Remi L. Spencer Argues Amicus on Behalf of ACDL-NJ Before the New Jersey Supreme Court
On March 17, 2026, the New Jersey Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of State v. Myers. Remi Spencer, partner in the firm’s Criminal Defense and Investigations practices, argued amicus for the defense on behalf of the ACDL-NJ. Remi addressed the consequences of a ruling that would render criminal defendants unable to rely on the negotiated terms of global plea agreements. Here Mr. Myers entered a global plea agreement that encompassed several different matters, but specifically preserved his right to appeal issues relating to the evidence that would be admissible at the trials. When one of the appeals was successful and the NJ Supreme Court ruled that law-enforcement actions violated his 4th amendment right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures, the evidence landscape of his case changed. Given the nature of his conditional plea, he sought to withdraw his guilty plea following the successful appeal. The State argued and both the trial and appellate courts found that the cases were separate, and therefore the conditions of his plea did not permit withdrawal, despite his successful challenge to the admissibility of critical evidence in each of the cases.
Remi Spencer, on behalf of the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey, told the court that if she had represented Myers years ago, she could not think of anything she would have done differently to preserve his right to withdraw from the global plea agreement. A ruling that Myers cannot escape the global settlement could also create problems, she said. "Without conditional pleas, defendants must go to trial solely to preserve appellate rights, consuming the resources of the court, the state and the defense," Spencer said.
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