Court Opinion

ID: 9766365
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 04:43:24.817688+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:30:21.794514
License: Public Domain

*341COLEMAN, J.,
concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I concur in the Court’s disposition of this appeal in all respects except for its conclusion that in proceedings to determine the proper Megan’s Law tier classification of a juvenile adjudicated to be a delinquent based on his guilty plea, the trial court may find, based on clear and convincing evidence, that an element of the sexual offense was not established. Ante at 330, 777 A.2d at 907-08. That conclusion permits a collateral attack on the order of disposition (which would be a judgment of conviction if J.G. were an adult) that is contrary to law and logic. Hence, I dissent from that holding.
I.
On May 6, 1996, J.G. pled guilty to conduct that, if committed by an adult, would have constituted the crime of second-degree sexual assault based on committing “an act of sexual penetration with another person ... [while using] physical force or coercion, but the victim does not sustain severe personal injury.” N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2c(1). In proceedings to establish J.G.’s Megan’s Law tier classification for community notification purposes, the trial court and the Appellate Division rejected J.G.’s legal claim of a right to assert that he did not penetrate the victim and that the current evidence supported that claim, notwithstanding the fact that the judgment adjudicating him a delinquent had not been vacated.
At the plea hearing, J.G. admitted that he had penetrated the victim in the following colloquy:
Q. And you also tried to insert your privates into P.D.’s privates, correct?
A. Yes.
Q. [J.G.], at the time, you indicated that you did try to penetrate P.D., correct?
A. Yeah.
Q. And you did — although you didn’t actually get full penetration, there was some penetration, correct?
A. Yes.
*342Under our Code of Criminal Justice, that testimony satisfied the sexual penetration required for an adjudication of delinquency for an offense under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2c(1). When J.G. admitted that he partially penetrated the victim, that satisfied the statutory definition of “sexual penetration” because “[t]he depth of insertion [is not] relevant as to the question of commission of the crime.” N.J.S.A. 2C:14-1c.
Although I agree with the majority that proper protocol was not followed during the plea proceedings, the fact remains that the adjudication of delinquency based on that plea has not been vacated. Indeed, the record reflects that a motion to withdraw the plea was filed — and it appears to have had substantial merit— but it was withdrawn. In addition to a motion to withdraw his plea under Rule 3:9-3(e), J.G. could have pursued his rights through a direct appeal, State v. Butler, 89 N.J. 220, 224, 445 A.2d 399 (1982), or in an application for post-conviction relief. At this stage, this Court should have directed that the motion to withdraw the guilty plea be decided by the trial court before proceeding with the merits of this appeal. That said, I disagree with the majority’s holding that the trial court should have permitted J.G. to collaterally attack his guilty plea at the Megan’s Law tier classification hearing.
In considering whether a trial court sitting in a Megan’s Law tier notification proceeding should be permitted to revisit whether an element of the sex offense to which the registrant has entered a guilty plea has been satisfied, a useful analogous guide is found in our license revocation and attorney disciplinary cases.
In State, Dep’t of Law & Pub. Safety v. Gonzalez, 142 N.J. 618, 667 A.2d 684 (1995), a casino license revocation case, we explained that “a guilty plea leading to a judgment of conviction has the force of an admission of guilt on the charge based on a defendant’s sworn factual statement^].” Id. at 630, 667 A.2d 684. We have recognized that in certain proceedings in which the underlying purpose is to protect the public, a criminal conviction is conclusive proof of guilt and the facts of guilt cannot be relitigated. Id. at *343623, 667 A.2d 684 (stating that “because of the strong public policy of maintaining integrity in the casino industry, a casino employee may not present evidence contradicting his or her convictions” at an employee license revocation hearing); In re Goldberg, 142 N.J. 557, 565, 666 A.2d 529 (1995) (holding that a criminal conviction based on a guilty plea is “conclusive evidence of respondent’s guilt in [attorney] disciplinary proceedings”). “No independent examination of the underlying facts is, therefore, necessary to ascertain guilt.” In re Power, 114 N.J. 540, 544, 555 A.2d 1107 (1989); accord In re Leahey, 118 N.J. 578, 580-81, 573 A.2d 155 (1990); In re Addonizio, 95 N.J. 121, 123, 469 A.2d 492 (1984) (citing In re Rosen, 88 N.J. 1, 3, 438 A.2d 316 (1981)).
In Megan’s Law tier determination hearings involving guilty pleas or verdicts, as in attorney disciplinary proceedings based on criminal convictions obtained through guilty pleas or verdicts, the only evidence a registrant is permitted to present is that which “is not inconsistent with the essential elements of the criminal matter for which [he or she] was convicted or has admitted guilt as determined by the statute defining' the criminal matter.” R. 1:20-13(c)(2). Here, the majority has violated that principle by holding that the court conducting the tier classification hearing should not only have entertained evidence that was inconsistent with the sexual penetration element of the offense under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2c(l), but that the court should have found that there was no sexual penetration. I believe that the Legislature intended to give preclusive effect to judgments or orders adjudicating delinquency and judgments of convictions in order to achieve the purpose of Megan’s Law — to protect the public. N.J.S.A. 2C:7-1a. Regardless of what may have caused J.G. to enter his guilty plea, “convictions based thereon that have not been vacated by a court of competent jurisdiction stand as conclusive evidence of guilt for all purposes” under Megan’s Law. Gonzalez, supra, 142 N.J. at 633, 667 A.2d 684.
