Mercer County NJ

If you are being investigated, charged or arrested for a crime in Mercer County, the first person you should talk to - even before talking to the police - is Mercer County criminal defense lawyer Tara Breslow-Testa. Born, bred and educated (JD Rutgers) in New Jersey, Tara Breslow-Testa has more than two decades of experience on both sides of the bench and either side of the aisle: Clerking for the Honorable Donald J. Volkert, Jr., serving as an Assistant Deputy Public Defender in Union County and then trial court in Monmouth County.

Tara knows the New Jersey courts, and the New Jersey courts know Tara. Now in private practice, Tara Breslow-Testa has much more than Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hours of “deliberate practice” in the New Jersey courts. She understands the history, psychology, philosophy, procedures, flow, wants and needs of the labyrinthine New Jersey justice system.

From assault to wire fraud and many crimes in between - disorderly persons, drug crimes, juvenile offenses, robbery, shoplifting, sex offenses - Tara Breslow-Testa has the experience and talent to square off against aggressive prosecutors, and the insight to negotiate with hardened, no-nonsense judges.

An experienced, talented attorney can save you years of jail time, tens of thousands of dollars in fines and keep your record clear. Tara Breslow-Testa is that experienced, talented attorney.

For a free consultation, call Tara Breslow-Testa at (732) 784-2880

Drugs are an enormous problem from one end of New Jersey to the other, and a large percentage of the cases Tara Breslow-Testa defends have to do with drug crimes: As simple as possessing less than 60 grams of marijuana, and as complicated as defending persons accused of leading a drug trafficking ring, Tara Breslow-Testa understands when the courts are prepared to be lenient and give second chances, and when the courts want to throw people in jail, lose the key and forgetaboutthem.

In New Jersey Controlled Dangerous Substances (CDS) are classified from Schedule I to V - with Schedule I being the most frequently abused: Marijuana, hashish, heroin, LSD, acid, MDMA, synthetic marijuana, psilocybin mushrooms.

Penalties for possession or distribution of Controlled Dangerous Substances are scaled by which schedule they fall under, and also the amount by weight of the CDS. Drug offenses range from first to fourth degree, with first degree the most serious and carrying sentences as severe as life in prison and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

Looking at extremes of the drug scale, in New Jersey, possession of less than 60 grams of marijuana is considered a disorderly persons violation, which will be heard in Municipal Court, if it goes that far. Serving Mercer County, Tara Breslow-Testa is a criminal defense attorney who can have your case diverted to Pre Trial Intervention or also Drug Court - if you are a first time offender and otherwise have a clean record. If convicted for possession of that amount of marijuana, the potential penalties are six months in county jail and/or one year of probation, a fine of up to $1,000 and six months driver’s license suspension.

Possession of CDS in New Jersey is one thing, distribution is on a different level. On the other end of the scale, New Jersey statutes 2C:35-3 detail penalties for anyone convicted of being the Leader of a Narcotics Trafficking Network. Anyone found to be a “financier… organizer, supervisor or manager of at least one other person” in distributing CDS has committed a first degree offense. If found guilty, New Jersey throws the book: 25 years to life in prison, with a fine of no more than $750,000.00 or five times the street value of the CDS.

New Jersey drug laws are complicated, and whether you are arrested with one joint you are enjoying by yourself, or a suitcase full of heroin for sale, representing citizens arrested on drug charges in Mercer County, Tara Breslow-Testa is a criminal defense attorney prepared to defend you in Municipal or Superior Court - or divert your case to Drug Court.

Established in 1996 in Camden and Essex Superior Courts - and since extended to all of New Jersey - the mission of New Jersey’s Drug Court is to head off the abuse of drugs and alcohol and ease the related criminal activity that goes with drug abuse. Drug Courts operate within the Superior Court structure and utilize a specialized team of treatment professionals, court staff, probation officers, attorneys and substance abuse evaluators for cases that are nonviolent.

The goal of Drug Court is to keep abusers out of jail and off drugs, and it is possible that Monmouth County drug offense attorney Tara Breslow-Testa can work with Superior Court to have a case deflected into Drug Court - and turn possible jail time and fines into strict supervision.

The New Jersey Code of Juvenile Justice adjudicates court cases for anyone under the age of 18 - the definition of a “juvenile.” Anyone under 18 accused of a crime is tried in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part - whose goal is to protect the underage accused, and protect the public. The Family Division of the Superior Court is an intricate network of options and diversions, which takes a skilled attorney to navigate. All juveniles in Family Court must be represented by an attorney - a public defender or a private attorney. Mercer County juvenile crime attorney Tara Breslow-Testa is the private attorney you want by your side.

When juveniles are apprehended for committing crimes they are “taken into custody” as opposed to being arrested, and they are “adjudicated delinquent” rather than convicted. In New Jersey, a judge can order a “deferred disposition:” a second chance designed to let a juvenile make right on a crime, without going to court and facing the possibility of being “adjudicated delinquent” and paying fines, going to jail and having a criminal record. If you are the guardian of a juvenile who has done something illegal and this is a first offense, contact Tara Breslow-Testa, a criminal defense attorney for Mercer County. You want her in your corner when squaring off with prosecutors and judges.

Being investigated or arrested for a crime and facing the New Jersey criminal courts is a major source of stress - and who needs more stress in their lives? Mercer County criminal defense attorney Tara Breslow-Testa is ready, willing and able to represent you in court - whether it’s for shoplifting or sex trafficking.

For a free consultation, call Tara at (732) 784-2880