Posted Date | Name of Case (Docket Number) | Type |
---|---|---|
Aug. 5, 2021 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ANDREW HOWARD-FRENCH (18-10-0872, HUDSON COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (RECORD IMPOUNDED)
(A-2456-19)
A jury found defendant Andrew Howard-French guilty of first-degree murder, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3(a)(1) and (2); second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4(a)(2); and third-degree endangering an injured victim, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.2(a). The offenses arose from the death of a twenty-three-month-old child who was under defendant's care. The court holds the trial judge did not abuse his discretion in admitting: defendant's prior bad acts in accordance with N.J.R.E. 404(b)(2); the treating physician's testimony regarding the child's injuries; a non-sanitized statement by an investigating detective accusing defendant of lying during an interrogation of defendant; and the State's forensic pathology expert's testimony regarding the child's cause of death in accordance with N.J.R.E. 705. Defendant's arguments that trial counsel's failure to object to the testimony by the treating physician, the detective, and the expert, lack merit. The admission of the testimony was not plain error clearly capable of producing an unjust result. The court holds that the trial judge did not err in using the word "flight" in the jury charges as was it taken verbatim from the Model Jury Charges (Criminal), "Endangering Injured Victim (N.J.S.A. 2C:12.12)" (rev. Mar. 14, 2016). The court also concludes the trial judge did not err in failing to sua sponte instruct the jury on the affirmative defense of summoning medical treatment under N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.2(c) because there was no evidence supporting the charge and, to the contrary, there was sufficient evidence that defendant endangered the injured child by leaving him in defendant's apartment with no other adult present. Finally, even though the court normally does not entertain ineffective assistance of counsel claims on direct appeal, we address and dismiss defendant's claims because they relate to counsel's failure to object to evidence, which as noted, was properly admitted. |
Appellate |
Aug. 4, 2021 |
Estate of Hiram A. Gonzalez v. The City of Jersey City
(A-19-20 ; 084381)
The immunities from liability provided by the Good Samaritan Act, N.J.S.A. 26:2B-16, and most TCA provisions invoked by defendants do not apply here. Defendants’ actions may be entitled to qualified immunity under certain TCA provisions on which defendants rely, however, if the involved officers’ actions were discretionary, rather than ministerial, in nature. In this instance, because of a factual dispute, that determination is for the jury to make upon remand. |
Supreme |
Aug. 3, 2021 |
State v. Paulino Njango
(A-79-19 ; 084286)
The mandatory period of parole supervision imposed under NERA is part of a unitary sentence that is penal in nature. The State has kept Njango in prison for more than a year beyond his release date. Without credit for the excess prison time, Njango would serve more time in the custody of the Department of Corrections than authorized by his sentence. Under the fundamental fairness doctrine -- an integral part of the due process guarantee of the New Jersey Constitution -- the excess time Njango erroneously served in prison must be credited to reduce the period of his parole supervision. |
Supreme |
Aug. 2, 2021 |
State v. Miguel A. Roman-Rosado
(A-67-19 ; 084074)
*To avoid serious constitutional concerns, the Court interprets the statute narrowly and holds that N.J.S.A. 39:3-33 requires that all markings on a license plate be legible or identifiable. If a frame conceals or obscures a marking in a way that it cannot reasonably be identified or discerned, the driver would be in violation of the law. In practice, if a registration letter or number is not legible, the statute would apply; but if a phrase like "Garden State" is partly covered but still recognizable, there would be no violation. |
Supreme |
Aug. 2, 2021 |
DCPP VS. D.H., T.W., J.K., JR., AND K.M., IN THE MATTER OF THE GUARDIANSHIP OF D.H., T.G., AND J.W. (FG-16-0048-19, PASSAIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (RECORD IMPOUNDED) (CONSOLIDATED)
(A-1774-19/A-1857-20)
The court holds that a parent's status as a recreational marijuana user cannot suffice as the sole or primary reason to terminate that parent's rights under Title 30, unless the Division of Child Protection and Permanency proves with competent, case-specific evidence that the marijuana usage endangers the child or children. This approach aligns with existing Title 30 case law, the recently adopted constitutional amendment partially decriminalizing non-medicinal marijuana usage, N.J. Const. art. IV, § 7, ¶ 13, and related implementing statutes, as well as child welfare cases from other states. In this case, the parents each admitted they had used marijuana on several occasions while caring for their preschool child, and the Division presented unrebutted expert testimony explaining the risks of harm associated with that conduct. Beyond that, the trial judge had substantial other evidence to further support his finding that all four prongs for termination under N.J.S.A. 30:4C-15.1(a) had been proven by clear and convincing evidence. Hence, the judgment is affirmed. |
Appellate |
Aug. 2, 2021 |
State v. Darius J. Carter
(A-66-19 ; 083221)
