from anonymous sender can’t represent med-mal plaintiff, court says

A lawyer can’t continue to represent a medical malpractice plaintiff after reading hospital documents sent by an anonymous source, a New Jersey appeals court has ruled. The Somerville, New Jersey, lawyer, Brian Levine, had contended the documents weren’t privileged under the New Jersey Patient Safety Act, the New Jersey Law…

Apr 9, 2015 10:26 AM CDT

Men-only golf retreats and unequal work assignments alleged in bias suit against McElroy Deutsch

A fired associate at McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter claims in a gender bias and sex harassment suit against the law firm that male associates got to hobnob with firm leaders at male-only golf retreats and got better work assignments than females. Fired bankruptcy associate Elina Chechelnitsky filed the suit…

Apr 6, 2015 8:48 AM CDT

Is time on homeowners’ side? Foreclosure case tossed without prejudice may not pause clock

Lawyers for homeowners in several states are arguing banks can’t foreclose on their clients’ homes because the statute of limitations has expired. An issue in the cases is when the clock begins to run and whether a tossed foreclosure case pauses the clock, the New York Times reports. Lawyers for…

Mar 30, 2015 7:21 AM CDT

Lawyer gets 10-year sentence for role in stealing $3.8M from elderly victims

A New Jersey lawyer has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for her part in a scheme to steal $3.8 million from 16 elderly victims. Barbara Lieberman, a court-appointed guardian and elder law specialist in Atlantic County who gave seminars to senior citizens on end-of-life issues and other matters,…

Mar 27, 2015 8:30 AM CDT

Private texts transferred to workers’ corporate iPads led to wrongful firing, suit claims

Two former employees of Anheuser-Busch claim in a lawsuit that they were wrongly fired for private text messages transferred to a corporate-issued iPad through the iMessaging application. The suit by former New Jersey employees Victor Nascimento and Audry Yule says their employer discovered texts criticizing fellow employee Alex Davis when…

Mar 24, 2015 6:55 AM CDT

After criminal case was dropped, ex-cop can sue to recoup his $1M defense costs, judge rules

A former New Jersey police officer charged with shaking down drug dealers prevailed at trial, twice, when juries could not agree to convict him. Then the government decided to drop the case against Lawrence Furlow. Now he is litigating against the city of Newark, his ex-employer, in an effort to…

Mar 5, 2015 4:15 PM CST

‘Sizzling skillet’ at Applebee’s was ‘open and obvious’ danger to praying diner, court says

A man who says his face, neck and arms were burned after he bent over a “sizzling skillet” at an Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill and Bar in New Jersey to pray had hoped to collect damages. But a trial judge nixed the superior court lawsuit filed by Hiram Jimenez and the…

Mar 5, 2015 4:00 PM CST

Juror accused of lying about her past is indicted, excused from murder trial

A former New Jersey juror has been indicted for allegedly lying during the trial of a man who was later convicted of murdering his 20-month-old daughter. Wacoa M. Stanford, 44, is accused of three counts of false swearing for allegedly not disclosing a prior disorderly persons conviction or the fact…

Mar 2, 2015 9:44 AM CST

Prosecutor drops felony gun charge over retired schoolteacher’s antique flintlock pistol

A felony gun case has been dropped against a retired New Jersey schoolteacher who admitted after a traffic stop by that he been carrying an unloaded antique flintlock pistol in the glove box of his vehicle. Although federal law would have considered the the 225-year-old flintlock muzzleloader a collectible, it…

Feb 26, 2015 11:00 AM CST

Convicted in wife slaying, profiled in book and TV miniseries, Robert Marshall dies in prison

A former insurance salesman profiled in a best-selling book and television miniseries about the contract killing of his wife has died in prison. Robert Marshall, 75, was convicted in 1986 for conspiring to murder his wife, Maria, who was shot to death in 1984 at a isolated picnic area off…

Feb 24, 2015 12:10 PM CST

Ex-clerk sues judge, says his own mental health was questioned when he refused to be bullied

A former clerk has filed a pro se federal lawsuit against the New Jersey judge he worked for, alleging a number of dubious practices by the jurist. Plaintiff Joseph Dearie Jr. also says in the Section 1983 civil rights suit that his own mental health was questioned when he walked…

Feb 20, 2015 11:05 AM CST

Retired teacher faces felony gun charge over antique pistol in vehicle glove box

A 72-year-old retired New Jersey schoolteacher apparently thought he had nothing to worry about when he consented to a search of his vehicle after a traffic stop in November. Gordon Van Gilder even told a Cumberland County sheriff’s deputy about the antique pistol in his glove box. But Van Gilder…

Feb 19, 2015 11:25 AM CST

Police: 2 men face DWI charges for planning to hide drunk-driving crash

Two New Jersey men, who planned to cover up a drunken-driving accident Saturday by pouring water on the frigid roadway, were foiled by a suspicious police officer, authorities say. When Sparta officer C.J. Grauerholz spotted a BMW standing in the middle of Sawmill Road in the wee hours with a…

Feb 17, 2015 2:55 PM CST