Kenneth Vercammen is a Middlesex County Trial Attorney who has published 130 articles in national and New Jersey publications on Criminal Law, Probate, Estate and litigation topics.

He was awarded the NJ State State Bar Municipal Court Practitioner of the Year.

He lectures and handles criminal cases, Municipal Court, DWI, traffic and other litigation matters.

To schedule a confidential consultation, call us or New clients email us evenings and weekends via contact box www.njlaws.com.

Kenneth Vercammen & Associates, P.C,

2053 Woodbridge Avenue,

Edison, NJ 08817,

(732) 572-0500

Tuesday, July 31, 2018

Kenneth Vercammen appointed ABA Chair for Estate Planning, 2018-2019


Kenneth Vercammen of Edison has been appointed Chair of the ABA Estate Planning, Probate & Trust Committee of the ABA Solo Division for 2018-2019. Kenneth Vercammen is an attorney in Edison, NJ. He is the author of the ABA book “Wills and Estate Administration”
He is a speaker for the NJ State Bar Association at the annual Nuts & Bolts of Elder Law & Estate Administration program.  He is admitted to the Supreme Court of the United States.
He was Editor of the ABA Estate Planning Probate Committee Newsletter. Mr. Vercammen has published over 150 legal articles in national and New Jersey publications on Wills, litigation, estates, probate law and trial topics.
He is a highly regarded lecturer on litigation and probate law for the American Bar Association, NJ ICLE, NJ State Bar Association and Middlesex County Bar Association. His articles have been published in noted publications included New Jersey Law Journal, ABA Law Practice Management Magazine, and New Jersey Lawyer. He established the NJlaws website www.njlaws.com which includes many articles on Estate Planning, Probate and Wills.

Lost Wages in a Personal Injury Case

Kenneth Vercammen & Associates Law Office helps people injured due to the negligence of others. We provide representation throughout New Jersey. The insurance companies will not help. Don't give up! Our Law Office can provide experienced attorney representation if you are injured in an accident and suffer a Serious Injury.
Lost wages in a Personal Injury case
By Kenneth Vercammen, Esq.
Keep a complete record of all lost wages. Obtain a statement from your company outlining the time you have lost, the rate of salary you are paid, the hours you work per week, your average weekly salary, and any losses suffered as a result of this accident. Where possible, also obtain other types of evidence such as ledger sheets, copies of time cards, canceled checks, check stubs, vouchers, pay slips, etc.
After you return to work, have your employer fill out and sign the following form dealing with wage losses.
Employer Wage authorization You are hereby requested and authorized to furnish to the Law Office of Kenneth Vercammen and Associates, PC, whose address is: 2053 Woodbridge Avenue, Edison, New Jersey 08817, the information requested below, concerning my loss of wages or earnings as a result of injuries received in an accident on __________________________.
__________________________________ Employee
=============================================================
1. When did employment start? __________________
2. What is the nature of employee's work? ______________
3. What is the average number of working days per week? __________
4. How much time did employee lose from work following the accident date? ______________________ (Set out inclusive dates and/or total hours absent.) Total number of hours or days lost ___________
5. How much money (gross and net) did employee lose due to this absence? _____________ Did the employee lose any overtime he/she may usually have earned? _____________
6. What was employee's regular pay rate? Answer only one: (a) Hourly and hours worked per day; _____________ (b) Weekly gross and net pay; _____________ (c) Semi-monthly gross and net pay; _____________ or (d) Monthly gross and net pay. _____________
7. How much, if any, of employee's sick leave or vacation time was used due to this absence? _____________
8. If any wages or earnings were paid to employee for period during which he/she was out: (a) how much was paid? (total) ________________________ (b) for what period? _________________________________ (c) nature of payment _________________________________
9. Date stopped work _____________________ 20 _________
10. Date returned to work ______________________ 20 _________ 11. Where any other benefits lost, forfeited or used, such as vacation time, sick leave, seniority rights, etc. ___________________________
12. Was employee reimbursed by NJ State Temporary Disability benefits or private insurance for lost wages.
It would be most appreciated if you would respond on your own business stationery. Many thanks for your assistance in this regard.

