Mount Holly Criminal Defense Attorneys serving Burlington County and Surrounding Areas
If you are a doctor, nurse, pharmacist, teacher, realtor, or other professional required to be licensed in New Jersey, you may be wondering how a criminal charge will impact your professional license. While criminal charges ranging from possession of marijuana to aggravated assault may expose you to different penalties, any type of criminal issue can have collateral consequences for your professional standing.
While criminal courts, including Municipal Courts and Superior Courts, are responsible for handling criminal prosecution, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs is responsible for handling licenses issued in the state of New Jersey. There are numerous subdivisions within Consumer Affairs that oversee specific professional licenses, including those for doctors, nurses, home health aids, pharmacists, real estate agents, teachers, and more.
If a person is arrested and charged with a crime in New Jersey, whether it is an indictable offense like unlawful possession of a weapon or a disorderly persons offense like simple assault, their professional license may be in jeopardy. Depending on the type of license, a board under the NJ Attorney General’s Division of Consumer Affairs may choose to pursue disciplinary action against a criminal defendant in an entirely separate proceeding from the criminal case. Potential penalties imposed by State Licensing Boards can vary from a “slap on the wrist” to a period of license suspension, probation, and in the worst cases, revoking your professional license entirely.
When facing criminal charges as a licensed professional in New Jersey, it is important to know and understand several things. First, you need to speak with an attorney who has extensive experience with criminal courts and professional oversight committees. In order to ensure you reach the best possible outcome and avoid serious issues with your professional license, you want a lawyer on your side who understands the potential impact of the criminal case’s outcome on your license. As such, a licensee in New Jersey should seek our an attorney who will proceed with a defense strategy that most readily addresses the outcomes of both the criminal justice process and the professional oversight review in administrative court.
You may have questions like: “Why does illegal possession of a prescription drug have anything to do with my job as an educator?” Or, “how come my real estate license may be affected by a brief scuffle at a football game?”
At our criminal defense law firm, our highly experienced criminal defense attorneys get questions like these all the time. We have a thorough understanding of the criminal and administrative components of cases involving defendants with professional licenses in New Jersey and we can help you reach a favorable resolution that keeps your license and your reputation intact. If you have been charged with a criminal offense as a license holder, our lawyers will help you navigate the criminal and professional review board process.
With offices in Collingswood, we regularly assist clients with such matters in Burlington County, Camden County, Gloucester County and surrounding areas. For an absolutely free consultation about your case, call 609-832-3202 or send us an email today.
