JOSEPH J. NORMAN VS. NEW JERSEY STATE PAROLE BOARD (STATE PAROLE BOARD) (RECORD IMPOUNDED)

201 A.3d 704, 457 N.J. Super. 513
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedJanuary 14, 2019
DocketA-3920-17T4
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 201 A.3d 704 (JOSEPH J. NORMAN VS. NEW JERSEY STATE PAROLE BOARD (STATE PAROLE BOARD) (RECORD IMPOUNDED)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
JOSEPH J. NORMAN VS. NEW JERSEY STATE PAROLE BOARD (STATE PAROLE BOARD) (RECORD IMPOUNDED), 201 A.3d 704, 457 N.J. Super. 513 (N.J. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

RECORD IMPOUNDED

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-3920-17T4

JOSEPH J. NORMAN, APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION Appellant, January 14, 2019 v. APPELLATE DIVISION

NEW JERSEY STATE PAROLE BOARD,

Respondent. ________________________

Submitted December 19, 2018 – Decided January 14, 2019

Before Judges Alvarez, Nugent and Mawla.

On appeal from the New Jersey State Parole Board.

Borger Matez, PA, attorneys for appellant (Jonathan E. Ingram, on the briefs).

Gurbir S. Grewal, Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Melissa H. Raksa, Assistant Attorney General, of counsel; Christopher C. Josephson, Deputy Attorney General, on the brief).

The opinion of the court was delivered by

MAWLA, J.A.D. Appellant Joseph J. Norman appeals from March 28 and April 24, 2018,

decisions by the New Jersey State Parole Board (Board). The primary

question raised on appeal is whether an appellant who has served his sentence

pursuant to the Sex Offender Act (SOA), N.J.S.A. 2C:47-1 to -10, can be

compelled to undergo a psychological evaluation for violation of certain

conditions of parole supervision for life (PSL), and mandatory parole

supervision (MPS), imposed outside the SOA. We hold the Board cannot

compel such an evaluation and reverse that part of its decision. We affirm the

Board's imposition of a parole eligibility term (PET) for Norman's violation of

a special condition of MPS.

We take the following facts from the record. Norman was twenty-one

years old when he committed several acts of aggravated sexual assault against

a fourteen-year-old family member. He was arrested in September 2008, and

in December 2008, pled guilty to one count of first-degree aggravated sexual

assault, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(a)(2)(A).

Norman was sentenced in the second-degree range to seven years of

incarceration in the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center (ADTC), subject

to the No Early Release Act (NERA), N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2(d)(7). NERA

requires MPS for all first- and second-degree offenses. N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2(c).

A-3920-17T4 2 Norman was further sentenced to PSL following service of the custodial

portion of his sentence, as required by N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.4(a).

On September 9, 2014, Norman was granted parole and discharged from

the ADTC "by reason of the expiration of his maximum custodial sentence."

Norman had served his entire seven-year sentence through a combination of

jail credits and time served following his conviction. His final discharge

stated he was "being discharged from the custodial portion of his . . . sentence

only to commence the period of supervision as set forth by . . . [NERA]."

Specifically, Norman was paroled for five years pursuant to MPS, and also

began PSL pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.4(a). Notably, he was not paroled

pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:47-5(a), which governs sex offenders who are paroled

before the expiration of their maximum sentence under SOA.

In pertinent part, the conditions of MPS required Norman to:

"Immediately notify the assigned parole officer of any change in employment

status. . . . Refrain from initiating, establishing or maintaining contact with

any minor[,] . . . [and] [s]uccessfully complete the EMP[.] [1]" Separately, PSL

also included the same conditions. Notably, the Board stated Norman's "PSL

status was previously continued to the [EMP] in 2016[,] and most recently

continued to the [EMP] in February of 2017[]" because of a prior violation.

1 Electronic Monitoring Program.

A-3920-17T4 3 In May 2017, Norman was arrested for violating parole by failing to

inform his parole officer that he had been terminated from his job and for

having unsupervised visits with his minor children. On October 18, 2017, a

Board panel found Norman had violated the PSL and MPS conditions of his

parole. The panel revoked Norman's PSL and directed him to serve twelve

months of incarceration. It also revoked MPS and referred him to the ADTC

for a psychological evaluation, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 10A:71-3.54(i)(3) and

10A:71-7.19A.

On March 28, 2018, the Board affirmed the panel's determination.

According to the Board, the purpose of the psychological evaluation was to

"determine whether to affirm the revocation of the mandatory term of

supervision and, if affirmed, whether . . . Norman's eligibility for future

mandatory supervision consideration will be based on N.J.S.A. 2C:47-5(a) or

the relevant provisions of N.J.S.A. 30:4-123.45 [to -123.88]."

Norman did not challenge the twelve months of incarceration for

violating PSL. Rather, he requested the Board revise its determination to

permit his release, effective May 16, 2018, having served the twelve months in

confinement, and to resume parole. He argued neither the regulation

governing MPS, nor the one governing PSL, granted the Board authority to

A-3920-17T4 4 require a psychological evaluation as a condition of resuming parole, and his

continued confinement as a result was unconstitutional.

On April 24, 2018, the Board denied Norman's request. This appeal

followed.

I.

The issue on appeal – the Board's interpretation of statutes governing

Norman's sentence and regulations regarding his parole – presents a question

of law. We owe considerable deference to an agency's interpretation of its

own regulations. US Bank, NA v. Hough, 210 N.J. 187, 200 (2012) (quoting

In re Election Law Enf't Comm'n Advisory Op. No. 01-2008, 201 N.J. 254,

262 (2010)). However, "an agency's interpretations, whether through

regulations or administrative actions, 'cannot alter the terms of a legislative

enactment nor can they frustrate the policy embodied in [a] statute.'" Williams

v. N.J. Dep't of Corr., 423 N.J. Super. 176, 183 (App. Div. 2011) (alteration in

original) (quoting N.J. Ass'n of Realtors v. N.J. Dep't of Envtl. Prot., 367 N.J.

Super. 154, 159-60 (App. Div. 2004)). "Ultimately, reviewing courts are not

'bound by the agency's interpretation of a statute.'" Ibid. (quoting Shim v.

Rutgers, 191 N.J. 374, 384 (2007)).

On appeal, Norman asserts he was not paroled pursuant to the SOA, and

consequently is not subject to the provisions of N.J.A.C. 10A:71-3.54(i)(3) and

A-3920-17T4 5 N.J.A.C. 10A:71-7.19A. He argues subjecting him to a psychiatric evaluation

when he had already served his original sentence placed him in double

jeopardy and constituted ex post facto punishment. He also argues he should

have been released no later than May 17, 2018, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 10A:71 -

3.54(i)(2) and 10A:71-7.17B(a)(2). He asserts a twelve-month PET should not

have been imposed because he did not violate a special condition certified to

by the Board.

II.

As we noted, the Board revoked Norman's MPS and referred him to the

ADTC for a psychological evaluation, pursuant to N.J.A.C. 10A:71-3.54(i)(3)

and 10A:71-7.19A. The Board's interpretation of the regulation was mistaken.

"An administrative agency, in construing its regulations, must apply the

same rules of construction as those guiding statutory construction by the

courts." Krupp v. Bd. of Educ. of Union Cty. Reg'l High Sch. Dist. No. 1, 278

N.J. Super. 31, 38 (App. Div.

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201 A.3d 704, 457 N.J. Super. 513, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/joseph-j-norman-vs-new-jersey-state-parole-board-state-parole-board-njsuperctappdiv-2019.