State in the Interest of E.S., 285 A.3d 294 (N.J. 2022)

The New Jersey Supreme Court held the Family Part did not abuse its discretion when it decided to hear the State’s request for waiver motion before E.S.’s suppression motion. The court declined to adopt a bright line rule for the order in which a Family Part should hear waiver and suppression motions but instead provided considerations regarding the order of hearings. The considerations povided by the Court include: whether the evidence that the defendant is seeking to supress, if excluded, would result in a dismissal of waivable charges; whether suppression would be dispositive of probable cause or have a substantial effect on the case in chief, or any additional factors the court finds relevant in exercising its discretion.