On March 10, 2021 the New Jersey Supreme court decided the Hudson County case of State v. Gabriel Garcia. The principal issue involved whether the trial court’s suppression of exculpatory evidence was plain error that required the reversal of the defendant’s convictions. Justice Albin wrote for a unanimous Court in relevant part: The Court considers, […]

Justice Alito concluded in relevant part: The most natural place to look for Congress’s answer to whether rape was “punishable by death” within the meaning of §843(a) is §920’s directive that rape could be “punished by death.” That is so even if the UCMJ’s separate prohibition on “cruel or unusual punishment,” §855, would have been […]

On December 10, 2020 the United States Supreme Court decided the case of U.S. v. Briggs. The principal issue concerned whether the applicable statute of limitations barred the defendants’ prosecution for rape. These were three consolidated cases that presented the same issue. Justice Alito wrote for a unanimous Court in relevant part: The Uniform Code […]

Justice Solomon concluded with the following: Applying those principles to this case, the Court begins by considering the strength of the State’s evidence. Here, in contrast to Pierre, there was more evidence against Gideon, notably his own statement to police and Robinson’s testimony. And, against those stronger proofs, Gideon has offered a markedly weaker alibi […]

The Court continued in relevant part: In Strickland, the United States Supreme Court set forth a standard for determining whether an attorney’s inadequacy deprived a defendant of the level of assistance guaranteed by the Constitution, warranting reversal of a conviction. The Supreme Court of New Jersey Court has applied the Strickland standard to claims of […]

Justice Solomon continued in relevant part: In a December 2012 certification in support of Gideon’s petition, Gideon-Nichols attested that she drove Bey to the scene of the fight and found Gideon and Alford scratched up and bleeding; the two men then shook hands. She stated that Alford departed while Gideon-Nichols, Bey, and Gideon drove to […]

On January 14, 2021 the New Jersey Supreme court decided the Camden County case of State v. Donnell Gideon. The principal issue concerned whether trial counsel’s failure to call alibi witnesses constituted ineffective assistance of counsel and warranted a new trial. Justice Solomon wrote for a unanimous Court in relevant part: Gideon was arrested after […]

The Court concluded with the following in relevant part: During summation, to convey the supposed threatening nature of defendant’s note, conduct, and words, the prosecutor displayed the still shot from The Shining while making the comments noted above. Unlike in the movie scene, no act of physical violence preceded the handing of the note or […]

Justice Solomon continued in relevant part: Courts reverse a conviction only if the prosecutorial misconduct was so egregious as to deprive defendant of a fair trial. Factors to be considered in making that decision include: “(1) whether defense counsel made timely and proper objections to the improper remarks; (2) whether the remarks were withdrawn promptly; […]

The New Jersey Supreme Court continued in relevant part: The slide contained a still-shot from the movie The Shining, depicting Jack Nicholson in his role as a violent psychopath who used an ax to break through a door while attempting to kill his family. The slide featured the words spoken by Nicholson in the movie […]