Just Kidding Defense Is a Bad Play in a Court of Law

Howard W. BaileyNo CommentsCriminal Law
There is no ‘I just woke up defense’ in the New Jersey Criminal Code. You are presumed to know what you did, and to have done it purposely, intentionally and willfully. The prosecutor will insist on this.  ’Oops’, ‘My bad’ and ” we were just kidding around” and similar types of denials only counted with Mom, not when you commit a criminal offense and the prosecution has your case. If you fall asleep on a plane and your hand is somewhere on the passenger next to you, you can be in for a sexual assault complaint. Especially if it that hand suggests illicit behavior. Similarly, if you are driving a car and are involved in an accident, you are presumed by the law to know that you have been in an accident. If you leave the scene of the accident, you are presumed to be knowingly ‘leaving the scene of the accident’. If you have a car registered in your name, you are presumed to know who is operating your car even though you may not have been present. You can be issued a traffic ticket for an offense the other person committed even though you may have a solid alibi as to the fact that you were somewhere else. You can be convicted of the offense, committed by someone else, unless you are willing to provide the police/prosecutor with the name and identifiers of the person who had been driving the vehicle. Don’t just hand the keys to anybody.  And know full well if there is a criminal enterprise in the making with your property in the mix. You, as  mentioned, can be on the hook as an accessory.
Keeping your hands to yourself  and your head out of the sand are two good rules of thumb. When it comes to crimes, a just kidding defense is not going to cut it.