State v. Ellison

151 A.3d 594, 448 N.J. Super. 113, 2017 N.J. Super. LEXIS 5
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedSeptember 13, 2016
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 151 A.3d 594 (State v. Ellison) 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 v. Ellison, 151 A.3d 594, 448 N.J. Super. 113, 2017 N.J. Super. LEXIS 5 (N.J. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

PASSAMANO, J.S.C.

This matter is before the court on the petition for post-conviction relief (petition) filed on December 24, 2015, by Tyrone Ellison (petitioner). This is petitioner’s first petition for post-conviction relief. The court has considered petitioner’s pro se submissions and the written submissions of counsel. The court heard oral argument of counsel, for which petitioner was present.

[119]*119For the reasons set forth herein, the petition is denied without an evidentiary hearing.

I.

On June 11, 2001, an Essex County grand jury returned Indictment No. 01-06-2564-1 (indictment). The indictment charged petitioner with second degree sexual assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(c)l (count one), third degree criminal restraint in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:13-2 (count two), third degree endangering the welfare of a child in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4 (count three) and third degree criminal sexual contact in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3(a) (count four).

On June 26, 2001, petitioner, who was represented by counsel, pled guilty to count four of the indictment, as amended, charging him with fourth degree criminal sexual contact in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-3(b). The plea agreement provided that all remaining counts of the indictment were to be dismissed and the State would recommend a sentence not to exceed 364 days’ incarceration as a condition of a five-year probation. In addition, the State agreed to recommend that the sentence run concurrent with the sentence defendant was then serving on a separate matter. At the plea hearing, the State confirmed that defendant would not be subject to the requirements of Megan’s Law.

On September 4, 2001, petitioner was sentenced to time served as a condition of five years’ probation. The sentencing judge confirmed that petitioner’s conviction did not subject him to Megan’s Law. The Sexually Violent Predators Act, N.J.S.A. 30:4-27.24 to -27.38 (SVPA), was not mentioned on the record either at the plea hearing or at sentencing.

Petitioner did not file any direct appeal from his conviction and sentence.

In September 2011, the State initiated a proceeding to have defendant civilly committed under the SVPA. The State cited petitioner’s 2001 conviction as one of the predicate offenses for the [120]*120civil commitment application. The State’s petition for civil commitment under the New Jersey Sexually Violent Predator Act, dated September 8, 2011, states that petitioner was at that time “incarcerated at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center ... located in the City of Avenel, ... New Jersey, and is scheduled to max out of his sentence on or about September 17, 2011.”

On September 16, 2011, the Superior Court, Law Division, Middlesex County, entered an order for temporary civil commitment. That order provided, in part, that petitioner was to be “temporarily committed to the State of New Jersey Special Treatment Unit, ... [and] in no event shall [petitioner] be released ... prior to a final hearing on this matter.” The order set a final hearing for October 5, 2011.1

On December 24, 2015, petitioner filed his first petition for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Specifically, petitioner alleges that his counsel was ineffective for failing to advise him that the offense to which he pled guilty could serve as a predicate offense for civil commitment under the SVPA.

For the reasons set forth herein, the court finds that the petition was not timely filed and must be dismissed. In addition, the court finds that petitioner would not be entitled to relief even if the petition were to be considered on the merits. The court also finds that an evidentiary hearing is not warranted in this case.

II.

Post-conviction relief is New Jersey’s analogue to the federal writ of habeas corpus. State v. Preciose, 129 N.J. 451, 459, 609 A.2d 1280 (1992). Under the New Jersey Court Rules:

A petition for post-conviction relief is cognizable if based upon any of the following grounds:
[121]*121(a) Substantial denial in the conviction proceedings of defendant’s rights under the Constitution of the United States or the Constitution or laws of the State of New Jersey;
(b) Lack of jurisdiction of the court to impose the judgment rendered upon defendant’s conviction;
(c) Imposition of sentence in excess of or otherwise not in accordance with the sentence authorized by law if raised together with other grounds cognizable under paragraph (a), (b), or (d) of this rule. Otherwise a claim alleging the imposition of sentence in excess of or otherwise not in accordance with the sentence authorized by law shall be filed pursuant to R. 3:21-10(b)(5).
(d) Any ground heretofore available as a basis for collateral attack upon a conviction by habeas corpus or any other common-law or statutory remedy, [i?. 3:22-2.]

Post-conviction relief may not be used as an alternative to a direct appeal. R. 3:22-3. Nor may post-conviction relief be used as a forum to relitigate a case. R. 3:22-5; State v. Preciose, supra, 129 N.J. at 459, 609 A.2d 1280. Petitioner bears the burden of establishing his right to post-conviction relief by a preponderance of the credible evidence. State v. (Askia) Nash, 212 N.J. 518, 541, 58 A.3d 705 (2013); State v. Preciose, supra, 129 N.J. at 459, 609 A.2d 1280; State v. Mitchell, 126 N.J. 565, 579, 601 A.2d 198 (1992).

Petitions for post-conviction relief must be brought within the time periods provided in the Court Rules.

III.

A first petition for post-conviction relief must be filed no later than five years after entry of the judgment of conviction. R. 3:22-12(a)(l). The time limit furthers the need for finality in court proceedings. It also serves to relieve the uncertainty that would flow from potentially having to re-litigate matters long considered closed. State v. Mitchell, supra, 126 N.J. at 576, 601 A.2d 198. The New Jersey Supreme Court noted in this regard that:

As time passes after conviction, the difficulties associated with a fair and accurate reassessment of the critical events multiply. Achieving “justice” years after the fact may be more an illusory temptation than a plausibly attainable goal when memories have dimmed, witnesses have died or disappeared, and evidence is lost or unattainable. Those difficulties have not gone unnoticed by our courts.
[122]*122[Id. at 575, 601 A.2d 198.]

In light of these considerations, the rules that allow for any filing outside the five-year period are strictly construed. Id.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
151 A.3d 594, 448 N.J. Super. 113, 2017 N.J. Super. LEXIS 5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-ellison-njsuperctappdiv-2016.