State v. Francis

775 A.2d 79, 341 N.J. Super. 67
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedMay 22, 2001
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 775 A.2d 79 (State v. Francis) 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. Francis, 775 A.2d 79, 341 N.J. Super. 67 (N.J. Ct. App. 2001).

Opinion

775 A.2d 79 (2001)

STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
Glenford FRANCIS, Defendant-Appellant.

Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Submitted March 20, 2001.
Decided May 22, 2001.

*80 Peter A. Garcia, Acting Public Defender, attorney for appellant (Michael L. Kuhns, Designated Counsel, on the brief).

William H. Schmidt, Bergen County Prosecutor, attorney for respondent (Annmarie Cozzi, Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel).

Appellant filed a pro se supplemental brief.

Before Judges STERN, COLLESTER and FALL.

The opinion of the court was delivered by STERN, P.J.A.D.

Tried to a jury, defendant was convicted of possession of one-half ounce or more of cocaine with intent to distribute, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5a(1) and -5b(2) (count one); possession of cocaine, N.J.S.A. 2C:35-10a(1) (count two); hindering prosecution, N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3 (count three); and resisting arrest, N.J.S.A. 2C:29-2 (count four). At sentencing, the trial judge merged count two into count one and sentenced defendant on the second degree possession with intent conviction to an extended term of fifteen years with a mandatory minimum period of five years before parole eligibility. However, the judgment contains no reference to any period of parole ineligibility. Nor does it impose the sentence on a count by count basis or merge count two into count one. It merely states "defendant found guilty on [counts] 1-4 jury trial. 15 years N.J.S.P. (all counts concurrent)." Further, as the State candidly points out, penalties and assessments should not have been imposed on the merged count. It requests a remand "to the trial court for entry of an amended judgment of conviction."

In imposing sentence, the trial judge indicated that he was imposing the presumptive extended term and a mandatory minimum term in connection therewith. See N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6f. The mandatory minimum, as the judge noted, had to be between one-third and one-half of the specific term sentence. Defendant does not contest that his appeal may provide the basis for correction of the judgment and inclusion of a mandatory minimum parole ineligibility term on a judgment that otherwise did not provide it. In any event, the oral decision controls, see State v. Womack, 206 N.J.Super. 564, 503 A.2d 352 (App.Div.1985), certif. denied, 103 N.J. 482, 511 A.2d 658 (1986), and in this case, a mandatory minimum was imposed on the record. In these circumstances, we remand for entry of a corrected judgment of conviction.

Before us defendant argues:

POINT I VERDICT WAS AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE AND DEFENDANT'S CONVICTION SHOULD BE REVERSED AND THE MATTER REMANDED FOR A NEW TRIAL.

POINT II FIFTEEN YEAR SENTENCE IMPOSED ON THE DEFENDANT IS MANIFESTLY AND UNDULY PUNITIVE.

POINT III PROSECUTOR'S SUMMATION IMPROPERLY CREATED INFERENCE FOR THE JURY AS TO THE DEFENDANT'S FAILURE TO TESTIFY AND THEREBY WARRANTS REVERSAL OF THE CONVICTION AND A NEW TRIAL.

*81 POINT IV DEFENDANT WAS DENIED THE EFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE [OF] COUNSEL DUE TO COUNSEL'S FAILURE TO RAISE THE ISSUE OF SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT—RACIAL PROFILING.

In his supplementary pro se brief, defendant further contends:

POINT I THE INDICTMENT IN THIS CASE WAS BASED IN PART, ON PERJURED TESTIMONY AND AS SUCH, DEFENDANT WAS DENIED DUE PROCESS OF LAW IN VIOLATION OF HIS FIFTH, SIXTH, AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE CONSTITUTION OF NEW JERSEY

POINT II TRIAL COUNSEL WAS IN[ ]EFFECTIVE THROUGHOUT THE PROCEEDINGS, VIOLATING DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS OF LAW AND A FAIR TRIAL PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH, SIXTH, AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENTS TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

