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Eric Mark (Courtesy: Avvo.com)
“I believe everyone deserves a chance. Everyone deserves a chance to defend himself or herself and explain what needs to be explained,” wrote Eric Mark, as part of an online profile for what had been his private law practice in Newark.
Mark, 30, now finds himself defending charges that he helped cover up a DWI crash involving a fellow rookie officer.
Arraignments are expected in a few weeks for Mark, 24-year-old Jakub M. Szostak, and Lawrence C. Levin, 29, on indictments handed up by a Bergen County grand jury. SEE: Three Hackensack cops indicted in alleged DWI cover-up
Other officers privately have expressed their disappointment with the incident, while noting that the Hackensack department was under direct monitoring by the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office after following suspended Chief Ken Zisa’s arrest in another case. SEE: Captain to head troubled Hackensack PD
Bergten Prosecutor John L. Molinelli withdrew the monitor last December. His office, meanwhile, continued its participation in the grand jury investigation of the three officers.
After getting his bachelors degree in History and Journalism & Mass Media — with honors — from Rutgers University, Mark was graduated from Pepperdine University School of Law.
Besides rowing varsity crew for four years at Rutgers, Mark worked for a period as a judicial intern to U.S. District Court Judge Katharine S. Hayden in Newark and was a legal intern at the Ministry of Justice of the State of Israel, according to his bio.
As an assistant prosecutor in Somerset County, Mark wrote, “I handled criminal and juvenile prosecutions of all natures from the investigation stages through trial. I argued numerous cases in the Appellate Division and submitted briefs to the New Jersey Supreme Court.”
As a private attorney, he said, he defensed clients “in immigration cases, criminal defense, and drunk driving” who are “often fighting uphill battles.”
“The outcomes can never be guaranteed and all the pressure and stress is on them because they stand to lose the most,” Mark wrote. “For that reason I hold nothing back.”
“I have spent a lot of time overseas and have many friends and family from other countries,” he added.
“When I describe the opportunity that Americans have to stand up for themselves, to defend themselves and to challenge the State, my foreign friends are always amazed and envious. Receiving those reactions, understanding the uniqueness of our justice system, and appreciating those opportunities make me proud to do what I do.”
Mark also promised potential clients an “experience with the legal system” that would be “as painless and as successful as possible.”
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