Opinion ID: 2060551
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Precedent Involved

Text: Because a jury would ordinarily not have to resolve possession or use of a firearm in convicting a defendant of one of the other nine enumerated offenses, the Court held in State v. Stewart, 96 N.J. 596, 477 A. 2d 300 (1984), that N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6c permits sentencing courts to determine whether a defendant used or possessed a weapon while committing one of those nine crimes. Stewart involved a robbery prosecution. As noted above, robbery is a predicate to the Graves Act. It is one of the predicate crimes that does not necessarily involve the possession of a gun but most often does involve a person as a victim. N.J.S.A. 2C:15-1. Robert Stewart argued that because a jury had acquitted him of armed robbery and weapons charges and only convicted him of unarmed robbery, it would be fundamentally unfair to allow the sentencing court to decide the Graves Act issue of whether Stewart used or possessed a firearm in the course of the robbery. Stewart, supra, 96 N.J. at 605, 477 A. 2d 300. We rejected his argument. We interpreted N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6d as placing in the trial judge's hands the determination of whether a defendant used or possessed a weapon while committing one of the nine person-threatening crimes. Stewart, supra, 96 N.J. at 605-06, 477 A. 2d 300. We did not give the trial judge the power to determine whether a defendant threatened a person. Nor does State v. White, 98 N.J. 122, 484 A. 2d 691 (1984), lend any support to the majority's position. That case extended Graves Act sentencing to accomplices who have constructive knowledge that their co-felons will use or possess a firearm. Id. at 131, 484 A. 2d 691. The Court emphasized that the defendant did not dispute that he was properly found guilty of armed robbery upon the State's proofs that he knew, and indeed planned, that each of the robberies would be effected with the use of the handgun. Id. at 132, 484 A. 2d 691. In short, while the White Court allowed the sentencing judge to determine whether the defendant constructively possessed a gun for Graves Act purposes, the enumerated predicate offense was established by the conviction. State v. Des Marets, 92 N.J. 62, 455 A. 2d 1074 (1983), is also unhelpful to the majority. Robert Des Marets pled guilty to two charges of burglary. Because he had stolen two handguns in the course of one of the burglaries, the sentencing court read the Graves Act to mandate a minimum three-year term of imprisonment. Des Marets contended that the Graves Act should not apply because he never demonstrated any intent to use either of the firearms. The Court undertook a straightforward reading of N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6c and held that intent to use a firearm was not a prerequisite to Graves Act applicability. Mere possession of a firearm would trigger the minimum sentence provisions. Des Marets, supra, 92 N.J. at 68-69, 455 A. 2d 1074. However, the statute just as clearly states that mere possession of a gun will not trigger the Graves Act for a defendant convicted under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a. The statute states that such defendants must be convicted of having an intent to use their firearm against a person. The Des Marets Court did not say that a sentencing judge could determine whether a defendant had that intent. In fact, Des Marets explicitly emphasized that the express inclusion of a requirement of intent to use the firearm against the person of another in N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a argued against that as a jury requirement in the case of the nine other enumerated offenses. 92 N.J. at 69, 455 A. 2d 1074. To repeat, the use or possession of a gun that triggers a Graves Act sentence is often not an essential element of the offense for which a Graves Act sentence may be imposed. For example, one may commit a rape with or without a gun; one may commit a robbery with or without a gun. Sometimes the sentencing court has to decide whether the weapon brandished was in fact a real gun and not a toy. Only if the actor uses a real gun will the Graves Act minimum eligibility term be imposed. State v. Gantt, 101 N.J. 573, 584, 503 A. 2d 849 (1986). But whether the gun is real or not is irrelevant to whether the actor may have committed first-degree robbery. In such a setting, there is no real potential for a conflict between a jury verdict and the sentencing decision because a jury considering a robbery prosecution need not even consider the defendant's choice of weapon. In prosecutions under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4a, however, the potential for conflict exists. A jury may convict a defendant under that statute based on an intent to fire at the victim's TV set. At a sentencing hearing, a judge under today's ruling may then convict the same defendant of intending to shoot the victim.