*To avoid serious constitutional concerns, the Court interprets the statute narrowly and holds that N.J.S.A. 39:3-33 requires that all markings on a license plate be legible or identifiable. If a frame conceals or obscures a marking in a way that it cannot reasonably be identified or discerned, the driver would be in violation of the law. In practice, if a registration letter or number is not legible, the statute would apply; but if a phrase like "Garden State" is partly covered but still recognizable, there would be no violation. |
Supreme |
July 27, 2021 |
PALISADES INSURANCE COMPANY VS. HORIZON BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD OF NEW JERSEY (L-6136-19, MIDDLESEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-2830-19)
Plaintiff Palisades Insurance Company appeals from a February 28, 2020 order granting defendant Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey's motion for summary judgment and dismissing its complaint with prejudice. Plaintiff is an automobile insurance company that provides mandatory personal injury protection (PIP) benefits for medical expenses arising out of injuries sustained during car accidents. Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:6A-4.3(d), plaintiff allows its customers to designate their health insurer as primary for payment of car-accident-injury-related expenses, which election results in a premium reduction. The insureds named in plaintiff's complaint each elected to have defendant act as the primary payor. Despite the designation, plaintiff received and paid the claims, before they were properly submitted to defendant. On appeal, plaintiff asserts that it has a right to be reimbursed for the medical expenses it voluntarily paid under a theory of subrogation. After reviewing the provisions of the New Jersey Automobile Reparations Reform Act (No-Fault Act), N.J.S.A. 39:6A-1 to -35, the Coordination of Benefits scheme (COB), N.J.A.C. 11:3-37.1 to -37.14, and case law, the court concluded that no cause of action for subrogation exists to allow a PIP carrier to pursue reimbursement from a health insurer for claims mistakenly paid out of turn. Plaintiff's remedies are to deny the claim upon receipt, recover payments from the medical providers, request that the insureds submit their claims to defendant and pursue an appeal if coverage is denied, or obtain an assignment of rights and pursue the appeals on the insureds' behalf. In addition, when a health carrier is exempt from providing benefits, the COB regulations allow the PIP carrier to recoup the amount of the reduced premium from its insured. None of these remedies were pursued by plaintiff in this case. The court also concluded that further discovery would be futile, as the sought-after information is not capable of overcoming the legal obstacle faced by defendants: the absence of a legal right of subrogation to recoup payments mistakenly made out of turn. |
Appellate |
July 23, 2021 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. JOSEPH EHRMAN (18-19 AND 19-19, HUDSON COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (CONSOLIDATED)
(A-4144-19/A-4447-19)
In these back-to-back appeals, defendant challenged numerous complaint-summonses issued in municipal court by the Jersey City Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce for municipal violations involving rental properties owned by various limited liability companies (LLCs) of which defendant was a member. In one appeal, defendant challenged an interlocutory order denying his motion to dismiss twenty-five complaint-summonses issued to him individually and granting the State's cross-motion to amend the complaints to name the LLC that was the record owner instead of him. In the other appeal, defendant challenged the order finding the LLC that was the record owner of the property guilty of violating a municipal ordinance following a trial de novo in the Law Division notwithstanding the fact that the LLC made no appearance through counsel and neither the municipal court nor the trial court inquired on the record to ascertain whether there was a knowing and voluntary waiver before proceeding with the trial. The court reversed and remanded for entry of an order of dismissal without prejudice of the twenty-five complaint-summonses because they were issued to the wrong defendant and therefore fatally defective and both the municipal court and trial court erroneously relied on a Part IV rule governing civil practice to grant the State's cross-motion to amend. The court also reversed the finding of guilt of the LLC and remanded for a new trial because the absence of an appearance through counsel or a clear waiver of such in a quasi-criminal municipal court prosecution constitutes a violation of constitutional dimension requiring reversal. |
Appellate |
July 22, 2021 |
State v. Damian Sanchez
(A-60-19 ; 084104)
Annese’s lay opinion testimony is rationally based on the witness’s perception and therefore satisfies the first prong of N.J.R.E. 701. Based on Annese’s extensive contacts with defendant, the absence of any other identification testimony, and the quality of the surveillance photograph, the testimony meets the second requirement of N.J.R.E. 701 because it will assist the jury in determining a fact at issue in defendant’s trial. Sanitized to avoid disclosure of defendant’s status as a parolee at the time of his alleged offense, Annese’s lay opinion testimony will not be so prejudicial that its probative value is substantially outweighed by the risk of undue prejudice, and that testimony should not be excluded under N.J.R.E. 403. The Court concurs with the Appellate Division that the trial court abused its discretion when it barred Annese’s lay opinion testimony. |
