Opinion ID: 1476684
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Post-Conviction Hearing

Text: Defendant filed a verified petition for post-conviction relief on February 23, 2001, primarily alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at both the guilt and penalty phases of his trial. In May 2001, he moved to recuse the trial judge and to interview the jurors who determined his guilt and sentence. The record does not indicate the precise reasons, but the judge transferred the matter to another trial judge, who presided over the post-conviction hearing. On April 25, 2002, that judge issued an opinion denying defendant's motion to conduct post-verdict juror interviews. On June 18, 2002, this court denied defendant's motion for leave to appeal the trial court's decision on that issue. On June 4, 2002, the PCR court heard oral argument on the scope of the evidentiary hearing, including whether testimony would be allowed on certain claims and which proffered witnesses would testify. The court held that the State's attorney who prosecuted defendant, William Zarling (Zarling), would testify, as well as defendant's trial counsel, John Call (Call) and Thomas Scully [3] (Scully). The court precluded testimony from David Glazer, Esq., proffered by defendant as an expert in capital defense, although it did admit and consider Glazer's credentials, affidavit and written opinion. It also did not permit the proffered testimony of other witnesses, including Gloria Dunn, Detective Golden, Tariq Ayers, Sheila Fairchild, and two attorneys who represented defendant prior to Call and Scully. The PCR court held the initial evidentiary hearing on August 6 and 7, 2002. On the first day of testimony, defendant moved to amend his petition in light of the United States Supreme Court's recently decided case, Atkins v. Virginia, which held that the Eighth Amendment prohibits states from executing offenders with mental retardation. 536 U.S. 304, 122 S.Ct. 2242, 153 L.Ed. 2d 335 (2002). Defendant asserted that he has both mental retardation and mental illness, which bar his execution. The PCR court agreed to consider defendant's claim of mental retardation and the materials submitted in support of that contention, but determined to hear testimony only from a court-appointed expert. Accordingly, the court heard from Dr. Marc Friedman, a state-employed psychologist with expertise in mental retardation. On October 14, 2002, defense counsel moved to recuse the trial court from consideration of his PCR petition and to amend his petition in light of Ring v. Arizona, 536 U.S. 584, 122 S.Ct. 2428, 153 L.Ed. 2d 556 (2002). The PCR court denied both those motions. The court also denied defendant's petition for post-conviction relief, including his Atkins claim. Defendant now appeals to this Court as of right. R. 2:2-1(a)(3).