Loss of Limbs


Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or surgery. As a surgical measure, it is used to control pain or a disease process in the affected limb, such as malignancy or gangrene. In some cases, it is carried out on individuals as a preventative surgery for such problems. A special case is the congenital amputation, a congenital disorder, where foetal limbs have been cut off by constrictive bands. In some countries, amputation of the hands or feet was or is used as a form of punishment for criminals. Amputation has also been used as a tactic in war and acts of terrorism. In some cultures and religions, minor amputations or mutilations are considered a ritual accomplishment. Unlike many non-mammalian animals, (such as lizards which shed their tails), once removed, human extremities do not grow back. A transplant or a prosthesis are the only options for recovering the loss. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amputation
Medical Malpractice cases are complicated matters. If your have been seriously and permanently injured as a result of negligence, consult a personal injury attorney. If an injury case is not the type we can handle, we will try to refer you to another competent trial attorney. The following legal information is used in Medical malpractice trials in New Jersey:
Duty and Negligence
Negligence is conduct which deviates from a standard of care required by law for the protection of persons from harm. Negligence may result from the performance of an act or the failure to act. The determination of whether a defendant was negligent requires a comparison of the defendant's conduct against a standard of care. If the defendant's conduct is found to have fallen below an accepted standard of care, then he or she was negligent.
Common Knowledge May Furnish Standard of Care
Negligence is the failure to comply with the standard of care to protect a person from harm. Negligence in a doctor's medical practice, which is called malpractice, is the doctor's failure to comply with the standard of care in the care and treatment of his/her patient. Usually it is necessary to establish the standard of care by expert testimony, that is, by testimony of persons who are qualified by their training, study and experience to give their opinions on subjects not generally understood by persons, such as jurors, who lack such special training or experience. In the usual case the standard of care by which to judge the defendant's conduct cannot be determined by the jury without the assistance of expert medical testimony.
However, in some cases, such as the case at hand, the jury may determine from its common knowledge and experience the standard of care by which to judge the defendant's conduct. In this case plaintiff contends that the defendant violated the duty of care he/she owed to the plaintiff by doing ____________________________ [ or by failing to do the following ____________________]. In this case, therefore, it is for you, as jurors, to determine, based upon common knowledge and experience, what skill and care the average physician practicing in the defendant's field would have exercised in the same or similar circumstances. It is for you as jurors to say from your common knowledge and experience whether the defendant deviated from the standard of care in the circumstances of this case.
Where there has been expert medical testimony as to the standard of care, but the standard is one which can also be determined by the jury from its common knowledge and experience, the jury should determine the standard of care after considering all the evidence in the case, including the expert medical testimony, as well as its own common knowledge and experience.
After determining the standard of care required in the circumstances of this case, you should then consider the evidence to determine whether the defendant has complied with or departed from that standard of care. If you find that defendant has complied with that standard of care he/she is not liable to the plaintiff, regardless of the result. If you find that defendant has not complied with that standard of care, resulting in injury or damage to the plaintiff, then you should find defendant negligent and return a verdict for plaintiff.
Cases and Notes:
a) Common Knowledge