Supreme |
July 22, 2021 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. D.F.W. (20-01-0101, CAMDEN COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (RECORD IMPOUNDED)
(A-2220-20)
The court addresses two Criminal Justice Reform Act provisions affecting a detained defendant's speedy trial rights. First, the Act requires a defendant's release (subject to exceptions and conditions) if trial does not commence after detention of 180 days (not counting excludable time), but the Act directs a court to extend that period upon the return of a superseding indictment. N.J.S.A. 2A:162-22(a)(2)(b)(ii). Here, the trial judge mistakenly added another 180 days to defendant's detention, without considering the differences between the two indictments, and if the prosecutor could have obtained the superseding indictment sooner, as Rule 3:25-4(f) requires. Those two factors require a court to weigh the State's need for an extension against the unfairness to a defendant of granting one. Here, the prosecutor announced nineteen days after the superseding indictment's return that she was ready to proceed to trial. Therefore, an extension beyond nineteen days was unwarranted, because the State did not need more than that to prepare for trial. Second, the Act requires a defendant's release (subject to conditions) after two years of detention (not counting excludable time attributable only to the defendant) if the prosecutor is not ready to proceed to trial. N.J.S.A. 2A:162-22(a)(2)(a); R. 3:25-4(d). Before the two years elapsed, the prosecutor announced she was ready to proceed to trial and a trial date was set. Then, the Supreme Court suspended criminal jury trials because of COVID-19. Defendant sought release after the two years elapsed during the shutdown, contending the prosecutor could not be ready if the court was not. The trial judge denied release and the court affirms. The two-year limit is measured by the prosecutor's readiness, not the trial court's. Defendant was not entitled to release under the "two-year clock" although, because of the pandemic, no court could conduct the trial the prosecutor was ready to try. |
Appellate |
July 21, 2021 |
Brenda Gilbert v. Kenyatta K. Stewart, Esq.
(A-32-20 ; 084860)
There are facts that support plaintiff’s claim that, had defendant not breached his duty by advising her to accept a guilty plea for offenses she did not commit, there would have been (1) no conviction to report, which would mean (2) no failure to report the conviction, which would mean (3) no inquiry leading to the discovery of prior failures to report, which, in turn, would mean (4) no imposition of disciplinary charges or the other adverse consequences plaintiff asserts as damages. Under the circumstances presented here, a reasonable jury could find that defendant’s breach of his professional duty was a substantial factor in -- and thus a proximate cause of -- plaintiff’s harm. |
Supreme |
July 20, 2021 |
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. LAUREN M. DORFF (18-10-0804, CAPE MAY COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-2485-19)
In this appeal the court held that defendant's Fifth Amendment right to counsel was violated during a stationhouse interrogation, reversing the trial court order denying defendant's suppression motion. Detectives at the outset of the interrogation advised defendant of her rights under Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). During the interrogation, defendant made several references to her need to speak with an attorney. The court held that defendant's statement, "[t]hat's why I feel I might need a lawyer," was sufficient to invoke her right to counsel. A detective then commented, "[w]ell, I mean that's a decision you need to make. . . . But if you didn't do anything [wrong], you certainly don't need to have [an attorney]." Defendant immediately responded that she felt she had not done anything wrong and elected to continue with the interrogation. She eventually made an inculpatory admission. The court ruled the detective's brief, spontaneous comment undercut the Miranda warnings and impermissibly burdened the Fifth Amendment right to counsel. By suggesting in effect that innocent persons do not need an attorney, the detective implied that a request to terminate the interrogation to speak with counsel would evince a consciousness of guilt, thereby discouraging the assertion of the right to counsel. The court emphasized the State bears the burden to show scrupulous compliance with Miranda, adding that there is no "good faith" exception to the Miranda rule. Rather, the court held, a Miranda violation such as the one that occurred in this case triggers the exclusionary rule whether it was intentional or inadvertent. |
Appellate |
July 20, 2021 |
CHARLES KRAVITZ, ET AL. VS. PHILIP D. MURPHY, ET AL. (L-0774-20, CUMBERLAND COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-1584-20)
In this appeal, we reject the claims of appellants who argued that Governor Murphy lacked the authority to issue Executive Order 128 (EO 128), which permitted New Jersey residential tenants to use their security deposits to pay rent. We conclude the Governor was authorized to enact EO 128 pursuant to emergency powers the Legislature delegated to the Governor under the New Jersey Civil Defense and Disaster Control Act, N.J.S.A. App. A:9-30 to -63. We further conclude that EO 128 does not violate appellants' rights under the New Jersey Constitution. |
