Domestic Violence Defense Attorneys in NJ
Criminal Mischief
Criminal mischief involves destruction, defacement, alteration, or vandalism to property. In New Jersey – and elsewhere in the US – mischief is a crime typically punished as a misdemeanor. This is a less serious crime than a felony charge, but it still can result in jail time, fines, probation, and other penalties. Generally, graffiting a building, vandalizing someone's private home or car, or defacing, altering, or destroying another person's or organization's property will be construed as mischief. Arson charges - lighting property on fire – is a separate crime. Criminal mischief can be punished in a criminal court or be handled as a civil tort. Here are some common examples:
- Rowdy teenagers breaking windows out of houses in the neighborhood
- Frustrated driver slashes the tires of a car that's double-parked outside his building
- High school kids vandalize their principal's car and spray paint obscenities on it
In certain cases involving extreme ill will or hatred, defendants may face stiffer penalties. These may be instances of mischief based on religion, such as vandalizing a particular church, or race, such as harassing or vandalizing a particular home or family.
What determines your charges and punishments?
The courts will examine the severity and intent of the mischief – as well as the monetary damage and intangible damage. Monetary damage relates to direct costs, such as how much it would cost to repair vandalized property. Intangible damage relates to, for example, emotional distress inflicted on the residents of a home that was vandalized, particularly if the crime involved the extreme ill will or hatred, mentioned before.
Prosecutors will also look at your previous criminal history, if you have any, your level of remorse for what you did, and other factors, such as whether you acted alone or in collaboration with others and whether you preplanned the malicious behavior or engaged in it spontaneously.
Developing Your Best Defense
A criminal defense attorney, such as the New Jersey misdemeanor defense lawyers at Lependorf & Silverstein, will investigate the criminal mischief charges against you and come up with an appropriate and effective defense strategy. In some cases, your lawyers may be able to get the charges dropped all together or pled down to a lesser offense. In other cases, you may have to face some penalty – but excellent legal representation can minimize your punishments and maximize your chance to get rehabilitated and return your life to normal as quickly as possible.
Whether you are a minor who has been charged for graffiting your high school or an adult who lost his temper at a bar and broke a window, on top of developing your legal defense strategy, you also likely want to examine the underlying stresses in your life that drove you to commit an act of criminal mischief in the first place. Often, therapy, meditation, and anger management education can give offenders new tools to deal with life's stresses more effectively.
Get your free case evaluation with Lependorf & Silverstein by calling 609-240-0040 right now.