STATEMENT REGARDING STATE V. JOSEPH M. JAFFE DECIDED BY THE NEW JERSEY SUPREME COURT ON DECEMBER 15, 2014

Mr. Jaffe and I are gratified by the New Jersey Supreme Court’s opinion on Monday, December 15, 2014 permitting post-offense conduct as permissible argument on behalf of a criminal part defendant in the trial court at time of sentencing. The Supreme Court deserves enormous credit for having accepted Mr. Jaffe’s Petition for Certification. The Court’s opinion serves to vindicate the legal argument made on Mr. Jaffe’s behalf in the trial court in 2012. We look forward to making just such an argument at the time of Mr. Jaffe’s resentencing.

A word to the New Jersey criminal defense bar. When my client was sentenced to state prison, he could no longer pay for my legal services. I stayed the course. That is when my client needed me the most. When a client has paid our legal fee and can no longer afford to do so, keep up the fight. The ultimate reward is in the work itself. We are privileged to practice law in a state with a great Supreme Court which encourages such pro bono representation and has deserved its nation-wide reputation for correcting injustice.

Many thanks to Jeffrey Zajac, Esq. for assisting on Mr. Jaffe’s brief to the Supreme Court. A special measure of gratitude to Jeffrey S. Mandel, Esq. and the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey for assisting Mr. Jaffe’s cause as amicus curiae before the Court.

MATTHEW W. REISIG

December 15, 2014