We shall see fruitloop, when, and if, -- this case comes to court. I doubt it will. Odds are the 'authorities' will settle out of court, rather than risk further embarrassment. - After all, tax money will pay for their excessive zeal.
You don't settle out of court in a criminal case (you're confusing criminal and civil cases) and that's what your boy is facing.
He's not 'my boy'.
And I have reasonable doubt, from the account, that he will face a criminal case.
He's going to have to resolve these charges, and knowing prosecutors, they're not willing to drop charges against anybody. They will, of course, plea bargain. If your boy doesn't like the plea bargain, he can go to trial, and then it's up to the jury to decide his guilt or innocence. The jury may not convict, but a jury verdict of not guilty runs at a very low percentage to guilty verdicts.
I see now, -- you are a foremost authority on the criminal justice system in this area of New Jersey. - Sure. -- How amusing.
Then--if he's acquitted--he can file a civil suit and see if he gets a settlement offer. They township may decide to fight it, and if that's the case, these cases take years before it even gets a trial date. It's going to be years before he sees daylight, much less any money from the township. In the meantime, he's going to be out a ton of money for legal fees.
Yep, you know it all, 'cat'. Or at least you are convinced of that delusion. - Thanks.
Ah, pain, but I know prosecutors, and once someone's charged, they don't let go of a case without some sort of a conviction. The ball's in their court, after all. And if he is acquitted, unless he can find a lawyer who thinks his case is a slam dunk, he's going to have trouble even finding a lawyer to take the case. In the mean time, your boy's legal fees are going to be sky-high. He's not poor enough to qualify for a public defender (he's employed, or at least he was, he owns property, he has that gun collection, just for starters), so just for the criminal case, he's going to be shelling the retainer--and then there's the hourly fee, billable monthly once that retainer's gone. He'll have a battle with his insurance company, and that's more legal fees out of his pocket. If he loses his job with the Army, well, that's more legal fees to fight that battle. Then, and if he gets to that point, even if he can find a lawyer, and even with an agreement with the lawyer to take a hefty percentage of any possible settlement, if the lawyer doesn't think the case is a slam dunk, that lawyer's going to get a retainer and an agreement for him to pay all costs and fees--paying for depositions can take quite a bite of anyone's pocketbook.
You might want to think about setting up a legal defense fund for your boy. He's going to need all the help he can get.