State v. Resorts Internat. Hotel, Inc.

414 A.2d 269, 173 N.J. Super. 290
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedApril 8, 1980
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 414 A.2d 269 (State v. Resorts Internat. Hotel, Inc.) 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. Resorts Internat. Hotel, Inc., 414 A.2d 269, 173 N.J. Super. 290 (N.J. Ct. App. 1980).

Opinion

173 N.J. Super. 290 (1980)
414 A.2d 269

STATE OF NEW JERSEY, PLAINTIFF-APPELLANT,
v.
RESORTS INTERNATIONAL HOTEL, INC., DEFENDANT-RESPONDENT.

Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Argued February 13, 1980.
Decided April 8, 1980.

*292 Before Judges CRANE, MILMED and KING.

Miriam Kahn Brody, Deputy Attorney General, argued the cause for appellant (John J. Degnan, Attorney General of New Jersey, attorney; Edwin H. Stern and Jeffrey S. Katz, Deputy Attorneys General, on the brief).

Patrick T. McGahn, Jr., argued the cause for respondent (McGahn & Friss, attorneys; Solomon Friss on the brief).

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

This is an appeal from a dismissal of a complaint charging Resorts International Hotel, Inc. (Resorts), the first casino hotel licensed in New Jersey, with violations of the Child Labor Laws, N.J.S.A. 34:2-21.2 et seq. Final judgment dismissing the 20-count complaint was entered in the Atlantic City Municipal Court on February 22, 1979. The complaint alleged violations in employing four minors, ages 13 to 17, who performed in the casino's night-club show as acrobatic dancers between May 27 through September 4, 1978. A violation of the Child Labor Laws is a criminal misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and a jail term of up to 90 days. N.J.S.A. 34:2-21.19 and 21.63. Defendant waived, in writing, indictment and trial by jury, thereby conferring jurisdiction on the municipal court. See N.J.S.A. 2A:8-22.

Defendant Resorts was the holder of a temporary casino license, N.J.S.A. 5:12-95.1, and Class II and Class III alcoholic beverage licenses, N.J.S.A. 5:12-103. The Casino Control Act L. 1977, c. 110, effective June 2, 1977, provided for the pervasive regulation of every aspect, including employment, of legalized casino gambling, which form of gambling was not permitted in this State until November 2, 1976, when the voters adopted a *293 constitutional amendment so authorizing in Atlantic City only. N.J.Const. (1947), Art. IV, § 7, par. 2(D). The Casino Control Commission had issued casino hotel employee licenses, also called work permits, for the four minors involved, pursuant to the Casino Control Act, N.J.S.A. 5:12-91. However, Resorts made no attempt to comply with the requirements of the Child Labor Laws, N.J.S.A. 34:2-21.1 et seq., insofar as they related to these young performers. Resorts contended at the municipal court level that the Casino Control Law preempted the Child Labor Laws in respect of any child employee whom the Commission was empowered to license. Alternatively, Resorts contended that any violation of the Child Labor Laws was innocent, inadvertent and without the mens rea requisite to sustain a criminal violation.

At the conclusion of the testimony offered by both sides the municipal judge dismissed the complaint on the ground that the court lacked jurisdiction. See R. 3:10-4. Defendant Resorts probably should have raised the objection on a motion before trial. R. 3:10-3. The municipal court judge concluded that "the broad, sweeping supremacy and preemptive policy statements in the Casino Control Act mandates that N.J.S.A. 34:2-21, et seq., [the Child Labor Laws] is [sic] thus superseded in its application to minors only to the extent and circumstances where they are employed by a casino hotel." After holding that the regulation of minors in casino hotel employment was preempted by the Casino Control Act, the judge further ruled that a specific criminal intent was necessary to support a finding of guilt. The judge concluded that since full disclosure of the minors' age and other circumstances of employment had been made to the Commission, the failure to obtain theatrical work permits or other employment certificates required by N.J.S.A. 34:2-21.1 et seq. was "inadvertent and innocent." The judge concluded his written opinion by stating: "We find that the charges encompassed in the complaints are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Casino Control Commission. This Court is therefore without *294 jurisdiction to act in the premises and the charges must therefore be dismissed." No general finding of guilt or innocence was rendered by the municipal court judge.