The common knowledge doctrine was applied in Martin v. Perth Amboy General Hospital, 104 N.J. Super. 335 (App. Div. 1969), where a laparotomy pad was left in plaintiff's body during an operation, Tramutola v. Bortone, 63 N.J. 9 (1973), where plaintiff discovered that a needle had been left in her chest during surgery; Steinke v. Bell, 32 N.J. Super. 67 (App. Div. 1954), where a dentist removed the wrong tooth; Becker v. Eisenstodt, 60 N.J. Super. 240 (App. Div. 1960), where the defendant used a caustic substance instead of an anesthetic; and Terhune v. Margaret Hague Maternity Hospital, 63 N.J. Super. 106 (App. Div. 1960), where plaintiff was burned as a result of the improper administration of an anesthetic during childbirth, Nowacki v. Community Medical Center , 279 N.J. Super. 276 (App. Div. 1995), where plaintiff alleged that she fell while attempting to lift herself onto a treatment table, Tierney v. St. Michael's, 214 N.J. Super. 27 (App. Div. 1986), certif. den. 107 N.J. 114 (1987), where plaintiff's infant crawled out of a crib while hospitalized at the defendant hospital, Winters v. Jersey City Medical Center , 120 N.J. Super. 129 (App. Div. 1972), where the court held that one does not need an expert witness to testify that the bed rails should have been in the up position for an elderly person who fell out of bed. The common knowledge doctrine was applied to a failure to communicate an abnormal finding and the signing of an incorrect discharge summary in Jenoff v. Gleason, 215 N.J. Super. 349 (App. Div. 1987). In Rosenberg by Rosenberg v. Cahill, 99 N.J. 318 (1985), the common knowledge doctrine was not applied to the failure to observe a tumor in an x-ray.
The court rejected the plaintiff's reliance on the common knowledge doctrine in Posta v. Chueng-Loy, 306 N.J. Super. 182 (App. Div. 1997), involving hernia surgery.
See also, Sanzari v. Rosenfeld, 34 N.J. 128 (1961), Jones v. Stess, 111 N.J. Super. 283 (App. Div. 1970), Klimko v. Rose, 84 N.J. 496 (1980).
b) Res ispa loquitur
There are three requirements which must be demonstrated in order to apply the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur:
(1) The occurrence must be one which ordinarily bespeaks negligence;
(2) The instrumentality causing the injury must have been within defendant's exclusive control; and
(3) There must be no indication that the plaintiff's injury was in any way the result of his own voluntary act or neglect.
A detailed analysis of the doctrine of res ipsa is found in Gould v. Winokur, 98 N.J. Super. 554 (Law Div. 1968), aff'd., 104 N.J. Super. 329 (App. Div. 1969), certif. den . 53 N.J. 582 (1969). See also, Buckelew v. Grossbard, 87 N.J. 512 (1981).
The difference between the res ipsa doctrine and the common knowledge doctrine is that the res ipsa doctrine requires expert testimony to prove the first element of proof, i.e., that the occurrence does not usually happen in the absence of negligence. Smallwood v. Mitchell, 264 N.J. Super. 295 (App. Div. 1993), certif. den. 134 N.J. 481 (1993).
The logical extension of the res ipsa and common knowledge doctrines is the conclusion that there are cases where the facts are such that at least one defendant must be liable as a matter of law. The genesis of this concept in New Jersey is found in Anderson v. Somberg, 67 N.J. 291 (1975), cert. den. 423 U.S. 929 (1975). See also, Chin v. St. Barnabas Medical Center, 160 N.J. 454 (1999).
The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur was deemed applicable in Yerzy v. Levine, 108 N.J. Super. 222 (App. Div. 1970), aff'd. 57 N.J. 234 (1970), where the common bile duct had been completely severed during gall bladder surgery; Pearson v. St. Paul, 220 N.J. Super. 110 (App. Div. 1987), where plaintiff's sixteen year old daughter died after arthroscopic knee surgery.
The doctrine of res ipsa loquitur was deemed inapplicable in Toy v. Rickert, 53 N.J. Super. 27 (App. Div. 1958), where plaintiff alleged that the defendant negligently administered a shot of penicillin into plaintiff's right buttock causing nerve damage; in Renrick v. Newark, 74 N.J. Super. 200 (App. Div. 1962), where plaintiff alleged that the defendant negligently injected a drug resulting in severe burning of both forearms and widespread scarring; Posta v. Chueng-Loy, 306 N.J. Super. 182 (App. Div. 1997), involving hernia surgery.
c) Common knowledge can be employed in some cases although expert medical testimony is also offered as to the standard of care and defendant's alleged departure therefrom. See Sanzari v. Rosenfeld, supra, 34 N.J. at 138 and 143.
The Trial Judge will read the following instructions to the jury prior to the jury deciding damages and negligence:
