What separates federal laws apart from many state laws, is that the national statutes specifically focus on physical violence. States may further add to this. For instance, in New Jersey there are laws preventing intimidation of another person based on specific factors. In both state and federal cases, a hate crime is one taken against another person because of their national origin, religion, disability or gender — including their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Federal law specifies the type of violence that constitutes a hate crime. The use of weapons, such as a gun or explosives, warrants a federal crime. But, simply beating someone with fists or feet may not. In addition, the victim or assailant must have crossed state or national borders either during or before the assault, or been on a national highway.

The punishments for federal hate crimes are severe. If the assault left the victim alive, the assailant could face up to 10 years in prison and hefty fines. If the victim dies due to the violence, or aggravated sexual abuse, kidnapping or attempted murder are involved, the aggressor could be looking at a life sentence in federal prison.

Anyone who has been charged with a hate crime should contact a criminal law attorney immediately. They may be able to fight the charges on your behalf.

This post is not an exhaustive explanation of how New Jersey’s bias intimidation law works, and does not address separate federal hate crime laws. Defending against a criminal charge of bias intimidation requires considerable factual investigation, as well as the determination of what would constitute “intimidation” in a given setting.

In New Jersey, the law that enhances penalties in this fashion is not referred to as a hate crime law, but rather as a bias intimidation. The law identifies the following characteristics by which the victim of a crime may be subject to intimidation:

• race, color or ethnicity
• religion
• gender, gender identity or sexual orientation
• national origin

Intimidation of the victim can be the result of acting with that purpose in mind, or based on a recklessness standard (that is, the perpetrator of the underlying crime knew that the victim would be intimidated based on one of the criteria above even though that was not the express purpose of the criminal act.

Moreover, the law contains a “presumptive” provision so that if the victim reasonably felt intimidated, that gives rise to a presumption that the perpetrator acted with the purpose to intimidate the victim under the purview of the law.

Bias intimidation is a serious charge because it is a separate crime that can result in an additional charge one degree higher than the underlying offense. Thus, it is possible for a situation to arise in which a defendant intimidated a protected person under the law without necessarily having the specific intent to do so, only to have the law impute purposefulness to the act and trigger a new and more serious charge on top of the original crime.

If you find yourself charged with bias intimidation, having an experienced criminal defense law firm on your side is essential to defending yourself against its possibly significant consequences.

In an earlier post we discussed the state of New Jersey’s version of what are known as “hate crime” laws, specifically the state’s bias intimidation laws. The federal government has its own set of hate crime laws which may apply to crimes against persons. These laws may take effect in addition to or separate from any state-level criminal prosecution.

Perhaps the most significant distinction between New Jersey and federal hate crime laws is that while New Jersey law targets intimidation of people based on identifiable characteristics such as race, gender, sexual orientation or religion, the federal laws are directed at acts of physical violence resulting in injury or death and which are committed with the intent to victimize another based upon the following

• religion
• national origin
• gender, gender identity or sexual orientation
• disability

Additional and noteworthy aspects of the federal hate crime laws include:

• They require more than simple physical aggression. Simply beating someone with one’s fists does not appear to trigger federal hate law jurisdiction even if the assault was motivated by one of the criteria above. The law makes specific reference to the use of fire, firearms, explosive or incendiary devices, or other dangerous weapons.

• There is a requirement for some interstate connection with either the perpetrator or the victim traveling across state lines or the use of some means of interstate or foreign commerce by the perpetrator

Conviction under federal hate crime laws can result in fines and up to 10 years imprisonment if the victim is injured or up to life in prison if the crime involves death, kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse or attempted murder.

This post cannot cover all aspects of federal hate crime laws, and it is not intended or offered as legal advice. If you have questions or require more information about such laws, a criminal defense law firm can help to provide you with answers.