State v. Owczarski

HAINES, A.J.S.C.

This opinion holds that post-conviction relief is available at any time to a defendant whose guilty pleas were accepted by a municipal court without determining whether the pleas were offered knowingly and voluntarily.

Alexander Owczarski was charged with a substantial number of ordinance violations relating to alleged improper deposits of refuse and unsanitary conditions involving several properties owned by him. The complaints were filed in the Pemberton Township Municipal Court. At trial, Owczarski, through counsel, announced that he had “worked it out.” Counsel then…