New Jersey
State v. John H. McKeon, Jr., __ N.J.Super. __ (App. Div. 2006)
Docket No. A-5658-04T1
Held: In this appeal, the Appellate Division concluded that a defendant may not be excluded,
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12g, from entry into a pretrial intervention program (PTI) solely
because he previously received the benefit of a supervisory treatment program, or its equivalent, in another
state when charged with an offense that would not have been a crime in this State.
State In the Interest of D.A., __ N.J. Super. __ (App. Div. 2006)
Docket No. A-5450-03T4
Held: In this appeal, the Appellate Division affirmed the trial court’s. imposition of
a special condition of probation requiring the juvenile to disclose his status as a Megan's Law
offender to the parents of any girl he dates. The juvenile was adjudicated delinquent of an offense that required registration pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:7-2 to -5 (Megan's Law). The Appellate Division specifically held that the special condition was consistent with the Code of Juvenile Justice and did not violate the limited disclosure provision of the Code. The Court also held that the special condition did not usurp the Megan's Law tier classification system.
State v. Heriberto Soto, __ N.J. Super. __ (App. Div. 2006)
Docket. No. A-2637-03T4
Held: In this appeal, the Appellate Division upheld the constitutionality of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4.1d,
the anti-merger statute. Thus, defendant’s convictions for possession of drugs with intent to
distribute within 1,000 feet of a school and possession of a firearm while in the course of
committing a school-zone drug offense did not merge.
State v. Heriberto Soto, __ N.J. Super. __ (App. Div. 2006)
Docket No. A-2638-03T4
Held: In this appeal, the Appellate Division upheld defendant’s eighteen- month
sentence imposed in accordance with a negotiated plea agreement. Under that agreement, defendant entered a plea of guilty to one count of fourth degree aggravated assault. The Appellate Division rejected defendant’s claim that his sentence, the maximum which could be
imposed for a fourth-degree crime, ran afoul of the Sixth Amendment and the holdings of State v. Natale and Blakely v. Washington. The Court concluded that by agreeing to a plea agreement
containing a sentencing recommendation of eighteen months with an equivalent parole
disqualifier, rather than proceeding to trial, defendant waived any objection that the sentence
was excessive or otherwise constitutionally infirm. In addition, the Appellate Division vacated
the trial court’s imposition of the eighteen-month period of parole ineligibility, concluding
that it was illegal under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(b), which specifies that a discretionary period of parole ineligibility may not exceed one-half the term of incarceration. Notably, the Court did not reference N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6c, the “Graves Act,” which compels the imposition of a parole
ineligibility period of eighteen months in the case of a fourth-degree crime where the defendant
possessed a firearm during the commission of the crime.
