STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. PAUL MYHAND (16-12-1020, PASSAIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)

CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedJuly 15, 2022
DocketA-0742-19
StatusUnpublished

This text of STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. PAUL MYHAND (16-12-1020, PASSAIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. PAUL MYHAND (16-12-1020, PASSAIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)) 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
STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. PAUL MYHAND (16-12-1020, PASSAIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), (N.J. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NO. A-0742-19

STATE OF NEW JERSEY,

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

PAUL MYHAND, a/k/a PEPA LARGE, PAUL L. MYHAND, and POPPA LARGE,

Defendant-Appellant. ____________________________

Argued May 23, 2022 – Decided July 15, 2022

Before Judges Messano and Rose.

On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Passaic County, Indictment No. 16-12-1020.

Kevin S. Finckenauer, Assistant Deputy Public Defender, argued the cause for appellant (Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney; Kevin S. Finckenauer, of counsel and on the briefs).

Ali Y. Ozbek, Assistant Prosecutor, argued the cause for respondent (Camelia M. Valdes, Passaic County Prosecutor, attorney; Ali Y. Ozbek, of counsel and on the brief). PER CURIAM

Just before 10:00 p.m. on July 24, 2016, Bernardo Medina-Villario and

George Anga were en route via car to Angie's Bar in Paterson. As Medina-

Villario parked his Toyota Camry on Broadway, defendant Paul Myhand entered

the passenger's side, leaned over Anga, slapped Medina-Villario, and demanded

the car. The Camry then struck two other vehicles, causing an accident. The

victims of the accident told Officer Giuseppe Ciarla, of the Paterson Police

Department (PPD), the driver appeared to be a "heavy-set black male."

Meanwhile, Medina-Villario and Anga walked two blocks to PPD headquarters

and reported the carjacking. Around 10:25 p.m., police observed defendant

driving the stolen Camry; he was arrested without incident. Minutes later,

Medina-Villario and Anga identified defendant during a show-up procedure

conducted by Ciarla.

In December 2016, defendant was charged in a Passaic County indictment

with two counts of first-degree carjacking, N.J.S.A. 2C:15-2(a)(1) and (a)(2).

The matter was tried before a jury in February 2019. Defendant represented

himself, with the assistance of standby counsel. Both carjacking victims

testified on behalf of the State. The court ordered a mistrial after the jurors were

A-0742-19 2 unable to reach a unanimous verdict and scheduled the matter for a status

conference on March 4, 2019.

On the March 4 return date, defendant requested the earliest possible

retrial date, arguing he had been detained on the present charges for

approximately three years. The court scheduled the retrial for April 2, 2019,

because the prosecutor and defendant's standby attorney were scheduled to

commence three back-to-back trials on March 5, 2019 regarding another

defendant. The court noted defendant in this matter could file a motion for a

bail reduction.

On March 26, 2019, the court held another pretrial conference. The

attorneys informed the court the trial in the other matter was ongoing and the

third trial of the back-to-back matters would likely conclude in "mid to late June

or early July." Defendant maintained he was ready to try the case pro se. In

view of the attorneys' trial schedule in the other matter, the court scheduled a

July 16, 2019 trial date in this case. Apparently, the other matter concluded

ahead of schedule.1

1 The record on appeal does not include transcripts of the March 4 and March 26 pretrial conferences. A-0742-19 3 On April 2, the assignment judge attempted to facilitate an agreement

between the parties, but his efforts were unavailing. He then sent the case to

another judge, with directions to commence the retrial "immediately" – more

than three months before the original retrial date of July 16, 2019.2 Defendant's

ensuing request for a thirty-day adjournment to obtain the transcripts from the

first trial was denied by the trial judge.

The testimony spanned two trial days, during which the State called

Medina-Villario, Officer Ciarla, and another PPD officer. Neither Anga nor the

accident victims testified at the retrial. At the close of the State's evidence, the

court appointed standby counsel to represent defendant for the remainder of the

trial, spurred by his courtroom conduct. Defendant did not testify or present any

evidence in his defense. In his closing remarks, the State commented on Anga's

identification of defendant, which was introduced in evidence through the

testimony of Ciarla.

The jury convicted defendant of both carjacking counts by threatening the

use of bodily harm under subsection (a)(2). He was sentenced to an aggregate

2 The receiving judge had begun the first trial but had taken ill during jury selection. A-0742-19 4 twenty-three-year prison term, subject to the No Early Release Act (NERA),

N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2.

Defendant now appeals, arguing:

POINT I

THE TRIAL COURT'S REFUSAL TO GRANT A THIRTY-DAY ADJOURNMENT OF THE RETRIAL SO THAT [DEFENDANT] COULD OBTAIN THE TRANSCRIPTS OF THE FIRST TRIAL REQUIRES REVERSAL OF [DEFENDANT]'S CONVICTIONS.

POINT II

THE ADMISSION OF THE NON-TESTIFYING VICTIMS' OUT-OF-COURT IDENTIFICATIONS VIOLATED [DEFENDANT]'S RIGHTS TO CONFRONT HIS ACCUSER AND CONSTITUTED INADMISSIBLE HEARSAY. (Partially raised below)

A. The Admission Of, and Heavy Reliance On, the Out-Of-Court Show[-]up Identification by George Anga Violated [Defendant]'s Rights to Confront His Accuser, Was Inadmissible Hearsay, and Irreparably Damaged the Proceedings.

B. Officer Ciarla's Regurgitation of Identifying Information by [the] Drivers Who Were Struck by the Stolen Car Likewise Violated [Defendant]'s Right to Confront His Accusers and Constituted Inadmissible Hearsay.

A-0742-19 5 POINT III

THE AGGREGATE TWENTY-THREE[-]YEAR SENTENCE IMPOSED BY THE TRIAL COURT WAS MANIFESTLY EXCESSIVE AND BASED ON AN IMPROPER WEIGHING OF [DEFENDANT]'S PREVIOUS CONVICTIONS, RATHER THAN A CONSIDERATION OF THE INSTANT OFFENSES FOR WHICH HE WAS BEING SENTENCED. ADDITIONALLY, THE COURT IMPROPERLY AWARDED RESTITUTION WITHOUT CONSIDERING [DEFENDANT]'S ABILITY TO PAY.

A. The Trial Court Improperly Focused on [Defendant]'s Criminal History, Rather than the Instant Offenses, in Sentencing Him to Two Concurrent Twenty-Three[-]Year Terms.

B. The Trial Court's Imposition of Restitution was Improper Because there was No Ability[-]to[-]Pay Hearing, and the Record Indicates that [Defendant] Would Not be Able to Pay the Amounts Owed.

Because we agree with the contentions raised in points I and II, our

disposition makes it unnecessary to consider defendant's sentencing arguments

raised in point III. We therefore reverse defendant's convictions, vacate his

sentence, and remand for further proceedings.

I.

Defendant maintains the trial judge improperly denied his request for a

thirty-day adjournment to obtain the transcripts from the first trial before the

A-0742-19 6 retrial commenced. Asserting the transcripts were "an integral and

indispensable tool in preparing for a retrial," defendant argues the judge

erroneously denied his adjournment request to obtain the transcripts pursuant to

Britt v. North Carolina, 404 U.S. 226 (1971). We agree.

We acknowledge a trial court exercises broad discretion in controlling its

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Bluebook (online)
STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. PAUL MYHAND (16-12-1020, PASSAIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-new-jersey-v-paul-myhand-16-12-1020-passaic-county-and-njsuperctappdiv-2022.