Our attorneys routinely appear at the United States District Court in Newark NJ on behalf of individuals charged with public lewdness at Gunnison Beach. There is little doubt that we are primary player when it comes to the defense of these charges as, not only one of the largest criminal firms in the state with offices both in Monmouth County (i.e. county where the beach is located) and Essex County (i.e. county where the case will be heard), but have also been defending Gunnison Beach cases, unlikely many of our competitors, for almost two decades now. All lewd conduct offenses were heard, up until very recently, at the Fort Monmouth Satellite District Court in Oceanport and this was the case for as much as 50 years. This court was only a mile or two from our main office and resulted in our former prosecutors defending countless cases before Judge Manna, his successor, Judge Davis, and then Judge Mautone, who still presides despite cases now being heard in Newark. If you find yourself in the unfortunate predicament of facing this charge, there is no question that we are well equipped to assist you. The following is some important information you probably want to know when it comes to avoiding a conviction for lewd conduct.
Common Allegations Of Lewd Conduct at Sandy Hook
There are certain reoccurring fact patterns that we encounter in our practice in terms of arrests for sexually inappropriate conduct in public at Gunnison Beach. The following are those which are most common:
- Masturbation While Observing Another Bather
- Digital Penetration Of Another
- Vaginal or Anal Intercourse
- Oral Sex
These accusations can frequently be overreaching in nature where Park Rangers make inappropriate assumptions or are just unfair insofar as charging an individual with public lewdness. Perhaps the incident didn’t happen the way it was described, wasn’t observable by a member of the public without extraordinary effort, or the conduct itself was not “lewd”. Irrespective of the accusations made against you, we understand that you are probably a law abiding citizen and deserve every opportunity to move on with your life without a conviction that can permanently effect your life.
Public Lewdness Laws That Apply If You Are Charged With Public Lewdness At Gunnison Beach
Since Gunnison Beach is a recreational area owned by the United States, the Code of Federal Regulation applies. In accordance with 36 CFR 7.29(c), a person “is guilty of public lewdness when he intentionally exposes the private and intimate parts of his body in a lewd manner or commits any other lewd act (a) in a public place, or (b) in private premises under circumstances in which he may readily be observed from either a public place or from other private premises, and with intent that he be so observed.” When a complaint is issued for lewdness, the charge filed by Rangers usually starts with a violation of 36 CFR 7.29(c). In addition to the penalties that come with a conviction under this law, there is no ability to “expunge” a federal conviction such that a conviction for public lewdness under 36 CFR 7.29(c) will result in a permanent criminal record. A finding of guilt has the potential to effect an individual’s ability to obtain employment or engage in any other endeavor that will trigger a criminal background check.
The carrot often dangled by the United States Attorney handling these cases is a downgrade of the charge to a disorderly persons offense under New Jersey State Law. The way this is achieved is through a concept known as “assimilation”. This principal allows a Federal Judge to adopt and/or apply state law of the jurisdiction where the violation occurred. This allows the prosecutor and Judge to accept a plea to disorderly conduct or some other misdemeanor, referred to as a disorderly persons offense, set forth under the NJ Criminal Code.
What Can We Do For You?
The first thing we can offer you is representation by a firm that has probably handled more of these cases than any other in the state over the last 15-20 years. We routinely appeared at Fort Monmouth for over ten years defending Gunnison Public Lewdness Charges and continue through this date appearing in many of these cases at the Newark District Court. Second, we are a team of defense attorneys who are largely former prosecutors and who possess over 100 years of combined experience. Call us for a free consultation.
