Attorney's Note

Under the New Jersey Statutes, punishments for crimes depend on the classification. In the case of this section:
ClassPrisonFine
crime of the first degreebetween 10 and 20 yearsup to $200,000
crime of the second degreebetween 5 and 10 yearsup to $150,000
For details, see N.J. Rev. Stat.2C:43-6
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Terms Used In New Jersey Statutes 2C:5-4

  • Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
  • person: includes corporations, companies, associations, societies, firms, partnerships and joint stock companies as well as individuals, unless restricted by the context to an individual as distinguished from a corporate entity or specifically restricted to one or some of the above enumerated synonyms and, when used to designate the owner of property which may be the subject of an offense, includes this State, the United States, any other State of the United States as defined infra and any foreign country or government lawfully owning or possessing property within this State. See New Jersey Statutes 1:1-2
  • Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
2C:5-4. Grading of Criminal Attempt and Conspiracy; Mitigation in Cases of Lesser Danger. a. Grading. Except as provided in subsections c., d., and e., an attempt or conspiracy to commit a crime of the first degree is a crime of the second degree; except that an attempt or conspiracy to commit murder or terrorism is a crime of the first degree, provided, however, that if the person attempted or conspired to murder five or more persons, the person shall be sentenced by the court to a term of 30 years, during which the person shall not be eligible for parole, or to a specific term of years which shall be between 30 years and life imprisonment, of which the person shall serve not less than 30 years before eligibility for parole. Otherwise an attempt is a crime of the same degree as the most serious crime which is attempted, and conspiracy is a crime of the same degree as the most serious crime which is the object of the conspiracy; provided that, leader of organized crime is a crime of the second degree. An attempt or conspiracy to commit an offense defined by a statute outside the code shall be graded as a crime of the same degree as the offense is graded pursuant to N.J.S. 2C:1-4 and N.J.S. 2C:43-1

b. Mitigation. The court may impose sentence for a crime of a lower grade or degree if neither the particular conduct charged nor the defendant presents a public danger warranting the grading provided for such crime under subsection a. because:

(1) The criminal attempt or conspiracy charged is so inherently unlikely to result or culminate in the commission of a crime; or

(2) The conspiracy, as to the particular defendant charged, is so peripherally related to the main unlawful enterprise.

c. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section, conspiracy to commit a crime set forth in subsection a., b., or d. of N.J.S. 2C:17-1 where the structure which was the target of the crime was a church, synagogue, temple or other place of public worship is a crime of the first degree.

d. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section, conspiracy to commit a crime as set forth in P.L.1994, c.121 (C. 2C:21-23 et seq.) is a crime of the same degree as the most serious crime that was conspired to be committed.

e. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection a. of this section, conspiracy to commit a crime of human trafficking as set forth in section 1 of P.L.2005, c.77 (C. 2C:13-8) is a crime of the first degree.

amended 1979, c.178, s.18; 1981, c.167, s.4; 1981, c.290, s.11; 1981, c.511, s.2; 1986, c.190; 1997, c.34; 1999, c.25, s.2; 2002, c.26, s.9; 2013, c.51, s.6.

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