POINT III THE TRAFFIC STOP MADE BY TROOPER JEFFREY FITZHENRY CLAIMING A TRAFFIC VIOLATION WAS A PRETEXT STOP DONE IN ORDER TO COVER SELECTIVE ENFORCEMENT IN VIOLATION OF DEFENDANT'S FOUR-TEENTH AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION AND ARTICLE 1 PARAGRAPH 1 AND 5 OF THE NEW JERSEY CONSTITUTION

POINT IV THE EXPERT WITNESS TESTIMONY OF SENIOR INVESTIGATOR SHARON MALONE CONCERNING THE DISTRIBUTION CHARGE AGAINST DEFENDANT VIOLATED THE RIGHT TO [D]UE PROCESS OF LAW AS ENUNCIATED IN THE FIFTH AND SIX AMENDMENT[S] TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

POINT V THE VERDICT IN THIS CASE WAS AGAINST THE WEIGHT OF THE EVIDENCE, VIOLATING DEFENDANT'S RIGHT TO DUE PROCESS OF LAW AS ENUNCIATED IN THE FIFTH, SIXTH, AND FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT[S] TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

POINT VI THE TAKING OF URINE SAMPLES FROM DEFENDANT BY TROOPER FITZHENRY VIOLATED THE FOURTH AND FIFTH AMENDMENT RIGHTS TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

Our careful review of the record convinces us that the contentions regarding the trial are clearly without merit and warrant only the following discussion in a written opinion. See R. 2:11-3(e)(2).

The record before us includes no motion to suppress filed on behalf of defendant.[1] Only two witnesses testified at trial, State Trooper Jeffrey Fitzhenry and Bergen County Senior Investigator Sharon Malone. The trooper testified regarding events on July 31, 1997, and Investigator Malone testified as an expert with respect to defendant's intent.

According to Trooper Fitzhenry, at about 7:39 p.m. on July 31, 1997, he observed *82 a red Ford with Pennsylvania license plates on the New Jersey Turnpike in Ridgefield Park. The vehicle was "travelling southbound at around mile marker 119" "coming from [Interstate] 95 towards the inner roadway southbound towards the New Jersey Turnpike." The vehicle was "directly in front of" the trooper and "travelled over the line onto the left and then swerved over to the right line of the demarcation... to the lane next to it and went back and forth a few different times." Fitzhenry continued to follow the vehicle which "changed lanes without using its signal." Fitzhenry then "activated [his] overhead emergency lights and stopped the vehicle ... at mile marker 117.8 on the inner roadway[ ] of the New Jersey Turnpike."

According to Fitzhenry, "the driver exited from the vehicle, ran towards the front of his car around to the right, back around his car" and when ordered to stop, "retrieve[d] a package from the right front portion of his pants and threw it across the highway." "It was a package ... roughly the size of a softball or so, wrapped in silver duct tape." The object "landed on the right shoulder of the outer roadway." The driver, identified as defendant, "continued to run past [the trooper's] vehicle," and though directed to stop, he continued to push the trooper before being finally "subdued" by the officer after he did not "voluntarily stop."

In the interim, the other occupant of the vehicle "fled the scene" before Fitzhenry was able to place defendant in the rear of the "trooper car." Thereafter, backup arrived and Fitzhenry "retrieved the package [defendant had thrown] from the right shoulder" of the Turnpike. "It was a softball sized hard chunky substance wrapped in silver duct tape." The contents were tested and found to contain 89.38 grams or 3.15 ounces of crack cocaine. The State also established that defendant lived in Philadelphia.

Senior Investigator Malone testified that in her opinion, defendant possessed the cocaine "for intent to distribute." Her opinion was based on "the amount alone... because it is not consistent with a personal use amount for crack cocaine" together with the fact that "there was no paraphernalia for ingestion of the substance" and that "the individual ... tested negative ...

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
775 A.2d 79, 341 N.J. Super. 67, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-francis-njsuperctappdiv-2001.