New Jersey · statute · N.J. Stat. tit. 2C · 918 active provisions
a. This Title shall be known and may be cited as the "New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice." b. Except as provided in subsections c. and d. of this section, the code does not apply to offenses committed prior to its effective date and prosecutions and dispositions for such offenses shall be governed by the prior law, wh…
a. The general purposes of the provisions governing the definition of offenses are: (1) To forbid, prevent, and condemn conduct that unjustifiably and inexcusably inflicts or threatens serious harm to individual or public interests; (2) To insure the public safety by preventing the commission of offenses through the de…
2C:1-3. Territorial applicability. a. Except as otherwise provided in this section, a person may be convicted under the law of this State of an offense committed by his own conduct or the conduct of another for which he is legally accountable if: (1) Either the conduct which is an element of the offense or the result w…
2C:1-4. Classes of Offenses. a. (1) An offense defined by this code or by any other statute of this State, for which a sentence of imprisonment in excess of 6 months is authorized, constitutes a crime within the meaning of the Constitution of this State. Crimes are designated in this code as being of the first, second,…
3. When a provision in Title 2C of the New Jersey Statutes, any other statute, rule, regulation, or ordinance of this State, or any certification or application form promulgated thereunder, refers to a conviction of "a similar crime in another state," a conviction under the laws of "any other state or the United States…
a. Common law crimes are abolished and no conduct constitutes an offense unless the offense is defined by this code or another statute of this State. b. The provisions of subtitle 1 of the code are applicable to offenses defined by other statutes. The provisions of subtitle 3 are applicable to offenses defined by other…
2C:1-6. Time Limitations. a. (1) A prosecution for any offense set forth in N.J.S.2C:11-3, N.J.S.2C:11-4, N.J.S.2C:14-2 or sections 1 through 5 of P.L.2002, c.26 (C.2C:38-1 through C.2C:38-5) may be commenced at any time. (2) A prosecution for any offense set forth in N.J.S.2C:17-2, section 9 of P.L.1970, c.39 (C.13:1E…
Method of Prosecution When Conduct Constitutes More Than One Offense. a. Prosecution for multiple offenses; limitation on convictions. When the same conduct of a defendant may establish the commission of more than one offense, the defendant may be prosecuted for each such offense. He may not, however, be convicted of m…
A prosecution of a defendant for a violation of the same provision of the statutes based upon the same facts as a former prosecution is barred by such former prosecution under the following circumstances: a. The former prosecution resulted in an acquittal by a finding of not guilty by the trier of fact or in a determin…
A prosecution of a defendant for a violation of a different provision of the statutes or based on different facts than a former prosecution is barred by such former prosecution under the following circumstances: a. The former prosecution resulted in an acquittal or in a conviction as defined in section 2C:1-9 and the s…
When conduct constitutes an offense within the concurrent jurisdiction of this State and of the United States, a prosecution in the District Court of the United States is a bar to a subsequent prosecution in this State under the following circumstances: a. The first prosecution resulted in an acquittal or in a convicti…
A prosecution is not a bar within the meaning of sections 2C:1-9, 10 and 11 under any of the following circumstances: a. The former prosecution was before a court which lacked jurisdiction over the defendant or the offense tried in that court; or b. The former prosecution was procured by the defendant without the knowl…
a. No person may be convicted of an offense unless each element of such offense is proved beyond a reasonable doubt. In the absence of such proof, the innocence of the defendant is assumed. b. Subsection a. of this section does not: (1) Require the disproof of an affirmative defense unless and until there is evidence s…
2C:1-14. In this code, unless a different meaning plainly is required: a. "Statute" includes the Constitution and a local law or ordinance of a political subdivision of the State; b. "Act" or "action" means a bodily movement whether voluntary or involuntary; c. "Omission" means a failure to act; d. "Conduct" means an a…
2C:2-1. Requirement of Voluntary Act; Omission as Basis of Liability; Possession as an act. a. A person is not guilty of an offense unless his liability is based on conduct which includes a voluntary act or the omission to perform an act of which he is physically capable. A bodily movement that is not a product of the…
a. Minimum requirements of culpability. Except as provided in subsection c.(3) of this section, a person is not guilty of an offense unless he acted purposely, knowingly, recklessly or negligently, as the law may require, with respect to each material element of the offense. b. Kinds of culpability defined. (1) Purpose…
a. Conduct is the cause of a result when: (1) It is an antecedent but for which the result in question would not have occurred; and (2) The relationship between the conduct and result satisfies any additional causal requirements imposed by the code or by the law defining the offense. b. When the offense requires that t…
a. Ignorance or mistake as to a matter of fact or law is a defense if the defendant reasonably arrived at the conclusion underlying the mistake and: (1) It negatives the culpable mental state required to establish the offense; or (2) The law provides that the state of mind established by such ignorance or mistake const…
Conduct which would otherwise be an offense is excused or alleviated by reason of any defense now provided by law for which neither the code nor other statutory law defining the offense provides exceptions or defenses dealing with the specific situation involved and a legislative purpose to exclude the defense claimed…
a. A person is guilty of an offense if it is committed by his own conduct or by the conduct of another person for which he is legally accountable, or both. b. A person is legally accountable for the conduct of another person when: (1) Acting with the kind of culpability that is sufficient for the commission of the offe…
a. A corporation may be convicted of the commission of an offense if: (1) The conduct constituting the offense is engaged in by an agent of the corporation while acting within the scope of his employment and in behalf of the corporation unless the offense is one defined by a statute which indicates a legislative purpos…
a. Except as provided in subsection d. of this section, intoxication of the actor is not a defense unless it negatives an element of the offense. b. When recklessness establishes an element of the offense, if the actor, due to self-induced intoxication, is unaware of a risk of which he would have been aware had he been…
a. Subject to subsection b. of this section, it is an affirmative defense that the actor engaged in the conduct charged to constitute an offense because he was coerced to do so by the use of, or a threat to use, unlawful force against his person or the person of another, which a person of reasonable firmness in his sit…
a. In general. The consent of the victim to conduct charged to constitute an offense or to the result thereof is a defense if such consent negatives an element of the offense or precludes the infliction of the harm or evil sought to be prevented by the law defining the offense. b. Consent to bodily harm. When conduct i…
The assignment judge may dismiss a prosecution if, having regard to the nature of the conduct charged to constitute an offense and the nature of the attendant circumstances, it finds that the defendant's conduct: a. Was within a customary license or tolerance, neither expressly negated by the person whose interest was…