State v. Epstein
State v. Epstein
Opinion of the Court
The opinion of the court was delivered by
Defendant appeals from an order of the Superior Court, Law Division, acting through the Resentencing Panel established by the Supreme Court to implement the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2C.-1-1 d(2). See 104 N.J.L.J. 369 (1979); 104 N.J.L.J. 489 (1979). The order was entered. following a written decision of the panel.' See 175 N.J.Super. 93 (1980).
The background of the case is set forth in the decision of the Resentencing Panel. Defendant was convicted of conspiracy under an indictment charging him with conspiracy “to embezzle, steal, carry away and receive the property of Exxon Company, U. S. A.....” N.J.S.A. 2A:98-1. He was also convicted of 101
Defendant appealed but his convictions were affirmed by us on May 22, 1979.
Defendant next filed a motion dated December 6, 1979 with the Resentencing Panel, asking for resentencing under the Code. His moving papers recited that they were filed pursuant to R. 3:21- 10(b)(4). The Resentencing Panel scheduled a hearing on his application for January 22, 1980. Defendant’s counsel appeared on that date but defendant himself was not present.
N.J.S.A. 2C:1-1 d(2) provides for resentencing when a defendant is under sentence of imprisonment on the effective date of the Code for a pre-Code offense. If the offense has been eliminated by the Code or if the maximum sentence imposed exceeds the maximum established by the Code for the offense, a defendant whose sentence has not been suspended or who has not been paroled or discharged may move to have his sentence reviewed and for good cause shown may be resentenced under the Code. See State v. Maguire, 84 N.J. 508, 511 (1980).
The panel reasoned that defendant was not entitled to be resentenced under N.J.S.A. 2C:1-1 d(2) because the conspiracy of which he had been convicted had not been shown to have been eliminated by the Code. It acknowledged that even though under the Code a person may not be convicted of both a conspiracy to commit a substantive crime and the crime itself, N.J.S.A. 2C:1-8 a(2), defendant had not shown that such statutory merger was applicable in his case. The panel pointed out that the conspiracy alleged in the indictment was broader than the substantive crime of which defendant had been convicted. Thus it decided that the conspiracy charge had not been eliminated under the Code. 175 N.J.Super. at 99. It also held that the maximum sentences under the Code for the substantive crimes of which defendant had been convicted exceeded the sentences imposed on those counts. Ibid. Accordingly, defendant was not facially eligible for resentencing. See State v. McDermott, 175 N.J.Super. 334, 339 (App.Div. 1980). Finally, the panel made an analysis of defendant’s crime and determined that he had not shown good cause for resentencing. Thus defendant’s application was denied on two grounds. An order denying defendant’s application for resentencing was entered on March 31, 1980.
Thus, if the case had been tried under the Code, defendant could not have been convicted or sentenced for both of these charges. N.J.S.A. 2C.T-8 a(2). Defendant expected that the amendment of the judgment on the conspiracy count would result in a ruling that the conspiracy charge had been “eliminated by the code.” N.J.S.A. 2C:1 1 d(2). But defendant did not seek a rehearing from the panel after the judgment was amended. Rather, he appealed directly to us. By our order dated June 11, 1980 we allowed the record to be supplemented to include the amended judgment of conviction.
Defendant before us urges that he should have been permitted to appear personally before the panel to offer proofs of good cause for resentencing, that there was good cause to resentence him and that the panel had jurisdiction either because the crime of conspiracy for which he had been convicted was eliminated by the Code or, alternatively, his case was pending on the effective date of the Code:
We agree with the Resentencing Panel that it did not have power to resentence defendant under N.J.S.A. 2C:1 1 c(2) permitting sentencing under the provisions of the Code in cases pending on the effective date of the Code. The Resentencing Panel was originally established by a Supreme Court order of October 18, 1979 to hear “motions filed by persons under sentence of imprisonment on the effective date of the Code of Criminal Justice pursuant to R. 3:21 10(bX4) for sentence review under the Code . . . . ” See “Notice to the Bar,” 104 N.J.L.J. 369 (1979). The order establishing the panel tracked the language of N.J.S.A. 2C:1 1 d(2). The order provided that
We also hold that the conspiracy charge of which defendant was convicted, even as amended by the trial court order of May 7, 1980, was not “eliminated” by the Code. Conspiracy to receive stolen property is an offense under the Code. N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2 a. So is the receipt of the same stolen property. N.J. S.A. 2C:20-7. Thus, the Code does not preclude a defendant from being prosecuted for both offenses. It simply precludes conviction for both offenses when the same property is involved.
Finally, the Resentencing Panel did not have jurisdiction of defendant’s application on the basis that his maximum sentence exceeded the maximum established by the Code for each of the three offenses for which his sentence was not suspended. Defendant received three consecutive sentences of not less than one nor more than three years for an aggregate sentence of three to nine years. As noted by the Resentencing Panel, each offense of which defendant was convicted would be a third degree crime under the Code, and accordingly the maximum sentence for each offense under the Code would be five years. N.J.S.A. 20:20-7; N.J.S.A. 2C:20-2 b(2)(a); N.J.S.A. 2C:5-4 a; N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6 a(3).
The result we reach seems to us to be consistent with a common sense construction of N.J.S.A. 2C:1-1 d(2). Even if we were to deem the conspiracy charge “eliminated” by the Code, defendant would still stand convicted of 101 offenses of receiving stolen property. Disregarding the counts on which sentence was suspended, defendant under the Code could receive a sentence of ten years. Such a term would exceed the sentence he
In view of our decision that defendant was not eligible for resentencing under N.J.S.A. 2C:1-1 d(2) we need not determine whether the panel correctly ruled that he did not show good cause for resentencing and whether defendant had a right to appear before the panel to argue that he had such good cause.
Affirmed.
Defendant was also fined a total of $51,000 but the fine is not significant on this appeal.
The record before us does not contain a copy of the decision. This date is set forth in defendant’s brief. The State asserts that the date was May 23, 1979. The discrepancy cannot affect our result.
The opinion of the Resentencing Panel recites that defendant was present. 175 N.J.Super. at 97. We are satisfied, however, from the presentation on this appeal, that that statement was erroneous.
The Resentencing Panel is, of course, not a separate division of the Superior Court. This court has three constitutionally established divisions, Appellate, Law and Chancery. N.J.Const. (1947), Art. VI, § III, par. 3. The Resentencing Panel may be properly regarded as a part within the Law Division. Ibid.
This assumes that an extended term would not have been appropriate. See N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7; State v. Maguire, supra, 84 N.J. at 516.
Reference
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- STATE OF NEW JERSEY, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT v. JEROME M. EPSTEIN
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