[Option A: Specialist. ] The defendant(s) in this case is (are) a medical specialist(s) in the field of [insert appropriate specialty description]. Specialists in a field of medicine represent that they will have and employ not merely the knowledge and skill of a general practitioner, but that they have and will employ the knowledge and skill normally possessed and used by the average specialist in the field. Thus, when a physician holds himself/herself out as a specialist and undertakes to diagnose and treat the medical needs of a patient, the law imposes a duty upon that physician to have and to use that degree of knowledge and skill which is normally possessed and used by the average specialist in that field, having regard to the state of scientific knowledge at the time that he/she or she attended the plaintiff.
[Option B: General Practitioner.] The defendant(s) in this case is (are) a general practitioner(s). A person who is engaged in the general practice of medicine represents that he/she or she will have and employ knowledge and skill normally possessed and used by the average physician practicing his/her profession as a general practitioner.
[Remainder of Charge:]
Given what I have just said, it is important for you to know the standard of care which a general practitioner/specialist in [insert appropriate specialty description, if applicable] is required to observe in his/her treatment of a patient under the circumstances of this case. Based upon common knowledge alone, and without technical training, jurors normally cannot know what conduct constitutes standard medical practice. Therefore, the standard of practice by which a physician's conduct is to be judged must be furnished by expert testimony, that is to say, by the testimony of persons who by knowledge, training or experience are deemed qualified to testify and to express their opinions on medical subjects.
You as jurors should not speculate or guess about the standards of care by which the defendant physician(s) should have conducted himself/herself/themselves in the diagnosis and treatment of the plaintiff. Rather, you must determine the applicable medical standard from the testimony of the expert witness(es) you have heard in this case.(1)
Where there is a conflict in the testimony of the medical experts on a subject, it is for you the jury to resolve that conflict using the same guidelines in determining credibility that I mentioned earlier. You are not required to accept arbitrarily the opinions offered. You should consider the expert's qualifications, training, and experience, as well as his/her understanding of the matters to which he/she or she testified.
Where an expert has offered an opinion upon an assumption that certain facts are true, it is for you, the jury, to decide whether the facts upon which the opinion is based are true. The value and weight of an expert's testimony in such instances is dependent upon, and no stronger than, the facts upon which it is predicated.
When determining the applicable standard of care, you must focus on accepted standards of practice in [insert general practice or specialty involved] and not on the personal subjective belief or practice of the defendant doctor.(2)
The law recognizes that the practice of medicine is not an exact science. Therefore, the practice of medicine according to accepted medical standards may not prevent a poor or unanticipated result.(3) Therefore, whether the defendant doctor was negligent depends not on the outcome, but on whether he/she adhered to or departed from the applicable standard of care. Ibid.
Note to Judge:
Where the defendant has satisfied the burden of proving that medical judgment is involved in the case, insert Charge 5.36G, Medical Judgment, here.
If you find that the defendant(s) has (have) complied with the accepted standard of care, then he/she is not liable to the plaintiff regardless of the result. On the other hand, if you find that the defendant(s) has (have) deviated from the standard of care resulting in injury or damage to plaintiff, then you should find defendant negligent and return a verdict for plaintiff.
The following court cases relate to medical malpractice: 1. Jacober v. St. Peter's Medical Center, 128 N.J. 475 (1992).
(2)Morlino v. Medical Center of Ocean County, 295 N.J. Super. 113 (App. Div. 1996), aff'd. 152 N.J. 563 (1998). See also, Fernandez v. Baruch, 52 N.J. 127, 131 (1968), Carbone v. Warburton, 11 N.J. 418, 425 (1953), Schueler v. Strelinger, 43 N.J. 330, 346 (1964), Ziemba v. Riverview Medical Center, 275 N.J. Super. 293 (App. Div. 1994), Nguyen v. Tama, 298 N.J. Super. 41 (App. Div. 1997).
(3)Morlino, supra. Aiello v. Muhlenberg Regional Medical Center, 159 N.J. 618 (1999), Velazquez v. Portadin, 163 N.J. 677 (2000).

