Early disposition conference, commonly referred to as EDC, is one of the first court appearances a defendant will have at the Bergen County Superior Court. Other counties call these conferences pre-indictment conferences, or PIC for short. EDC court dates are simply conferences with the judge and the prosecutor. Typically, defense counsel will speak with the prosecutor and inform them either what, if any, discovery they are missing. In addition to this, they will inform them if a motion will be coming down the pipeline (such as a motion to suppress). Lastly, the prosecutor and the defense attorney will likely discuss avenues in trying to resolve the case. If the prosecutor and the defense attorney need to discuss something with the Court before they go on the record, they may do so in the judge’s chambers. Thereafter, both parties will go on the record and let the judge know the status of the case. This helps the Court track where they are with the case. For example, at a second EDC, if the defense attorney informs the court that discovery is still missing, the judge will likely instruct the prosecutor to hand over the discovery by a certain date. It also allows the Court to track the case, see if there is a potential resolution, and if not, will it head to trial.

The object of EDC is to see if the case can be resolved in a quick and timely matter. It’s goal is to try and dispose of the case before it gets submitted to a grand jury. The function of EDC is not to pressure defendants into taking plea deals, but rather if a case can be disposed of in a timely manner instead of lingering around, these conferences help in expedite that process.  Typically there are three (3) EDCs before the prosecutor will recommend it be submitted to the grand jury. The three EDCs help ensure that the defense attorney has the discovery to analyze and review with his client the possible options and outcomes, and to decide what route to take. If the parties cannot come to a resolution during anyone of those EDCs, then it’ll likely be referred to the grand jury. Typically, once it is referred to the grand jury and the grand jury comes back with an indictment, the previous plea offer is escalated.

Hackensack, NJ EDC

At the Law Offices of Jonathan F. Marshall, we have:

  • Eleven (11) criminal defense attorneys on staff
    • Combined together, over 200 years of experience
  • Eight (8) former prosecutors on staff
    • Four (4) were former county prosecutors who’ve tried high-profiled murders trials before a jury during their tenure as prosecutors
    • Many held directorial positions during their tenures as former assistant county prosecutors
      • One (1) was the head of the Drug, Gang, and Gun Task force
      • One (1) was the head of the Major Crimes Division
      • One (1) was the head of the Trial team
      • One (1) attorney tried thirty murder cases to verdict, and won every single on of them
    • Three (3) former municipal prosecutors
  • Multiple attorneys selected to either the National Trial Lawyers Top 100 or Top 40 Under 40
  • Two (2) attorneys selected to Thomson Reuters’ Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for criminal defense
    • Only 2.5% of attorneys in New Jersey are selected to said list
  • One (1) attorney certified by the Supreme Court of New Jersey as a Criminal Trial Attorney
    • Less than 1% of attorneys hold this distinction in New Jersey

Please give our office a call if you or a loved one has been charged with a crime at 201-201-0086.