State v. Lane

652 A.2d 724, 279 N.J. Super. 209
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedJanuary 26, 1995
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 652 A.2d 724 (State v. Lane) 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. Lane, 652 A.2d 724, 279 N.J. Super. 209 (N.J. Ct. App. 1995).

Opinion

279 N.J. Super. 209 (1995)
652 A.2d 724

STATE OF NEW JERSEY, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT,
v.
ISAAC LANE, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Submitted November 22, 1994.
Decided January 26, 1995.

*212 Before Judges MICHELS, STERN and HUMPHREYS.

Isaac Lane, appellant, pro se.

*213 Deborah T. Poritz, Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Arthur S. Safir, Deputy Attorney General, of counsel and on the brief).

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

Tried to a jury, defendant Isaac Lane was convicted of aggravated assault, a crime of the second degree, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(1) (Fifth Count) and unlawful possession of a handgun without first having obtained a permit to carry the same, a crime of the third degree, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b (Seventh Count). The trial court committed defendant to the custody of the Commissioner of the Department of Corrections (Commissioner) for a term of four years and assessed a $30 Violent Crimes Compensation Board penalty for his conviction for unlawful possession of a weapon under the Seventh Count. In addition, the trial court committed defendant to the custody of the Commissioner for a term of nine years with a four and one-half year period of parole ineligibility and assessed a $30 VCCB penalty for defendant's conviction for aggravated assault under the Fifth Count. This sentence was to be served consecutively to the sentence imposed under the Seventh Count. Defendant appeals.

Defendant seeks a reversal of his convictions or, alternatively, a modification of his sentences on the following grounds set forth in his brief:

POINT I: INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF COUNSEL DEPRIVED THE DEFENDANT OF A FAIR TRIAL IN VIOLATION OF THE SIXTH AMEND., U.S. CONST., ART. I, SECTION 10, N.J. CONST. (Not Raised Below).
POINT II: THE CHARGE OF AGGRAVATED ASSAULT AND THE SECOND PROSECUTION VIOLATED THE DOCTRINE OF DOUBLE JEOPARDY AND THE CONCEPT OF COLLATERAL ESTOPPEL EMBODIED THEREIN, U.S.C.A. CONST. AMENDS. 5, 14; N.J.S.A. CONST. ART. 1, PAR. 1. (Not Raised Below).
POINT III: THE STATE FAILED TO DISPROVE THE DEFENSE AND ALSO FAILED TO PROVE THE ELEMENTS OF THE OFFENSE BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT.
*214 POINT IV: THE JURY CHARGE FAILED TO ADEQUATELY INSTRUCT THE JURY OF THE STATE'S BURDEN AND THE PROPER APPLICATION OF THE DIMINISHED CAPACITY DEFENSE TO THE OFFENSES.
POINT V: THE COURT ERRED IN EXCLUDING EVIDENCE IN THE FORM OF TAPED CONVERSATIONS OF THE DEFENDANT, THE VICTIM AND OTHERS.
POINT VI: THE NUMEROUS INSTANCES OF PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT DEPRIVED THE DEFENDANT OF A FAIR TRIAL.
POINT VII: THE SENTENCE IMPOSED BY THE COURT WAS EXCESSIVE AND CONTAINED A MINIMUM PERIOD OF PAROLE INELIGIBILITY GREATER THAN THAT REQUIRED BY LAW WITHOUT PROPERLY WEIGHING THE AGGRAVATING AND MITIGATING FACTORS.
POINT VIII: THE CUMULATIVE ERRORS OF THE TRIAL COURT DEPRIVED THE DEFENDANT OF A FAIR TRIAL.

We have carefully considered these contentions and all of the supporting arguments advanced by defendant, and find, with the exception of the order directing defendant to serve his sentences and the claimed ineffective assistance of counsel, that they are without merit and warrant only the following discussion in a written opinion. R. 2:11-3(e)(2).

I.

Defendant contends for the first time on appeal that his retrial for second-degree aggravated assault under the Fifth Count, after reversal of his earlier conviction on this charge, constituted an infringement of the Federal and State Constitutional double jeopardy prohibitions and also violated the collateral estoppel doctrine. We disagree.

The Double Jeopardy Clause "does not bar reprosecution of a defendant whose conviction is overturned on appeal." Justices of Boston Mun. Ct. v. Lydon, 466 U.S. 294, 308, 104 S.Ct. 1805, 1813, 80 L.Ed.2d 311, 324 (1984). "[I]t is consistent with the guarantee against double jeopardy to retry a defendant who has succeeded in obtaining reversal of his conviction based on trial errors." State v. Koedatich, 118 N.J. 513, 519, 572 A.2d 622 (1990); see also N.J.S.A. 2C:1-9c.

*215 Further, the defense of double jeopardy must be raised by pretrial objection. R. 3:10-2. Likewise, the doctrine of collateral estoppel may not be raised for the first time on appeal in the absence of a demonstration of fundamental unfairness or manifest injustice. State v. Davis, 67 N.J. 222, 224-26, 337 A.2d 33 (1975), cert. denied, 425 U.S. 943, 96 S.Ct. 1684, 48 L.Ed.2d 187 (1976); see also State v. Ebron, 61 N.J. 207, 216, 294 A.2d 1 (1972); State v. Esposito, 148 N.J. Super. 102, 105-08, 371 A.2d 1273 (App.Div.), certif. denied, 74 N.J. 260, 377 A.2d 669 (1977).

Procedurally, defendant failed to object to the retrial on double jeopardy and collateral estoppel grounds prior to trial, and is, therefore, now barred from raising this objection. R. 3:10-2. Importantly, the reversal of defendant's conviction for aggravated assault was based upon trial error, namely, erroneous jury instructions, not on a lack of evidential support for his conviction. The reversal of defendant's conviction for trial error does not preclude the retrial of defendant for the same offense.

II.

Defendant also contends that the State failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the essential elements of the aggravated assault charged in the Fifth Count. He argues essentially that the verdict with respect to the aggravated assault charge was against the weight of the evidence.

Preliminarily, we note that defendant's contention that the jury's verdict was against the weight of the evidence is not properly cognizable on this appeal. Defendant failed to move for a new trial on this ground as required by R. 2:10-1. See State v. Ross, 249 N.J. Super. 246, 253, 592 A.2d 291 (App.Div. 1991); State v. Perry, 128 N.J. Super. 188, 190, 319 A.2d 505 (App.Div. 1973), aff'd, 65 N.J. 45, 319 A.2d 474 (1974). Furthermore, even if we ignore this fundamentally sound principle of appellate review and consider the merits of defendant's contentions, we are convinced from our study of the record that there was sufficient credible *216 evidence on the record from which the jury could find defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of second degree aggravated assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(1). In sum, the verdict in this regard was amply supported by the State's proofs and was not a miscarriage of justice under the law. State v. Carter, 91 N.J. 86, 96, 449 A.2d 1280 (1982); State v. Sims, 65 N.J. 359, 373-74, 322 A.2d 809 (1974).

III.

Defendant also contends that the trial court failed to adequately instruct the jury on the State's burden of proof and the proper application of his diminished capacity defense. We disagree.

It is fundamental that "[a]ccurate and understandable jury instructions in criminal cases are essential to a defendant's right to a fair trial." State v. Concepcion, 111 N.J. 373, 379, 545 A.2d 119 (1988);

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Bluebook (online)
652 A.2d 724, 279 N.J. Super. 209, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-lane-njsuperctappdiv-1995.