Legal landscape note: This article was originally published in 2017 and describes the law as it stood at that time. New Jersey law changes frequently.
The complaint in your hand says possession of heroin, and the penalties attached to that charge run from steep fines to state prison time. What happens next turns on specifics: how much was recovered, how it was packaged, and how your case is handled from here. Thousands of New Jersey residents face this charge every year, and understanding it is the first step to getting through it.
The specific charges that you will face will depend on the amount of heroin that was in your possession when you were arrested. The amount of heroin recovered from you and your possessions during your arrest will dictate the degree of your charge on a scale of third to first degree, with first degree charges carrying the heaviest fines and penalties. It will also dictate whether you are charged with simple possession or intent to distribute; the packaging of the drug and other items found in your possession, including Ziploc bags and a standard drug scale, can also shift your charge into an intent to distribute charge.
When you are charged with possession of heroin, the charges you will face can range from being issued up to $35,000 in fines and imprisonment up to five years. While this is the maximum sentence and fine for a third-degree heroin possession charge, the specific fines and jail time you will face will heavily depend on your behavior, whether or not this is your first charge and the skill of your attorney.
An Illustrative Decision Point
Consider a hypothetical case in which police recover a substance from the center console of a car occupied by several people. The laboratory result may identify the substance, but it does not by itself answer who possessed it or whether the search was lawful. The location of the item, statements, ownership and control of the car, and the officers' observations all affect the questions counsel must investigate.
Preserve the complaint, property inventory, police reports, body-camera notice, laboratory report, and any search-warrant materials. The immediate decisions are whether the State can prove knowing possession, whether the search and seizure can be challenged, and whether the person's history affects available case-resolution paths. This example is hypothetical and does not predict dismissal, diversion, or sentence.