Piscataway NJ Possession of Fake ID Lawyers

Rutgers Student Avoids Criminal Record Thanks to the Tormey Law Firm

Do you need a lawyer for a fake ID charge at Rutgers University in Piscataway? We can help.

The criminal defense attorneys at the Tormey Law Firm helped another client beat a criminal record, this time in the Piscataway Municipal Court.  Our client, who was an eighteen year-old Rutgers student, was caught with a fake ID.  Unfortunately for our client, he was in the wrong place at the wrong time – he was the passenger in an automobile that was pulled over and subsequently searched due to an odor of marijuana.  During the course of the search, the police discovered that our client possessed a driver’s license that indicated he was twenty-two years old.  As a result, our client was charged with a disorderly persons offense and faced a potential criminal record.  Fortunately, the Tormey Law Firm reviewed the evidence, met with the prosecutor, and eventually negotiated a resolution with the prosecutor that included an amendment of the charges to a municipal ordinance violation, requiring only the payment of a fine and, more importantly, did not result in a criminal record.

In many fake ID cases, the charges are issued pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:28-7, tampering with public records or information.  According to that statute, a person commits an offense if he: (1) knowingly makes a false entry in, or false alteration of, any record, document or thing belonging to, or received or kept by, the government for information or record, or required by law to be kept by others for information of the government; (2) makes, presents, offers for filing, or uses any record, document or thing knowing it to be false, and with purpose that it be taken as a genuine part of information or records referred to in paragraph (1); or (3) purposely and unlawfully destroys, conceals, removes, mutilates, or otherwise impairs the verity or availability of any such record, document or thing.  The statute further sets forth that an offense for possessing a fake ID is a disorderly persons offense unless the actor’s purpose is to defraud or injure anyone, in which case the offense is a crime of the third degree.

Arrested for Fake ID in New Brunswick at Rutgers? Call Us Now

Let’s face it: many college students have fake IDs in New Jersey, but that does not excuse the behavior and if you are caught by the police with false identification you will be prosecuted.  The penalties for the disorderly persons offense of possessing a fake ID include up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine, and there will be a permanent record of the disorderly persons offense. Thus, it is important to consult with an experienced criminal defense attorney if you are charged with tampering with public records as the result of possessing false identification.  The criminal defense attorneys at the Tormey Law Firm have successfully handled fake ID cases in courts across New Jersey and if you are facing charges for possessing false identification, you should call us today.