Lord & Taylor Shoplifting defenses

The state must prove the Defendant had the knowing intent to commit a criminal act in a shoplifting case.
Sometimes the defendant was not aware that there was a criminal act being committed because of mental issues.
NJSA 2C: 4-2. Evidence of mental disease or defect admissible when relevant to element of the offense.
Evidence that the defendant suffered from a mental disease or defect is admissible whenever it is relevant to prove that the defendant did not have a state of mind, which is an element of the offense. In the absence of such evidence, it may be presumed that the defendant had no mental disease or defect, which would negate a state of mind, which is an element of the offense.
Criminal Indictable and Disorderly Offense Penalties
Disorderly person criminal offenses- ex Simple Assault, shoplifting & cases in Municipal Court
Jail 2C: 43- 8 jail 6 month maximum
probation 1-2 year
community service 180 days maximum
mandatory costs, VCCB and other penalties
Disorderly- fines: 2C: 43- 3 $1,000 Fine maximum
There are many other penalties that the court must impose in criminal cases. There are dozens of other penalties a court can impose, depending on the type of matter.
Indictable Criminal Penalties [Felony type] [ Superior Court]
Jail potential Fine max Probation
1st degree 10- 20 years $200,000 [presumption of jail]
2nd degree 5-10 years $150,000 [presumption of jail]
3rd degree 3- 5 years $15,000 1 year- 5 year
4th degree 0- 18 months $10,000 1 year- 5 year
The NJ Model Jury charges set forth the elements of SHOPLIFTING [CONCEALMENT]
(N.J.S.A. 2C: 20-11b(2))
The statute provides in pertinent part that it is a crime for:
any person purposely to conceal upon his person or otherwise any merchandise offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment with the intention of depriving the merchant of the processes, use or benefit of such merchandise or converting the same to the use of such person without paying to the merchant the value thereof.
In order for the finder of fact to find the defendant guilty of shoplifting, the State must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
1. that defendant purposely concealed upon his person or otherwise any merchandise offered for sale by (name of commercial establishment);
2. that (name of commercial establishment) was a store or other retail mercantile establishment; and
3. that defendant did so with the purpose of depriving the merchant of the processes, use, or benefit of such merchandise [OR of converting such merchandise to his/her use] without paying the merchant the value thereof.
The first element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that defendant purposely concealed upon his person or otherwise any merchandise offered for sale by any store or other retail establishment. The term conceal means to conceal merchandise so that, although there may be some notice of its presence, it is not visible through ordinary observation.1 The term merchandise means any goods, chattels, foodstuffs or wares of any type and description, regardless of the value thereof.2
A person acts purposely with respect to the nature of his or her conduct or a result of his conduct if it is the persons conscious object to engage in conduct of that nature or to cause such a result. That is, a person acts purposely if he or she means to act in a certain way or to cause a certain result. A person acts purposely with respect to attendant circumstances if the person is aware of the existence of such circumstances or believes or hopes that they exist.3
1 N.J.S.A. 2C:20-11a(6).
2 N.J.S.A. 2C:20-11a(3).
3 N.J.S.A. 2C:2-2(b)(1).
Purpose is a state of mind. A state of mind is rarely susceptible of direct proof, but must ordinarily be inferred from the facts. Therefore, it is not necessary that the State produce witnesses to testify that an accused said he/she had a certain state of mind when he/she engaged in a particular act. It is within the fact finders power to find that such proof has been furnished beyond a reasonable doubt by inference, which may arise from the nature of his/her acts and his/her conduct, and from all he/she said and did at the particular time and place, and from all of the surrounding circumstances.
..
The third element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that defendant acted with the purpose of depriving the merchant of the processes, use or benefit of such merchandise [OR converting such merchandise to his/her use] without paying the merchant the value of the merchandise.
WHEN OFFENSE CHARGED REQUIRES A PURPOSEFUL OR KNOWING STATE OF MIND, CONTINUE CHARGE AS FOLLOWS:
Although the statute refers to mistake of fact or law as a defense, caselaw makes it clear that it is not genuinely a defense at all: instead, it is an attack on the prosecutions ability to prove the requisite mental state for at least one objective element of the crime. State v. Sexton, 160 N.J. 93, 99-100 (1999). Since it is obviously impossible for any single charge to explain precisely how the offered defense plays into the element[s] of every possible offense that mistake of fact or law could apply to (Sexton, 160 N.J. at 106), and at best can offer a more general charge on the subject of mistake of fact or law (State v. Pena, 178 N.J. 297, 319 (2004)), this model charge is organized by reference to the state of mind under N.J.S.A. 2C:2-2b contained in the offense charged by the State, and then by the degree to which the mistake of fact or law exonerates or mitigates the defendants guilt. As always, the trial court must tailor the precise type of mistake that defendant relies on to the facts of the particular crime or offense charged and the facts adduced at trial. State v. Concepcion, 111 N.J. 373, 379-380 (1988).
2 Since even an unreasonable mistake can negate the required state of mind for the charged offense, the statutory requirement that the defendant reasonably arrived at the conclusion underlying the mistake was eliminated and, therefore, is not referred to in this model charge. Sexton, 160 N.J. at 105; Pena, 178 N.J. at 306.
3 Sexton, 160 N.J. at 100; Pena, 178 N.J. at 306.
STATE OF MIND
Purpose/knowledge/intent/recklessness/negligence is/are condition(s) of the mind, which cannot be seen and can only be determined by inferences from conduct, words or acts.