Appellate |
July 19, 2021 |
CINDY JOHNSON, ETC. VS. FRANK MCCLELLAN, ESQ. VS. AARON J. FREIWALD, ESQ., ET AL. (L-2366-19, MIDDLESEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-2683-19)
Plaintiff brought a civil action for damages, under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-22a, against defendant, a law school professor and Pennsylvania attorney, resulting from defendant's alleged unauthorized practice of law regarding his involvement in plaintiff's prior medical malpractice suit. Plaintiff also sought disgorgement of a $52,145.42 referral fee she claimed defendant received improperly. The Law Division judge granted plaintiff's motion for summary judgment and then entered judgment against defendant for $308,181.68, with $52,145.42 representing the disgorged referral fee and $256,036.26 representing treble damages and attorney's fees, under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-22a. Because disgorgement is a remedy, not a cause of action, and because we find no evidence that defendant caused plaintiff to sustain an "ascertainable loss," a required element for a cause of action under N.J.S.A. 2C:21-22a, we reverse. |
Appellate |
July 19, 2021 |
H.C. Equities, LP v. County of Union
(A-1/2-20 ; 084556)
A finding of substantial compliance with the Tort Claims Act cannot be premised on comments made by plaintiff’s counsel in three different letters sent to lawyers representing the defendant public entities. H.C. Equities’ letters, individually or collectively, did not communicate the core information that a claimant must provide to a public entity in advance of filing a tort claim. See N.J.S.A. 59:8-4. H.C. Equities did not comply with the notice of claim provisions of the Tort Claims Act or file a timely motion to submit a late claim, and the trial court was correct when it granted the motion of the Authority to dismiss H.C. Equities’ claims against it, and the motion of the County to dismiss H.C. Equities’ tort claims. |
Supreme |
July 15, 2021 |
PAMI REALTY, LLC VS. LOCATIONS XIX INC (L-5845-18, MIDDLESEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
(A-0576-20)
During the arbitration of the parties' dispute, the arbitrator participated in settlement discussions. After he advised counsel he would be issuing an opinion in favor of defendant, plaintiff complained about the arbitrator's participation in the settlement discussions and the resumption of role of arbitrator. The motion judge denied defendant's motion to confirm the arbitration award and granted plaintiff's motion to vacate it on the basis the arbitrator had exceeded his powers. The motion judge apparently based those decisions on the lack of a written agreement regarding whether the arbitrator could participate in settlement discussions and resume arbitrating, citing Minkowitz v. Israeli, 433 N.J. Super. 111 (App. Div. 2013). Clarifying Minkowitz, the court held that although the parties had to agree to an arbitrator participating in settlement discussions and continuing to act as an arbitrator, that agreement did not have to be in writing. The court remanded for an evidentiary hearing. |
Appellate |
July 15, 2021 |
Leah Coleman v. Sonia Martinez
(A-3-20 ; 084489)
The Court agrees with the Appellate Division that Martinez had a duty to Coleman under the circumstances presented here. |
Supreme |
July 14, 2021 |
IN THE MATTER OF D.L.B. (0119-XTR-2020-000001, ATLANTIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (RECORD IMPOUNDED)
(A-1035-20)
In this appeal, the State challenges the court's denial of a final extreme risk protective order under the Extreme Risk Protective Order Act of 2018, which empowers a court to remove firearms from a person who "poses a significant danger of bodily injury to . . . self or others" by possessing them. N.J.S.A. 2C:58-24(b). Because the trial court did not admit critical evidence, did not require or ensure the State presented information and evidence upon which it relied in support of its petition, and did not make essential findings of fact, the court reverses and remands for further proceedings. |
Appellate |
July 13, 2021 |
State v. Edwin Andujar
(A-6-20 ; 084167)
*Courts, not the parties, oversee the jury selection process. On occasion, it may be appropriate to conduct a criminal history check to confirm whether a prospective juror is eligible to serve and to ensure a fair trial. That decision, though, cannot be made unilaterally by the prosecution. Going forward, any party seeking to run a criminal history check on a prospective juror -- through a government database available only to one side -- must present a reasonable, individualized, good-faith basis for the request and obtain permission from the trial judge. The results of the check must be shared with both parties and the court, and the juror should be given an opportunity to respond to any legitimate concerns raised. |
Supreme |
July 12, 2021 |
State v. David Chavies
(A-25-20 ; 084999)
NERA mandates that a defendant serve 85% of the sentence "actually imposed" for certain crimes before becoming eligible for parole. N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2(b). Allowing defendants to proceed with a Rule 3:21-10(b)(2) motion prior to serving that 85% would circumvent the Legislature’s objectives and its approach to violent crimes. Moreover, the timing of defendant’s motion aside, he failed to meet his burden under Priester since he cannot prove the necessary devastating effect that incarceration had on his health, in addition to various other Priester factors. |
Supreme |