N.J. High Court to Hear Constitutional Challenge to Remote Grand Jury Proceedings

TRENTON — The New Jersey Supreme Court will hear a criminal defendant’s arguments that it violated his constitutional rights when it authorized remote grand jury proceedings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a Jan. 14 order, the state high court certified defendant Omar Vega-Larregui’s dismissal motion directly to the Supreme Court for review pursuant to state court Rule 2:12-1, explaining that the Mercer County (N.J.) Superior Court does not have the authority to hear the defendant’s constitutional challenge.

Vega-Larregui, who was arrested and charged with drug distribution and resisting arrest after police found cocaine in his vehicle, argues that the use …