A state of mind is rarely susceptible of direct proof, but must ordinarily be inferred from the facts. It is the fact finders job to find that such proof has been furnished beyond a reasonable doubt by inference, which may arise from the nature of his/her acts and his/her conduct, and from all he/she said and did at the particular time and place, and from all of the surrounding circumstances.
PRESUMPTION OF INNOCENCE
This defendant(s), as are all defendants in criminal cases, is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
REASONABLE DOUBT
The prosecution must prove its case by more than a mere preponderance of the evidence, yet not necessarily to an absolute certainty.
The State has the burden of proving the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
A reasonable doubt is an honest and reasonable uncertainty in your minds about the guilt of the defendant after you have given full and impartial consideration to all of the evidence. A reasonable doubt may arise from the evidence itself or from a lack of evidence. It is a doubt that a reasonable person hearing the same evidence would have.
Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is proof, for example, that leaves you firmly convinced of the defendants guilt. In this world, we know very few things with absolute certainty. In criminal cases the law does not require proof that overcomes every possible doubt.
2C:20-11 b.Shoplifting. Shoplifting shall consist of any one or more of the following acts:
(1) For any person purposely to take possession of, carry away, transfer or cause to be carried away or transferred, any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment with the intention of depriving the merchant of the possession, use or benefit of such merchandise or converting the same to the use of such person without paying to the merchant the full retail value thereof.
(2) For any person purposely to conceal upon his person or otherwise any merchandise offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment with the intention of depriving the merchant of the processes, use or benefit of such merchandise or converting the same to the use of such person without paying to the merchant the value thereof.
(3) For any person purposely to alter, transfer or remove any label, price tag or marking indicia of value or any other markings which aid in determining value affixed to any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale by any store or other retail mercantile establishment and to attempt to purchase such merchandise personally or in consort with another at less than the full retail value with the intention of depriving the merchant of all or some part of the value thereof.
(4) For any person purposely to transfer any merchandise displayed, held, stored or offered for sale by any store or other retail merchandise establishment from the container in or on which the same shall be displayed to any other container with intent to deprive the merchant of all or some part of the retail value thereof.
(5 )For any person purposely to under-ring with the intention of depriving the merchant of the full retail value thereof.
(6 )For any person purposely to remove a shopping cart from the premises of a store or other retail mercantile establishment without the consent of the merchant given at the time of such removal with the intention of permanently depriving the merchant of the possession, use or benefit of such cart.
c.Gradation.
Shoplifting constitutes a crime of the second degree under subsection b. of this section if the full retail value of the merchandise is $75,000 or more, or the offense is committed in furtherance of or in conjunction with an organized retail theft enterprise and the full retail value of the merchandise is $1,000 or more.
(2) Shoplifting constitutes a crime of the third degree under subsection b. of this section if the full retail value of the merchandise exceeds $500 but is less than $75,000, or the offense is committed in furtherance of or in conjunction with an organized retail theft enterprise and the full retail value of the merchandise is less than $1,000.
(3) Shoplifting constitutes a crime of the fourth degree under subsection b. of this section if the full retail value of the merchandise is at least $200 but does not exceed $500.
(4) Shoplifting is a disorderly persons offense under subsection b. of this section if the full retail value of the merchandise is less than $200.
The value of the merchandise involved in a violation of this section may be aggregated in determining the grade of the offense where the acts or conduct constituting a violation were committed pursuant to one scheme or course of conduct, whether from the same person or several persons, or were committed in furtherance of or in conjunction with an organized retail theft enterprise.
Additionally, notwithstanding the term of imprisonment provided in N.J.S.2C:43-6 or 2C:43-8, any person convicted of a shoplifting offense shall be sentenced to perform community service as follows: for a first offense, at least ten days of community service; for a second offense, at least 15 days of community service; and for a third or subsequent offense, a maximum of 25 days of community service and any person convicted of a third or subsequent shoplifting offense shall serve a minimum term of imprisonment of not less than 90 days.
d. Presumptions. Any person purposely concealing uppercased merchandise of any store or other retail mercantile establishment, either on the premises or outside the premises of such store or other retail mercantile establishment, shall be prima facie presumed to have so concealed such merchandise with the intention of depriving the merchant of the possession, use or benefit of such merchandise without paying the full retail value thereof, and the finding of such merchandise concealed upon the person or among the belongings of such person shall be prima facie evidence of purposeful concealment; and if such person conceals, or causes to be concealed, such merchandise upon the person or among the belongings of another, the finding of the same shall also be prima facie evidence of willful concealment on the part of the person so concealing such merchandise.

