State v. Salomon
State v. Salomon
Opinion of the Court
Defendants challenge as unconstitutional a Law Division determination staying their motions to suppress so long as they are enrolled in pretrial intervention (PTI). We affirm.
compelled to choose about exercising his or her constitutional right to challenge the seizure of evidence as opposed to entering a program that carries essentially non-criminal sanctions ... a client should [not] be forced into trading off his or her right to ... exercise the constitutional challenge.
The motion judge rejected that argument and entered an order
that the defendants’ motion to suppress is hereby stayed and shall remain stayed until such time as the defendants reject admission to [PTI] or fail to complete the [PTI] requirements.
By leave granted, defendants now appeal, contending that requiring them to choose between PTI and prosecuting their suppression motion is a violation of the federal and state constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure.
The contention is clearly without merit. R. 2:11-3(e)(2). PTI is designed to provide “opportunities to avoid ordinary prosecution,” “an alternative to prosecution for applicants who might be harmed by the imposition of criminal sanctions as presently administered,” “a mechanism for permitting the least burdensome form of prosecution possible for defendants charged with ‘victimless’ offenses” and “assistance to criminal calendars in order to focus expenditure of criminal justice resources on matters involving serious criminality.” N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12a(1), (2), (3), (4). Consistent with those purposes, the designated PTI judge is specifically authorized to “postpone all further proceedings against an applicant” admitted to PTI. N.J.S.A. 2C:43-12e.
The March 4, 1988 order is affirmed.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- STATE OF NEW JERSEY, PLAINTIFF-RESPONDENT v. JESSE SALOMON AND LILLIAN N. SALOMON
- Cited By
- 2 cases
- Status
- Published