State v. Jarrett Parker (068966)

82 A.3d 926, 216 N.J. 408, 2014 WL 128075, 2014 N.J. LEXIS 11
CourtSupreme Court of New Jersey
DecidedJanuary 15, 2014
DocketA-67-11
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 82 A.3d 926 (State v. Jarrett Parker (068966)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of New Jersey primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Jarrett Parker (068966), 82 A.3d 926, 216 N.J. 408, 2014 WL 128075, 2014 N.J. LEXIS 11 (N.J. 2014).

Opinion

*411 Judge RODRÍGUEZ

(temporarily assigned) delivered the opinion of the Court.

N.J.R.E. 405(a) and 608 strictly prohibit the introduction of specific instances of misconduct that were not the subject of a criminal conviction for the sole purpose of impeaching a witness’ credibility. In this criminal appeal, the conviction is challenged on the grounds that, over defendant’s objection, the judge permitted the State to introduce evidence that defendant used false names, pseudonyms, or aliases when arrested for prior offenses. Although these prior offenses ended in convictions, defendant was never charged and, therefore, never convicted of these specific instances of giving false information to the police. This was error. The false-name evidence was not admissible because it was evidence of two specific instances of conduct, which were not the subject of a conviction. Although the false names were shown in the judgments of conviction for other offenses, the information itself was not admissible pursuant to our caselaw and rules of evidence.

Defendant Jarrett Parker challenges his conviction for first-degree carjacking, N.J.S.A. 2C:15-2, on the grounds that the trial judge erroneously permitted the assistant prosecutor to cross-examine him regarding his use of aliases or false names in connection with two prior arrests that led to convictions. Defendant also argues that the assistant prosecutor suggested to the jury in summation that defendant’s testimony was not credible due to the use of these false names in the past.

We conclude that the State’s introduction of evidence that defendant used false names when arrested for prior unrelated offenses, combined with the assistant prosecutor’s summation argument that defendant’s testimony should not be believed for that reason, violates the New Jersey Rules of Evidence, specifically N.J.R.E. 405(a) and 608, as well as New Jersey caselaw. It makes no difference that the assistant prosecutor found the false-names information from certified copies of defendant’s prior judgments of convictions. The information presented to the jury for *412 impeachment purposes, that defendant allegedly lied to police about his actual name, is strictly prohibited by N.J.R.E. 405(a) and 608 because defendant was not convicted of lying to the police. The State’s violation of these rules of evidence warrants reversal of defendant’s convictions and a remand for a new trial.

I.

This is a summary of the evidence presented at defendant’s trial for first-degree carjacking of a Honda Accord while a two-year-old child, M.A., was in the back seat. We identify M.A.’s mother by the pseudonym “Sharon” in order to keep the child’s identity private.

Late in the evening on August 6, 2008, Catrell Robinson drove to Union Avenue in Irvington in order to pick up his friend, Sharon, to take her to a laundromat. Sharon had several laundry bags and was accompanied by her sixteen-year-old sister, S.C. M.A. also came along. Robinson helped Sharon load the bags into his four-door 2006 Honda Accord. Sharon placed M.A. in the rear of the Accord behind the driver’s seat while she and Robinson loaded the bags. The child was not secured in a car seat. S.C. climbed into the driver’s seat and watched as Robinson and Sharon loaded the Accord. The rear passenger door was open and the car’s engine was running.

A man, later identified as defendant, walked past Robinson. The two men stared at each other. Defendant turned around and asked Robinson, “why you looking at me like that for?” Robinson replied, “go ahead, man, nobody was looking at you.” An exchange of words followed, which culminated in a fistfight between the men.

A group of six or more men, who knew defendant, rounded a nearby street corner and rushed to defendant’s aid. One of the men in that group attempted to hold Robinson by the waist. Robinson shook the man off and ran a short distance down the street. The other men, including defendant, caught up to Robinson, knocked him to the ground, then kicked and stomped him.

*413 According to Sharon, when she saw the group of men knock Robinson to the ground, she started running in their direction to help him. She then saw defendant walking towards the Accord. M.A. was still in the backseat, and S.C. was in the driver’s seat facing backwards. The rear passenger door was still open. Defendant then forced S.C. out of the driver’s seat of the Accord and sat in it. Sharon and S.C. screamed at defendant, yelling that the two-year-old girl was still in the back seat.

Defendant drove off in the Accord, crossed Union Avenue, jumped a curb, and crashed through a fence onto a grassy field. Ultimately, the Accord got stuck on a mound of dirt and came to a stop. Defendant exited the Accord and ran off toward Chancellor Avenue. Robinson, Sharon, and her sister approached the Accord and saw that some of the laundry bags had flown out of the open rear passenger door. M.A., however, was still sitting in the back seat. She did not sustain serious injuries.

The following evening, S.C. selected defendant’s photograph from an array prepared by investigating Irvington police officers. Two days later, Sharon did the same. Although Robinson gave a description of the carjacker to the police, he was not able to make a photographic identification.

After the State rested its case, the assistant prosecutor informed the judge that the State planned to cross-examine defendant regarding two prior convictions. The judge ruled that the State would be allowed to “mention the number of counts and the sentence imposed” but not the specific charges involved in the prior convictions. Defendant elected to testify and at trial, his counsel requested that no reference be made to the false names listed on the judgments of conviction for those offenses. In response, the prosecutor asserted that “defendant’s use of [false names] would also go towards his credibility or lack thereof---The Court rule allows everything within the four corners of the [judgment of conviction] to be used.”

The judge agreed, indicating that the false names were stated in certified court judgments, which are admissible. Therefore, the *414 judge allowed the assistant prosecutor to question defendant about his prior use of different names as reflected in the judgments.

Defendant testified and admitted that he was at the scene and chased Robinson. According to defendant, he was looking for his cell phone, which he had lost in the vicinity. After his friends arrived, defendant chased Robinson and kicked Robinson for several minutes. Defendant left the scene immediately after Robinson lost consciousness. Defendant did not see anyone enter the Accord during the fight. He walked away and left the area on foot. He denied taking the Accord.

On cross-examination, the assistant prosecutor asked defendant about his prior convictions, which led to the following exchange: [Assistant Prosecutor]: What’s your real name?

[Defendant]: Jarrett Parker.
Q: Okay. I’m gonna show you what’s marked S-ll. You ever go by the name Jarrod Parks?

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
82 A.3d 926, 216 N.J. 408, 2014 WL 128075, 2014 N.J. LEXIS 11, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jarrett-parker-068966-nj-2014.