Over the last month, Catanzaro Law has explored clemency and its various manifestations in the U.S. legal system. Pardons, commutations, and reprieves have all been used throughout U.S. history to grant some level of leniency to criminals ready for reform. But what do these processes look like to the layperson? How can a criminal apply [...]

The voluntary, unlawful taking of a human life is considered to be among the most heinous of crimes. While countless films, tv shows, news stories and videogames have desensitized the populace to murder and other criminal forms of homicide, the genuine article is as tragic and terrible as it ever was. Though different states often [...]

How long should past mistakes cause a penitent person to suffer? Is a system that shuts out those with a criminal record encouraging improvement or repeat offenders? If you have a criminal record, you’ve likely wrestled with these troubling thoughts and harsh realities. The good news is this: for many of you, there’s hope to [...]

Living with a criminal record in New Jersey can feel overwhelming and devastating; a blemished record can turn even the simplest procedures into drawn out difficulties. Job applications, housing opportunities and even educational advancement can be hampered by an unclean record. But errors of the past don’t have to be life sentences, and exploring expungement [...]

In our series on the different degrees of murder, we’ve already covered first degree murder. So, today we’ll be answering, “What is second degree murder?” This one might be the one the average person knows littlest about. Yet, it’s important to understand. Leading up to any murder trial, the prosecutor might attempt to increase the [...]

You’ve heard it before in gangster movies and TV shows. “He runs a drug racket out of a pizza shop.” “That gang runs the local protection racket.” You hear that word “racket” thrown around. But did you know it’s not just slang? It’s actually what’s behind the legal charge of racketeering. In this week’s blog, [...]

You’ve heard it in just about every courtroom drama ever made. An attorney shouts, “I object!” and suddenly the scene gets intense. Or you may have seen parodies of courtroom objections in movies and TV. But what does “I object” mean? Why do lawyers say it? As we put the finishing touches on our legal [...]

Last week we covered a few common fraud scams. For your knowledge and safety, we’ve decided to cover a few more. So here are few other fraud scams you need to watch out for. First, you get an email from a woman in a foreign country looking for companionship. Maybe the email even comes with [...]

The legal phrase “terroristic threats” sounds severe, doesn’t it? Does someone need to be a terrorist to be accused of terroristic threats? Are these threats to commit an act of terror? What does the law mean by terroristic threats? In this week’s blog post, we’ll answer all of these questions and more as we discuss [...]