Title: New Jersey v. Anderson

State: new-jersey

Issuer: New Jersey Supreme Court

Document:

SYLLABUS

This syllabus is not part of the Court’s opinion. It has been prepared by the Office of the
Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the
Court. In the interest of brevity, portions of an opinion may not have been summarized.

                    State v. Bennie Anderson (A-15/16-20) (084365)

Argued March 30, 2021 -- Decided August 11, 2021

LaVECCHIA, J., writing for the Court.

       In this appeal, the Court considers whether the forfeiture of defendant Bennie
Anderson’s right to a public pension violates his constitutional right to be free of
excessive fines.

        Defendant was employed by Jersey City in the Tax Assessor’s office. His position
gave him the opportunity to alter property tax descriptions without the property owner
filing a formal application with the Zoning Board. In December 2012, defendant
engaged in an illicit transaction where he accepted a $300 bribe in exchange for altering
the tax description of a property from a two-unit dwelling to a three-unit dwelling.
Defendant retired from his position in March 2017 and was granted an early service
retirement pension. In November 2017, defendant pled guilty in federal court to violating
18 U.S.C. § 1951(a), interference with commerce by extortion under color of official
right. Defendant was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay a fine.
Based on defendant’s conviction, the Employees’ Retirement System of Jersey City
reduced his pension.

        The State filed an action in state court to compel the total forfeiture of defendant’s
pension pursuant to  N.J.S.A. 43:1-3.1. The trial court entered summary judgment for the
State, finding that the forfeiture of defendant’s pension did not implicate the
constitutional prohibitions against excessive fines because the forfeiture of pension
benefits did not constitute a fine. The Appellate Division affirmed the grant of summary
judgment to the State, but on different grounds.  463 N.J. Super. 168, 186 (App. Div.
2020). The Appellate Division concluded that the forfeiture of defendant’s pension was a
fine, but that requiring defendant to forfeit his pension was not excessive. Id. at 172-73.

       The Court granted certification.  244 N.J. 288 (2020).

HELD: The forfeiture of defendant’s pension under  N.J.S.A. 43:1-3.1 does not
constitute a fine for purposes of an excessive-fine analysis under the Federal or State
Constitutions. Because the forfeiture is not a fine, the Court does not reach the
constitutional analysis for excessiveness.

                                              1
1. The Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution and Article I, Paragraph 12
of the New Jersey Constitution provide in relevant part that excessive fines shall not be
imposed. Before determining whether a “fine” is “excessive,” a court first determines
whether the government action at issue is a “fine.” United States v. Bajakajian,