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Attempted Murder in New Jersey - Not Always Easy to Prove
August 27, 2009

Posted In: Attempted Murder , Violent Crimes/Assault
By Clark & Clark, LLC on August 27, 2009 9:56 AM

As I wrote in yesterday's attempted murder related post, attempted murder is not an easy charge for the Prosecutor to prove in New Jersey. Consequently, a defense attorney can often negotiate a better deal with the Prosecutor or defend the case at trial when an attempted murder charge is the primary crime charged against a defendant.

Why would a Prosecutor be willing to negotiate? The answer is simple - attempted murder is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, charge to prove. The Prosecutor would have to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused's sole purpose in striking, stabbing or shooting another was to kill them. Often times, however, an accused wildly attacks another while enraged - acting recklessly - but certainly not purposely which is required to prove the charge.

Do not get me wrong, there are some attempted murder cases that the Prosecutor will have a much easier time proving. Where the alleged victim has been stabbed or shot multiple times and left unconscious, the Prosecutor will be able to effectively argue that the accused believed he accomplished his purpose when he left the scene. But most cases fall into a gray area. The accused may react to a situation without pre-meditation and on the spur of the moment - perhaps instinctively striking another causing serious injury but without a purpose to kill. If a an alleged victim is walking and talking after an attack while the accused flees the scene, it certainly would appear as if the accused's purpose was not to kill.

Attempted Murder is one of the most serious criminal charges a person can face but, my point here is that it is often defensible. Although the minimum plea offer on an attempted murder charge is 10 years, an experienced defense attorney can usually get a better plea offer under the right circumstances or effectively defend the case at trial if a satisfactory plea agreement cannot be reached.


I was curious too.

Can some "Law & Order" junkie explain to me why he wasn't charged with "attempted homocide"?

Jersey City man stabs victim several times in back -- in front of cops, report says

By Charles Hack/The Jersey Journal
October 18, 2009, 3:52PM

A Jersey City man was arrested after he brazenly stabbed a 31-year-old man four times in the back in plain view of two uniformed police officers early Saturday morning, police reports said.

Frank D. Link, 31, of Claremont Avenue, was charged with aggravated assault, unlawful possession of weapons, and possession of weapons for unlawful purposes.

Shortly after police officers broke up a disorderly crowd that had gathered on Orient Avenue between Martin Luther King Drive and Bergen Avenue at 3:30 a.m., two cops overheard an argument between Link and a 20 year-old Grant Avenue man who said he wanted to settle a score after cops left, reports said.

Then the cops saw Link -- who told the victim he didn't care about the police -- walk across Orient Avenue to the victim where they began to fight.

As police ran across the street, they saw Link push the victim's face against a fence and then stab him several times in the back, reports said.

When Link turned and faced police he was holding a silver knife, reports said. Link dropped the knife and police arrested him.

The victim, whose back was soaked in blood, screamed out, "He stabbed me, he (expletive) stabbed me!"

Swinging his hands and kicking his legs, the victim had to be handcuffed and then strapped to a stretcher so EMS could take him to the Jersey City Medical Center, where he received treatment for serious, but non-life threatening stab wounds, reports said.