State v. Yough

31 A.3d 271, 208 N.J. 385, 2011 N.J. LEXIS 1223
CourtSupreme Court of New Jersey
DecidedNovember 30, 2011
DocketA-67 September Term 2010, 066950
StatusPublished
Cited by71 cases

This text of 31 A.3d 271 (State v. Yough) 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. Yough, 31 A.3d 271, 208 N.J. 385, 2011 N.J. LEXIS 1223 (N.J. 2011).

Opinion

Justice ALBIN

delivered the opinion of the Court.

Trials are not perfectly orchestrated productions. The testimony of witnesses may not always be predictable, particularly in criminal cases where depositions are not a typical tool of discovery. On the stand, a witness may give testimony that is different from or more expansive than an out-of-court statement recorded by the police. In many instances, discrepancies will advantage a defense attorney attempting to discredit a witness—but not always. Every witness’s digression from a prior statement cannot be grist for the granting of a new-trial motion.

In this case, the victim of a robbery testified at trial that he observed defendant more times than he had indicated in his statement to the police and, in response to cross-examination, gave more details about his sightings of defendant. A split panel of the Appellate Division reversed defendant’s robbery conviction, finding that a mistrial should have been granted because the victim suggested at trial for the first time that defendant threatened or intimidated him following the robbery and that no curative instruction was given. We do not believe that a fair reading of the victim’s testimony before the jury implicates post-robbery bad-act evidence or that defendant was unfairly prejudiced by that testimony. Although the victim testified at a hearing out of the presence of the jury that he had observed and encountered defendant after the robbery, because of defense counsel’s claim of *389 surprise, the prosecutor was prohibited from revealing that information to the jury.

We are in agreement with the panel’s dissenting judge who concluded that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in declining to grant a mistrial. Accordingly, we reverse the Appellate Division’s grant of a new trial and reinstate defendant’s conviction.

I.

On August 3, 2007, a Passaic County jury found defendant Stanford Yough guilty of second-degree robbery in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:15-l(a)(l). The trial court determined that defendant was a persistent offender, N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3(a), and imposed a fifteen-year term of imprisonment subject to the No Early Release Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2.

A.

Defendant’s conviction rests primarily on the trial testimony of Cesar Alva, who was robbed outside a U.S. Chicken restaurant in the city of Paterson in the early morning hours of October 10, 2005. 1 At approximately 1:00 a.m., Alva entered the U.S. Chicken restaurant and was approached by defendant who asked him for fifty cents. Alva told defendant he did not have the change and placed his order. When paying the bill, Alva took out his wallet, which was crammed with five-dollar bills totaling approximately $300.00. Alva attempted to shield the transaction and his wallet from defendant’s prying eyes. After Alva paid for his food, defendant approached him again, this time requesting a dollar. Alva said that he did not have one, but placed fifty cents on a nearby shelf. Defendant took the change and went outside where he conferred with two other men. From inside the restaurant, Alva could see that defendant was pointing at him.

*390 After picking up his order, Alva exited the restaurant and walked towards his car, which was parked a short distance away. Alva had not gone more than twenty feet when defendant and his two cohorts knocked him down and began pummeling and kicking him. Then, defendant ordered the other two men to stop the assault and demanded that Alva turn over his wallet. After Alva did so, defendant rifled through the wallet, causing the bills to spill to the ground. The three men scrambled to collect the scattered five-dollar bills and argued over the division of the spoils. Defendant returned to Alva his empty wallet, and the three men left the scene.

Immediately after the robbery, Alva drove to a nightclub where he had spent time earlier in the evening. There, he summoned the police. Shortly afterwards, Paterson Police Officer Ivan Hicks arrived and took down information from Alva about the robbery. Alva described the man who stalked and robbed him as “a black male, about 5'11", 200 pounds, bald head, very light complexion] ... wearing a grey sweat suit, and in his 20’s.” 2

One week later, on October 17, Alva went to the Paterson Police Department where he looked through as many as seven thick books of photographs. After twenty-five minutes, Alva selected a photograph of defendant, stating that he had “no doubt” that defendant was the man who had robbed him. 3 Alva did not identify the two other men who assisted defendant in attacking him. Two days later, Alva gave a statement to Detective Dean Barone in which he confirmed his identification of defendant.

*391 B.

In addition to the above trial testimony, on direct examination, Alva stated that he was certain that defendant was one of his attackers and identified him in court. Before making that identification, Alva indicated that he had seen defendant in Paterson “ten, fifteen times. Many times.” 4 In the context of the questioning, the clear impression was that those sightings occurred before the robbery.

On cross-examination, defense counsel highlighted the inconsistency between Alva’s direct testimony and Alva’s statement to Detective Barone two years earlier that he had observed defendant “two or three, maybe more” times before the robbery. The colloquy between defense counsel and Alva is the centerpiece of this appeal.

[Defense Counsel]: And do you remember saying two or three, maybe more?
[Alva]: Yes.
[Defense Counsel]: You remember saying two or three, maybe more?
[Alva]: Yes, yes, yes.
[Defense Counsel]: But the Prosecutor asked you the same question; and you said, ten, maybe fifteen times?
[Alva]: Because he—I see him many times on the street. And he come and he point at me like this and talk to another people like this, like this, (makes growling sound) like this.
[Defense Counsel]: And that explains the—
[Alva]: He followed me and—okay.
[THE COURT]: No, no. You can keep answering. You—you can explain your answer.
[Alva]: Well, another day I saw him, ho was jogging.
[Defense Counsel]: Your Honor, he’s not—
[Alva]: Very dressed—
[Defense Counsel]:—Your Honor—
[Alva]:—dressed very nice. Then, he very nicely dressed. He changed from anything.
[Defense Counsel]: Your Honor, I’d like to be heard about—
[Alva]: And, when he—when he choked me—

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Bluebook (online)
31 A.3d 271, 208 N.J. 385, 2011 N.J. LEXIS 1223, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-yough-nj-2011.