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| John Vincent Saykanic |
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| Click here
to watch Mr. Saykanic's appearance with Mr. Simmons on Crier Today. |
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John Vincent Saykanic concentrates on
criminal and civil litigation, including motion and appellate
practice. Mr. Saykanic began his career on the case of United States v.
Accetturo, in which 20 alleged members of the "Lucchese Family" were
acquitted of racketeering charges after a two-year federal trial. The trial is
depicted in the 2006 Sidney Lumet film Find Me Guilty and in the book The
Boys From New Jersey by Robert Rudolph.
High-profile clients that Mr. Saykanic has successfully represented range from
organized crime figures to politicians, from murder defendants to the "New
Jersey Weedman," to one of the defendants in the "Glen Ridge" case (obtaining a
reversal of the forcible rape count).
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Mr. Saykanic has won cases at every level of courts in New Jersey (federal and
state), including the following published opinions: the United States Court of
Appeals for the Third Circuit--Simmons v. Beyer, 44 F .3d 1160
(3d Cir. 1995) (murder conviction reversed due to possible Batson violation);
the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey
--including Forchion v. Intensive Supervised Parole, 240 F.Supp.
302 (D.N.J. 2003) (judge found that the State had violated the First
Amendment rights of Edward "The New Jersey Weedman" Forchion and ordered
him released from jail) and Kontakis v. Beyer, 19 F .3d 110
(3d Cir. 1994) (judge reversed murder conviction due to unconstitutional jury
charge); the New Jersey Supreme Court--Lyons v. Township of Wayne,
185 N.J. 426 (2005) (Supreme Court accepted "continuing
nuisance" argument and reinstated complaint against Township) and State v.
DeLuzio, 136 N.J. 363 (1994) (Supreme Court reversed gambling
conviction of Watley and indictment dismissed since the pyramid scheme did not
constitute an illegal lottery); and the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate
Division--including State v. Grant, 254 N.J.Super. 571 (App. Div.
1992) (murder conviction reversed due to jury misconduct); State v. Scherzer,
301 N.J.Super. 363 (App. Div.), certif. denied, 151 N.J.
466 (1997) (Court reversed forcible rape conviction); State v. Riley,
306 N.J.Super. 141 (App. Div. 1997) (first-degree robbery conviction
reversed); State v. Stampone, 341 N.J.Super. 247 (App. Div. 2001)
(charges dismissed as police officer had no right to conduct a Terry stop);
State v. Simmons, 331 N.J.Super. 512 (App. Div. 2000) (homicide
indictment dismissed); and State v. Colon, 360 N.J.Super. 101
(App. Div. 2003) ("home invasion" robbery conviction reversed).
Mr. Saykanic has obtained reversals in the following unpublished Appellate
Division cases: State v. Robert Stemmer (App. Div. 1994; aggravated
manslaughter conviction reversed); State v. John Tell (App. Div. 1994;
sentence under the "drug kingpin" statute reversed); State v. Robert
Pietraszewski(App. Div. 2001; convictions for possession of weapon for
unlawful purpose and burglary while armed for holding wife hostage with shotgun
and standoff with police reversed); and State v. Richard D. Henry (App.
Div. 2006; conviction for selling crack cocaine to detective reversed). Mr.
Saykanic has won the following unpublished cases in the Law Division: State v.
Omar Shabazz (Law Div. 1991; sentence of life plus 23 to 32 years
reversed and Mr. Shabazz released from prison); State v. Blazo Maksic (Law
Div. 2005; convictions for drunk driving and refusal reversed); State v. Rosendo
DeDios (Law Div. 2005; Judge accepted argument that third-time drunk
driving offender should be permitted to serve his entire 180-day jail sentence
on consecutive weekends); State v. R.P. (Law Div. 2003; Judge
reversed defendant's DWI conviction and leaving the scene of an accident due to
the failure to provide a proper English translation at trial); State v. A.K.
(Law Div. March 7, 2003; Judge reversed defendant's conviction for harassment
for mailing fake "anthrax" based upon insufficient evidence); State v. C.D.
(Law Div. 2007; Judge dismissed drunk driving conviction due to a violation of
defendant's speedy trial rights); and In the Matter of J.M. (Law Div.,
decided May 7, 2007; inmate confined pursuant to the Sexually Violent
Predator Act ordered released from the Special Treatment Unit to a nursing
facility). Mr. Saykanic has also won many municipal cases and municipal
appeals.
Mr. Saykanic graduated from the University of Pennsylvania cum laude.
He graduated from Tulane Law School, and also studied at Oxford, England.
Mr. Saykanic served as the Passaic City Prosecutor from 1991 through 1994.
He has argued more than fifty times in the Superior Court, Appellate
Division; four times before the New Jersey Supreme Court; and
six times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.
To view descriptions of 50 notable cases that Mr. Saykanic has handled,
please click here.
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