Firm Blog

New Jersey officials have fundamentally altered the state’s official policy on stun gun use by law enforcement. The policy changes were recently announced by Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman, who indicated that the new guidelines would provide police officers with clearer direction on how to use the devices as “a lifesaving alternative” during potentially dangerous and violent encounters with…

Olympus, a major manufacturer and distributor of medical devices, recently received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of a redesigned duodenoscope. The redesign came in response to a product recall after reports of numerous infection incidents involving a previous version of the medical device that was considered defective. What is a Duodenoscope? A duodenoscope is a device…

The Netflix series “Making a Murderer” garnered national headlines when outraged viewers began to petition the government, at both the federal and state levels, to re-open the case of Steven Avery. Although Avery, a Wisconsin man who was convicted of the murder charges of Teresa Halbach in 2005, still remains in prison, he has a new defense attorney seeking the…

New Jersey authorities fear that thousands of drug convictions may be in jeopardy after an investigation found that an NJ State Police lab tech faked evidence in a drug offense case. Although evidentiary issues do sometimes arise in NJ drug cases, they usually involve questions about the chain of custody. The revelation that a laboratory technician may have lied about…

The prescription drug Adderall poses a serious health risk to individuals who abuse it. For example, medical experts said that there has been an upward trend in the number of emergency room visits caused by Adderall misuse in recent years. Adderall is commonly used to treat individuals who suffer from attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In the U.S., many young people…

Law enforcement, health officials and other concerned observers are growing increasingly concerned about a new cause of drug overdoses: high-potency prescription painkillers mislabeled as low-potency medications. This particular painkiller abuse problem has begun to spread throughout the country. In Tennessee, for example, officials said there have been at least two dozen cases in recent months involving high-potency pills that were…

Students who apply to college have a difficult enough time as it is without having to worry about whether a past indiscretion, such as an arrest or criminal conviction, will end up coming back to haunt them. However, most colleges currently ask questions about previous disciplinary actions on student applications. In fact, the Common Application, which is used by more…

The Center for Auto Safety, a nonprofit organization that informs consumers about car safety issues, has asked the federal government to reopen its investigation into deadly crash-related fires occurring in older-model Jeep SUVs. Rear-crash fires in these vehicles, which were recalled in June 2013, have reportedly resulted in a number of deaths since the recall was issued. A database maintained…

Health officials are trying to determine why more white Americans are dying as a result of prescription drug overdoses in recent years, according to data examined by researchers with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Prescription drug abuse is being called an epidemic by lawmakers at both the federal and NJ state levels, with more than 47,000 Americans…

The Obama administration recently announced that it was opening an official investigation into a possible connection between crumb rubber turf and higher incidences of cancer. Crumb rubber, which is made from recycled tires, is used in turf that covers fields and playgrounds throughout New Jersey and elsewhere in the U.S. Manufacturers of artificial turf intended for school playgrounds, as well…