Long Term Health Insurance

Gains in life expectancy and rising health-care costs are prompting more Americans to consider long-term care insurance. Such insurance covers the cost of extended nursing care, either in an institution or in the home.
By the year 2000, 7.5 million Americans aged 65 or older will need some form of long-term care. Paying for this care will require considerable resources- perhaps $50,000 to $100,000 for those retiring in the year 2000. That's why planning ahead for long-term care makes sound financial sense.
Common Misconceptions
Most elderly people, when asked by the American Association of Retired Persons how they would pay for long-term care, responded that Medicare would cover the cost. Unfortunately, they were wrong.
Medicare does not cover long-term care. It pays for some nursing and home health-care expenses, but these must be medically related and short-term in nature.
Medicare supplemental insurance (Medigap) does not pay for long-term care and Medicaid, the welfare program that does cover long-term care, requires recipients to "spend down" to the poverty level before becoming eligible.
In addition, as of January 1,1997 it is a federal crime to transfer money to become eligible for Medicaid.
Nursing Home Insurance
At an average cost of $3,000 a month, nursing home care can be an enormous financial burden.
But private insurance can help. Most long-term care policies cover the cost of skilled, intermediate or custodial care. Almost all pay a fixed dollar amount per day. You select the benefit level you want, typically ranging from $40 to more than $100 per day, and the waiting period you desire. Premiums are based on your age when buying the policy and the benefits you choose.
At-Home Care
Newer, more comprehensive long-term care policies will also pay the cost of care at home for people who might otherwise have to enter a nursing home.
These policies cover at-home services ranging from dressing and bathing to housekeeping and shopping. And usually, no prior admission at a hospital or nursing home is required.
What to Ask
If you're interested in buying long-term care coverage, whether as an ordinary policy or as a rider on an existing life policy, talk to your life or health insurance agent. If it's offered in your state, here are some questions to ask:
* How much are the daily benefits? For how long? * When do benefits begin? (Is there a waiting period during which you will have to cover all cost?) * What is covered, and are any conditions excluded? Is there a prior hospitalization requirement? * Are benefits sensitive to inflation? Will they rise as long-term care cost increase, or do they remain level? Will premiums remain level as you grow older? * Are premiums waived while you are in a nursing home? * Is the policy guaranteed renewable?
Where To Get Information
A professional life or health insurance agent can provide you with valuable information on long-term care policies. You may also wish to check with your state insurance department. Or you can contact the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, 120 W. 12th Street, Suite 1100, Kansas City, MO 64105, and ask for the " Shopper's Guide to Long-Term Care Insurance."
Another source is the National Insurance Consumer Helpline, (800) 942-4242, which provides information on all lines of insurance. In addition, some communities have Senior Citizen Health Insurance Counseling (SCHIC) programs to help the elderly assess their insurance needs. Your local life underwriters association or area agency on aging should be able to provide you with information about SCHIC.
A Few Buying Tips
If an agent recommends a policy to you, make sure to ask for the policy's "outline of coverage," which will summarize its benefits and limitations.
It is also a good idea to make sure the policy provides a 30-day free-look period during which it can be returned for any reason and you will receive a premium refund.
Ask a member of a life underwriters association or the Association of Health Insurance Agents for specific information about long-term care insurance.
This information is provided by The National Association of Life Underwriters.