State v. Wolfe

69 A.3d 164, 431 N.J. Super. 356, 2013 WL 3234095, 2013 N.J. Super. LEXIS 99
CourtNew Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division
DecidedJune 28, 2013
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 69 A.3d 164 (State v. Wolfe) 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. Wolfe, 69 A.3d 164, 431 N.J. Super. 356, 2013 WL 3234095, 2013 N.J. Super. LEXIS 99 (N.J. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

KOBLITZ, J.A.D.

Defendant Thomas J. Wolfe appeals from the Law Division judgment of August 17, 2012 finding him guilty de novo, based only on defendant’s blood alcohol content (BAC), of a per se violation of the prohibition against driving while intoxicated (DWI), N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.2 He was sentenced to the minimum mandatory penalties for a second offender pursuant to N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a)(2).3 Defendant unsuccessfully sought to block admission of his Alcohol Influence Report (AIR), a report generated by [359]*359an Aleotest breathalyzer device, because the State did not timely provide complete discovery. We affirm.

In the early morning hours of May 19, 2010, the police stopped defendant’s truck for speeding in Hamilton Township shortly after he left the Cavallino Nero Bar and Restaurant’s parking lot.4 After the officer smelled alcohol and conducted field sobriety tests, he took defendant to the police station where a breathalyzer was administered. Defendant’s two usable breath samples revealed a BAC of .12 percent, evidence of a per se violation. N.J.S.A. 39:4-50(a).

Within a week of the arrest, defense counsel requested complete discovery, warning in his letter that he would later move to preclude any additional materials not provided initially. The State provided partial discovery and referred counsel to a website5 for additional discovery.

After an unsuccessful motion to suppress the arrest, which was decided more than fourteen months earlier,6 this matter went to trial on April 3, 2012. Defendant moved immediately prior to the commencement of trial to preclude the State from producing any evidence not previously supplied to him in discovery. The municipal judge denied this motion. During trial, the municipal judge required defense counsel to specify his objection to the admissibility of the AIR. The State was then permitted to call as a foundational witness a police officer who did not effectuate the arrest and whose name was not previously supplied to the defense. Although [360]*360not previously provided to defendant, the State was also allowed to introduce the Alcotest’s certificate of analysis of the .10 simulator solution used in its control tests. The witness and document were necessary to supply a foundation for the admission of the AIR.

On appeal defendant raises the following issues:
POINT I: THIS COURT SHOULD STAY THE DEFENDANT’S SENTENCE, PENDING THE RESOLUTION OF THE ISSUES PRESENTED IN THE DEFENDANT’S APPEAL.[7]
POINT II: THE DEFENDANT WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY UNDER THE “OBSERVATION” PORTION OF THE STATE’S CASE BY THE LOWER COURTS IN ACCORDANCE WITH STATE V. SISTI [209 N.J.Super. 148, 506 A.2d 1307 (App.Div.1986) ].
POINT III: THE MUNICIPAL COURT ERRED IN DENYING DEFENSE COUNSEL’S REQUEST FOR AN ORDER IN LIMINE.
POINT IV: DEFENSE COUNSEL HAS NO OBLIGATION TO INFORM THE STATE OF ANY FOUNDATIONAL DOCUMENTS MISSING FROM DISCOVERY, NOR DOES DEFENSE COUNSEL HAVE ANY OBLIGATION TO AID IN THE PROSECUTION OF H[]IS OR HER CLIENT.
POINT V: THE DEFENDANT SUFFERED PREJUDICE AND HARM THE MOMENT HIS COUNSEL WAS FORCED TO VIOLATE HIS CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS AND THAT HARM WAS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GUILT AND INNOCENCE IN THIS MATTER.

We review the legal decisions of the Law Division and municipal court anew. Manalapan Realty, L.P. v. Twp. Comm. of Manalapan, 140 N.J. 366, 378, 658 A.2d 1230 (1995). A trial court’s ruling on the admissibility of evidence, however, is evaluated using an abuse of discretion standard and is therefore “subject to limited appellate scrutiny.” State v. Buda, 195 N.J. 278, 294, 949 A.2d 761 (2008) (citations omitted).

We agree with defendant’s position articulated in Point II of his brief, that because he was only guilty of the per se portion of N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, not the observational portion of the statute, if the AIR was improperly admitted, his DWI conviction should be vacated.

[361]*361Defendant argues in his remaining points that the AIR was improperly admitted because his counsel was forced to supply information to the State regarding the fatal weakness in its case and the State was then allowed to cure the deficiency. In Point III, he argues that his motions prior to and during trial to preclude the State from providing additional evidence should have been granted.

It is indisputable that defense counsel in his lengthy form letter seeking discovery sought the names of all potential witnesses, as well as “[a]ny and all documents with respect to the administration of any breath test, including but not limited to, all materials required pursuant to State v. Chun, 194 N.J. 54, 943 A.2d 114, [cert. denied, 555 U.S. 825, 129 S.Ct. 158, 172 L.Ed.2d 41 (2008) ]____” Defense counsel was aware of the omissions in the State’s discovery and candidly admits he sought an order precluding further discovery to secure an acquittal for his client based on his view of his responsibility to his client.

Defendant argues that the judge’s reliance on Rule 7:7-7(h), which notes that there is a continuing duty to provide discovery, to deny his motion in limine was an abuse of discretion. Defendant points to no legal authority requiring a court to exclude evidence based on the State’s failure to present it timely after requested. Such a blanket order would preclude further discovery without a showing of prejudice to the defense or the reason for the State’s delay. Here, the grant of such an order would have precluded the admission of the AIR for failure on the State’s part to provide a foundational document, as well as the name of the police officer called to authenticate the document. We agree with the Law Division judge that the municipal court acted within its discretion in denying defendant’s motion to preclude further discovery.

In Point IV, defendant maintains that when defense counsel objected to the admission of the AIR, the municipal court should not have required counsel to specify what foundational documents required by State v. Chun, supra, 194 N.J. at 145, 943 A.2d 114, were lacking. Defendant argues that this violated his Fifth [362]*362Amendment rights, as well as N.J.S.A. 2A:84A-17 and N.J.R.E. 501, 502 and 503. He cites no case that holds that requiring an attorney to specify his objection to the admissibility of evidence violates any of these provisions.

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Bluebook (online)
69 A.3d 164, 431 N.J. Super. 356, 2013 WL 3234095, 2013 N.J. Super. LEXIS 99, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-wolfe-njsuperctappdiv-2013.