State v. Rodriguez

603 A.2d 536, 254 N.J. Super. 339
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedMarch 4, 1992
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 603 A.2d 536 (State v. Rodriguez) 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. Rodriguez, 603 A.2d 536, 254 N.J. Super. 339 (N.J. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

254 N.J. Super. 339 (1992)
603 A.2d 536

STATE OF NEW JERSEY, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT,
v.
ROBERT RODRIGUEZ, DEFENDANT-APPELLANT.

Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division.

Submitted January 27, 1992.
Decided March 4, 1992.

*341 Before Judges PETRELLA, R.S. COHEN and ARNOLD M. STEIN.

Wilfredo Caraballo, Public Defender, attorney for appellant (James K. Smith, Jr., Deputy Public Defender, of counsel and on the brief).

Robert J. Del Tufo, Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Larry R. Etzweiler, Deputy Attorney General, of counsel and on the letter brief).

PER CURIAM.

In July 1988, a jury convicted defendant Robert Rodriguez of fourth degree aggravated assault (N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1b(4)); third degree terroristic threats (N.J.S.A. 2C:12-3); second degree possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose (N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a); and fourth degree possession of a weapon (Molotov cocktail) for unlawful purposes (N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4(d)). The jury returned not guilty verdicts on seven other counts[1] in the indictment. On September 23, 1988 the trial judge sentenced Rodriguez to seven years in prison, three years without parole eligibility on the conviction of possession of a handgun for unlawful purposes. Concurrent sentences were imposed on the other convictions as follows: nine months on the conviction for *342 aggravated assault; four years on the conviction for terroristic threats; and nine months on the conviction for possession of the Molotov cocktail for unlawful purpose.

On appeal, Rodriguez raises the following arguments:

I. The defendant's constitutional right not to be twice placed in jeopardy for the same offense was violated when the judge refused to accept the not guilty verdicts announced on all counts by the jury foreperson and sent the jurors back for further deliberations. (Not raised below).
II. The trial judge's ruling that the jurors could elect a new foreperson to replace the one who had announced the not guilty verdicts, violated R. 1:8-4, and served to coerce guilty verdicts in violation of defendant's constitutional rights to a unanimous verdict from an impartial jury.
III. The defendant's constitutional right to compulsory process was violated when the judge refused to continue the trial so that defendant could present certain jail records which had been subpoenaed, but not received.

Rodriguez was the victim's boyfriend, and had been living in her apartment prior to the attack. The victim testified that after Rodriguez moved into her apartment, he quit his job. This caused her to tell Rodriguez to "move out because he wasn't even making an effort of looking for another job." The victim said that on October 17, 1987, after an argument about the living arrangement, Rodriguez forced her to have sex with him. She did not immediately report this rape to the police. Around 7:00 p.m. that night she left to pick up her two children at her mother's house. At 11:00 p.m. she returned to her apartment and spent the rest of the night with Rodriguez in the apartment.

At approximately 3:00 p.m. the next day Rodriguez started another argument and threatened to scar the victim's face and burn the building down with a "cocktail bomb" (Molotov cocktail). The victim testified that Rodriguez then took a roll of aluminum foil and hit her in the face with the serrated edge of the box, knocking her to the floor. Rodriguez then took a handgun and rolled the cylinder with one loaded chamber. He pointed it at the victim's face, said he was going to kill her, and pulled the trigger four times. The gun did not fire. The victim said that she was raped again by Rodriguez who thereafter *343 refused to let her leave the apartment, threatening to shoot her if she attempted to leave.

The following morning the victim sent her daughter to school. She then got her son and left the apartment while Rodriguez slept. She went to a friend's house and telephoned her sister. After her sister's arrival, the two women took the victim's daughter to the hospital for asthma medication. After "three to four" hours in the hospital, the victim arrived with her sister at the police station about 9:00 p.m. to file a complaint.

Officer O'Connor of the Newark Police Department testified that the victim reported that Rodriguez assaulted her with a "roll of aluminum foil" and threatened her with a handgun. The victim also reported that Rodriguez threatened to burn the building down with a Molotov cocktail. She did not report the alleged sexual assaults at this time.[2]

Officer O'Connor and his partner then took the victim and her sister to the victim's apartment to look for Rodriguez. Upon entering the apartment, the officers found a green bottle with a rag in it and a container of gasoline. The officers and the two women then went to Rodriguez's brother's house on Highland Avenue, where the victim suspected that Rodriguez might be visiting. Rodriguez was spotted walking on Highland Avenue.

Officer O'Connor testified that his partner drew his weapon and confronted Rodriguez. O'Connor came up from behind and apprehended Rodriguez who was attempting to take out a handgun from the small of his back. The officer said that after being placed under arrest, Rodriguez went berserk and repeatedly threatened to kill the victim.

Rodriguez's arguments on appeal arise from two incidents which occurred at trial. First, Rodriguez claims that the *344 judge's refusal to delay the trial so that certain jail visitation records could be introduced denied him an opportunity for a fair trial. Second, Rodriguez objects to the manner in which the jury deliberations were conducted.

I.

After the State rested, Rodriguez's attorney notified the court that she would need some time to produce jail records indicating that the victim twice visited Rodriguez in jail, after the incident occurred. The defense attorney stated that Rodriguez had informed his first attorney in the Public Defender's office about this earlier in the preparation of the case, but she only learned of the information that morning. At approximately 11:00 a.m. the judge dismissed the jurors, instructing them to return in 30 minutes. During the recess the judge and the attorneys reviewed the proposed instructions and the State moved its exhibits into evidence. At 11:30 a.m. the judge allowed the defense attorney to phone the investigator to inquire about the availability of the jail records. However, defense counsel was unable to contact the investigator. After a brief colloquy regarding the relevance of the jail records, the judge denied defense counsel's application to delay the trial and the jury was brought in. The judge noted that this information could have been used on cross-examination of the victim and that the lack of information was attributable to the Public Defender's office.

Apparently, the investigator returned defense counsel's telephone call during her summation. The record indicates that the jail records would have been available at 3:40 p.m.[3] The judge stated:

*345 The point is, you know, I'm responsible for running this here, I try to run it as fairly as I can, I try to be as productive too. You can't see, well, we got a whole other week now to try this and we're going to wait for that and the like.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
603 A.2d 536, 254 N.J. Super. 339, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-rodriguez-njsuperctappdiv-1992.