I

The State filed a "notice of motion for leave to appeal" to the Law Division on March 9, 1979. Following legal argument based on the record in the municipal court, the Law Division judge affirmed the dismissal on the grounds that (1) the appeal was out of time and (2) the principle of double jeopardy applied as a bar to the appeal. Additionally, the Law Division judge expressed his opinion that the Casino Control Act did not preempt the Child Labor Laws.

We agree with the Law Division judge's conclusion that the State's appeal or "motion for leave to appeal" was filed on the 11th day, March 9, 1979, after entry of verdict.[1] If a ten-day limit applies, the State's appeal was untimely and the Law Division was powerless to extend the time period. R. 1:3-4(c). Unfortunately, our Rules of Court did not specify the time limit for appeals from final pretrial or posttrial orders by courts of limited criminal jurisdiction dismissing complaints until R. 3:24 was amended, effective September 10, 1979. New subsection (b) of R. 3:24 specifically permits such appeals; new subsection (c) thereof specifies that any appeal thereunder must be taken within ten days after the entry of such order. See Pressler, Current N.J. Court Rules, Comment R. 3:24. Prior to the amendment of R. 3:24, effective September 10, 1979, the State, by its terms, was permitted to appeal only interlocutory orders *295 entered by courts of limited criminal jurisdiction within ten days of entry of judgment. Defendants were permitted to appeal convictions within ten days of entry of judgment, R. 3:23-2. Therefore, no specific rule permitted the State to appeal from a municipal court's dismissal of a complaint on jurisdictional grounds or specified the time in which such appeal should be taken prior to the 1979 amendment.

However, R. 2:3-1 stated that

"in any criminal action the State may appeal or, where appropriate, seek leave to appeal pursuant to R. 2:5-6(a): ... (b) to the appropriate appellate court from: (1) a judgment of the trial court entered before or after trial dismissing an indictment, accusation or complaint ..."

R. 2:5-6(a) permitted appeals from interlocutory orders to be taken within 15 days. Arguably, one may contend that since no specific rule existed before September 10, 1979 spelling out a time limit of ten days on the State's right to appeal from a posttrial order of dismissal of a complaint and since such ruling was not based on the guilt or innocence of the defendant, that order partook of an interlocutory character thereby permitting an appeal to be taken within 15 days pursuant to R. 2:3-1 and R. 2:5-6(a). The problem has, in any event, been resolved by the September 10, 1979 amendment. In this case we prefer to entertain the State's appeal on the merits because of the public law issue presented and therefore resolve the doubt in favor of the State's right to appeal from an order disposing of a criminal complaint by dismissal on jurisdictional grounds within 15 days from the date of entry of judgment. See Bates v.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Atlantic City Showboat v. Dca
751 A.2d 111 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 2000)
State v. Widmaier
724 A.2d 241 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1999)
Campione v. Adamar of New Jersey, Inc.
694 A.2d 1045 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1997)
Logan v. Board of Review
690 A.2d 1125 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1997)
Childs v. Essex County Division of Welfare
564 A.2d 889 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1988)
State v. Boardwalk Regency Corp.
548 A.2d 206 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1988)
State v. Burten
503 A.2d 907 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1986)
State v. Detrick
470 A.2d 933 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1983)
Brinkley v. LaRoche
428 A.2d 930 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1981)
State v. RESORTS INTERNATIONAL HOTEL, INC.
420 A.2d 1294 (Supreme Court of New Jersey, 1980)
Falgiatore v. County of Atlantic
417 A.2d 1071 (New Jersey Superior Court App Division, 1980)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
414 A.2d 269, 173 N.J. Super. 290, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-resorts-internat-hotel-inc-njsuperctappdiv-1980.