NJ AG reverses course, now every town (including Jersey City) can ignore state marijuana laws

Three days ago NJ’s intrepid Attorney General Gurbir Grewal spanked Jersey City for unilaterally deciding to decriminalize marijuana in their town.

“As a municipal prosecutor, you do not have the legal authority to decriminalize marijuana or otherwise refuse to criminally prosecute all marijuana-related offenses in the municipal courts of Jersey City,” Grewal told Jake Hudnut, the new prosecutor, in a July 20 letter.

Today the very same Gurbir Grewal decriminalized marijuana statewide.

In a move that will affect thousands of defendants and millions of residents, New Jersey’s attorney general has announced an immediate adjournment of all marijuana cases in municipal courts statewide until at least September.

In a letter to prosecutors obtained exclusively by NJ Advance Media, New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal wrote that he was asking “that all municipal prosecutors in New Jersey seek an adjournment until September 4, 2018, or later, of any matter involving a marijuana-related offense pending in municipal court” so that his office could develop “appropriate guidance” for prosecutors.

What happened to “The criminal laws of this state are enacted by the senate and general assembly, not determined by municipal prosecutors [the Attorney General] based on ‘(r)ecent public opinion polling.’”?

It became “inconvenient,” that’s what happened. Jersey City stole Gurbir’s thunder and jumped the gun. Or he’s a complete hypocrite. Probably both. But either way the state legislature is the odd man out here. Checks and Balances? Yeah, we don’t have those.

Gurbir Grewal is NJ”s Judge Dredd: I AM THE LAW!

Oh, bonus points for anyone who notices this is the same guy who’s cheesed off at Trump for withholding NJ’s federal law enforcement grants at the same time he’s unilaterally deciding to ignore another federal law. Because if Democrats didn’t have double standards they’d have no standards at all.

I wonder what law they’ll decide to ignore next. And can I play? I’d like to ignore NJ’s ridiculous gun control laws. Or our stupid seat belt laws. What if a store decides they don’t want to cooperate with Murphy’s plastic bag ban? Where does it end?

Anarchy. It ends in anarchy. Thanks Democrats.

 

NJ AG who ignores federal immigration laws says Jersey City can’t ignore state marijuana laws

Recently Jersey City decided to “decriminalize” marijuana, meaning you’ll no longer be arrested for possessing or selling small amounts of pot in their town. Um, OK, go for it fellas. Become the Stoner Capital of New Jersey if that’s what you want.

Or, not. Because NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, taking a break from his daily barrage of lawsuits against President Trump, told Jersey City they can’t do that.

Jersey City spent one day riding high on its new policy decriminalizing marijuana before state Attorney General Gurbir Grewal told the city’s new chief prosecutor on Friday that the policy is void because it violates state criminal laws.

“As a municipal prosecutor, you do not have the legal authority to decriminalize marijuana or otherwise refuse to criminally prosecute all marijuana-related offenses in the municipal courts of Jersey City,” Grewal told Jake Hudnut, the new prosecutor, in a July 20 letter. “The criminal laws of this state are enacted by the senate and general assembly, not determined by municipal prosecutors based on ‘(r)ecent public opinion polling.'”

Now as a law and order guy I absolutely think this is the right call.

But you gotta admire the chutzpah here. After all, Grewal at the behest of Governor Phil Murphy, routinely and flagrantly ignores federal immigration laws. As do most of the cities and counties in our fair state. In fact he’s suing Trump right now for cracking down on NJ’s “sanctuary cities.”

I guess that’s different, because reasons.

Here’s an idea. Jake Hudnut gets one of his Jersey City lawyers to mock-up Grewal’s lawsuit against Trump, change “immigration laws” to “marijuana laws” and serve it on Phil Murphy.

Or, Jeff Sessions takes Grewal’s memo to Jersey City and makes it read something like this:

As a state attorney general, you and your county prosecutors do not have the legal authority to ignore immigration detainers or otherwise refuse to cooperate in the criminal prosecution of immigration-related offenses in the federal courts. The immigration laws of this nation are enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives, not determined by local bureaucrats based on recent public opinion polling.

Either way, hilarity will ensue.

Phil Murphy says, no, I’m not done raising taxes yet

Here’s Phil Murphy’s guiding philosophy of government — Somewhere in NJ there is a guy with an extra dollar in his pocket, and that dollar belongs to me.

The ink isn’t even dry on his state budget “compromise, ” you know, the one that raised taxes on pretty much everything under the sun, and Phil’s already got his eye on raising the sales tax.

The argument about whether to raise New Jersey’s sales tax nearly shut down state government earlier this month.

The effort, pushed by Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, was blocked in the Legislature by members of his own party. A shutdown was averted, in part, after Murphy conceded to drop his push to revert the tax to 7 percent from its current 6.625 percent.

But the governor still wants the bump in the sales tax.

“We did not undo that in the budget (and) that’s one that I still think we should undo,” Murphy said in an “Ask the Governor” event Monday night.

Are you surprised?

Because I’m not surprised. Not in the least.

The only reason he didn’t hike it during the annual kabuki government shutdown dance is because it’s tied to a poison pill that kills last year’s gas tax increase if the sales tax goes back up. The legislature didn’t have enough time to untangle them what with all the other moving parts that make up the state budget. But now, now they’re ready to play Hose The Taxpayers Again.

The angle is superbly devious too — the sales tax hike is needed for, wait for it, Road Construction. As in the very thing that the gas tax is supposed to be paying for. Emphasis on “supposed to be.” I suspect the recent Janus ruling from SCOTUS has forced Murphy to detour the gas tax money into a new “Save The Unions From Political Oblivion” fund, because the NJEA doesn’t take kindly to having their Trenton clout diminished even just a little.

One wag in the comments to the above article put it like this — I’m waiting for Murphy to figure out how to tax the air. Dude, don’t give him any ideas.

NJ’s new state budget “compromise:” Taxes, with a side of taxes, on top of more taxes

And of course wealth redistribution. Because when you rob Peter to pay Paul you can always count on the support of Paul. So, “free” community college! More money for the teachers union! Bump up the Earned Income Tax Credit so more people get paid not to work!

It’s a joke.

Tax Airbnb. Tax Uber and Lyft. Tax vaping. Tax corporations, because they don’t vote. Tax “multi-millionaires,” because fairness.

The millionaires tax became a “multi-millionaires tax,” as Murphy said. It will now kick in for money earned after the first $5 million.

The vast majority of New Jerseyans won’t pay this increased tax. Only 1,760 taxpayers will pay more.

It is my fervent hope that those 1760 targeted folks emulate David Tepper and hit the Turnpike south asap. Get out while you still can. You know Murphy will be back next year to sock it to you again.

Corporations will pay a 2.5 percent surtax this year and next and then 1.5 percent in years three and four before phasing out entirely.

Any chance Newark had of landing Amazon’s new HQ just went down in flames. Unless, and you know this is coming to the table, Murphy gives them a sweetheart deal. Some corporations are more deserving dontcha know.

But hey, there’s “good news” too. The state won’t shut down so parks and beaches will remain open while we celebrate a national holiday dedicated to a rebellion against excessive taxation. Do you think the Democrats see the irony in that?