In Docket No. A-1900-22, the court first granted the State leave to appeal from the propriety of a Law Division judge's pretrial decision that barred the admission of location data from the alleged victim's cell phone and a voice mail purportedly sent from the defendant to his co-defendant. The motion judge barred the evidence because it was provided by the State after the judge's December 9, 2021 decision that mandated the production of any outstanding discovery by January 6, 2022.
While that appeal was pending, in Docket No. A-2279-22, the court also granted the State leave to appeal from a February 21, 2023 Law Division order issued by the same judge, denying the State's motion for reconsideration of an October 7, 2022 order. That order had barred the admission of two text messages allegedly sent by defendant as cumulative to other stipulated N.J.R.E. 404(b) evidence and fraught with impermissible hearsay.
The court considered the lengthy procedural history in view of the governing legal principles, including its discretionary standard of review. Unable to conclude on the record provided that the motion judge abused his discretion in either appeal, the court affirmed.