From religious ceremonies to academic achievement, most people experience many rites of passage as they grow up. Sometimes, a rite of passage involves an initiation into a club or a group. However, sometimes those initiations can involve questionable activities that ultimately prove to be dangerous for the individuals subject to them and potentially criminal for those engaging in them.
Hazing is not just something that happens on college campuses but can happen anywhere. It may happen on sports teams. It can even happen in the armed forces. Understanding more about hazing can help you understand the choices you may need to make when it comes to charges surrounding hazing. If you are facing these charges, a New Jersey hazing lawyer can help guide you through the legal process.Contact a skilled harassment attorney right away.
What Actions Are Considered Hazing?Joining a group can often involve activities and rituals that are fun for both the people engaging in them and those who organized them. However, when these activities come with the possibility of bodily harm, they become a crime.
This law is purposely vague as far as what qualifies as hazing. Hazing could include forcing individuals to drink large amounts of alcohol, depriving individuals of essential needs like food or water, preventing individuals from receiving emergency services, keeping individuals outside during cold weather with no clothes, severely physically abusing individuals, or any other activity likely to result in bodily harm.
New Jersey Laws Regarding Hazing2C of the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice 40-3 makes hazing a crime when an individual knowingly or recklessly organizes, promotes, or facilitates conduct that puts participants at risk of bodily injury. Violations of this law can result in a charge of being disorderly, which can be punishable by time in prison and a $1,000 fine.
Even if the behavior was not intended to harm an individual, these activities can all too often take a serious turn for the worse. When an individual suffers a serious bodily injury as a result of hazing, the charge becomes aggravated hazing which is considered a crime in the fourth degree. Consequences for this class of crime can include more than a year in state prison and up to $10,000 in fines.
Unfortunately, hazing can also result in death. When that happens, individuals can face even more serious charges depending on the circumstances surrounding the death.Therefore, it can be critical for the accused to speak with a New Jersey hazing lawyer right away.
Help From a New Jersey Hazing AttorneyPreserving traditions and experiencing trials to be part of a group are part of our culture and are prevalent in society. When those activities are safe and fun for everyone involved, they can make lasting memories.
However, they do not always work out as planned. Most individuals organizing initiation rites and activities do not do so with the goal of causing serious harm to anyone, but mistakes do happen. When they do, there can be serious consequences that can stay with an individual for the rest of their life.
If you are facing hazing charges in New Jersey, contact a New Jersey hazing lawyer to understand more about your rights and what your options may be to navigate the legal challenges you are facing.