October 22, 2007

Kofi Ries v. Department of Corrections

10-18-07 A-6484-05T2

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 30:1B-3 and N.J.S.A. 30:4-91.3, the
Commissioner of Corrections maintains authority over adult
offenders committed to state correctional institutions, even at
times when they are physically outside prison walls.
Consequently, the Department of Corrections was authorized to
discipline appellant, who tested positive for cocaine and
opiates upon his return to state prison after escaping from a
halfway house, for violating the Department's regulation *.204
prohibiting the use of controlled dangerous substances. See
N.J.A.C. 10A:4-4.1.

State v. Jessie D. Chambers

10-15-07* A-6180-04T4
Under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7.1, the crime of possession of a
CDS with the intent to distribute is elevated from a thirddegree
crime to a second-degree crime if the offense is
committed within 500 feet of a public building. In this
opinion, we conclude that a museum qualifies as a public
building even if it does not maintain regular hours and is only
open to the public upon request.(*Approved for Publication date)

State v. Jeffrey Bendix

10-11-07* A-6508-05T3

We concluded that the trial court took too restrictive a
view of the court's discretion, under N.J.S.A. 2C:35-16a, to
grant defendant a hardship exception from the requirement that
his driver's license be suspended due to his conviction for drug
offenses. In remanding for a new hearing on the exception
issue, we provided guidance as to the proper procedures for
conducting the hearing. Defense counsel should present his
client's application through formal witness testimony, and the
State's opposition should likewise be presented through
testimony rather than representations of counsel. (*Approved for
Publication date)

State v. Eric Rowland

10-11-07 A-4383-06T5

The Contractors' Registration Act, N.J.S.A. 56:8-136 to -
152, includes provisions under which knowingly engaging in the
business of making or selling home improvements without having
registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs is a fourth
degree crime. Although the Act states that "a person who
knowingly violates any of the provisions of this act is guilty
of a crime of the fourth degree," the underlined phrase does not
mean that the State must prove defendant knew about the Act and
its provisions. In short, when used in a statute, the
underlined phrase does not make knowledge of the law an element
of the crime.

State v. Kevin Johnson

10-11-07 A-4544-05T4

In this appeal we examine the consequences of a sentencing
court's failure to notify a defendant of his right to appeal
within forty-five days, when the sentence was imposed prior to
the New Jersey Supreme Court's opinion in State v. Molina, 187
N.J. 531 (2006). In Molina, the Court made prospective its
holding that such a defendant had five years from the date of
sentencing to move for leave to appeal as within time.

State v. David L. Moon, a/k/a David L.

10-09-07
This case requires us to consider the elements of
endangering an injured victim, N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.2b(2). We
conclude that the crime does not apply to a person who abandons
a corpse.

October 4, 2007

State v. Altariq Laboo

09-28-07 A-3746-06T5

Three individuals committed a string of armed robberies
over the course of a one-hour period, taking items that included
two cell phones. Approximately thirty hours after the last
robbery, police used a tracking device to track one of the
stolen cell phones to a three-family home located in a highcrime
area. Three officers entered the building and used a
handheld tracking device to determine the exact apartment. An
officer knocked on the apartment door and announced that he was
a police officer. The officer then heard a young female yelling
and a man's voice saying "shut up, shut up, 5-0," and scurrying
inside the apartment. Without obtaining a warrant, the officers
forcibly entered the apartment, wherein they found evidence from
the robberies.

We reversed the law division's order suppressing the
evidence. The search was justified because the exigent
circumstances, although police-created, arose as a result of
reasonable investigative conduct. We held that the police were
not required to procure a warrant because a delay presented a
real potential danger to the officers and public, under the
circumstances.