The majority labors under the misconception that the impact of its holding will be tempered by requiring the Megan’s Law tier *344classification court to be convinced by clear and convincing evidence before making a finding that is inconsistent with a guilty plea or verdict. That reliance is entirely misplaced. The clear and convincing evidence burden of proof is required for the court to resolve disputed facts in a Megan’s Law hearing regarding “the circumstances of the crime that has required registration as well as other criminal conduct in which the registrant has allegedly engaged.” E.B. v. Verniero, 119 F.3d 1077, 1108 (3d Cir.1997), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1110, 118 S.Ct. 1039, 140 L.Ed.2d 105 (1998), cert. denied, 522 U.S. 1109, 118 S.Ct. 1039, 140 L.Ed.2d 105 (1998). That burden of proof standard is required because a registrant’s liberty interests in privacy and reputation are at stake, which triggers due process rights. Id. at 1105-1111; Doe v. Poritz, 142 N.J. 1, 106, 662 A.2d 367 (1995). But when there has been a conviction or an adjudication of delinquency, the Megan’s Law judge is restricted to resolving “facts relating to the circumstances of a sex offense of which the registrant has been convicted ... [that were not] determined by the trier of fact in the criminal proceeding.” E.B. v. Verniero, supra, 119 F.3d at 1108. For example, where a registrant has been convicted of a crime involving sexual penetration, the Megan’s Law judge should assess the circumstances surrounding the offense — such as whether the act was planned beforehand or whether multiple objects were used to penetrate the victim but, the judge is prohibited from reconsidering whether sexual penetration in fact occurred. Hence, the Megan’s Law judge may consider “the details of a sexual offense, which is not the subject of a conviction, ... in the risk assessment scale calculus.” In re C.A., 285 N.J.Super. 343, 347-48, 666 A.2d 1375 (App.Div.1995), aff'd 146 N.J. 71, 679 A.2d 1153 (1996). The Megan’s Law judge, however, is not permitted to reexamine or redetermine the elements of a sex offense for which a registrant has been convicted or adjudicated a delinquent.
By permitting a collateral attack on the adjudication of delinquency for violating N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2c(1), the majority has opened the floodgates to collateral attacks by all registrants claiming that one or more elements of an offense that triggered the Megan’s *345Law tier classification were not established by the guilty pleas or verdicts. Since there is no material difference between a collateral attack on a judgment adjudicating delinquency and a judgment of conviction for an adult, all juvenile and adult registrants will be entitled to wage such attacks on all convictions involved in the tier classification proceedings. Obviously, that will have a substantial negative impact on Megan’s Law hearings. Such a draconian result is neither warranted nor wise. The purpose sought to be advanced by the majority’s determination is to.require Tier I notification for J.G. The Appellate Division achieved that same result without turning the law on its head. Hence, I would not permit a collateral attack.
II.
Although I disagree with the Court’s conclusion that a registrant may collaterally attack one or more elements of a sexual offense to which he or she has pled guilty, I fail to understand why the Court does not vacate J.G.’s judgment of delinquency given the Court’s finding that sexual penetration has not been established — an element of the sex offense to which J.G. pled guilty. The Court has found that J.G. did not understand the meaning of “rape,” “sex,” or “penetration.” Ante at 331, 777 A.2d at 908-09.
A guilty plea is an admission of all the elements of a formal criminal charge. When an accused pleads guilty to a criminal charge, he or she surrenders such fundamental rights as the entitlement to the privilege against self-incrimination and the right to confront witnesses against the accused. Those constitutional rights are so important that our Court Rules and cases prohibit a guilty plea from being entered “unless the court first satisfies itself that there is a factual basis for the plea and that the plea is made voluntarily and intelligently with an ‘understanding of the nature of the charge and the consequences of the plea.’ ” State v. Taylor, 80 N.J. 353, 362, 403 A.2d 889 (1979) (quoting Rule 3:9-2); see R. 5:1-1; State in Interest of G.W., 206 N.J.Su*346per. 50, 54, 501 A.2d 1012 (App.Div.) (applying Rule 3:9-2 to juveniles), certif. denied, 102 N.J. 355, 508 A.2d 224, 225 (1985).
When a guilty plea is made without a proper factual basis regarding each element of the offense, such a plea violates due process and is unconstitutional if the accused contemporaneously claims that he or she is innocent, or that he or she does not understand enough about the nature of the law as applied to his or her case to make a voluntary and informed decision concerning whether to plead guilty. McCarthy v. United States, 394 U.S. 459, 466-67, 89 S.Ct. 1166, 1171, 22 L.Ed.2d 418, 425-26 (1969); State v. D.D.M., 140 N.J. 83, 95, 657 A.2d 837 (1995); cf. Libretti v. United States, 516 U.S. 29, 42, 116 S.Ct. 356, 364, 133 L.Ed.2d 271, 285 (1995). “[Bjeeause a guilty plea is an admission of all the elements of a formal criminal charge, it cannot be truly voluntary unless the defendant possesses an understanding of the law in relation to the facts.” McCarthy, supra, 394 U.S. at 466, 89 S.Ct. at 1171, 22 L.Ed.2d at 425.
By contending that his plea did not establish sexual penetration, J.G. is asserting his innocence to a violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2c(1). The majority agrees when it concludes that J.G. did not knowingly admit to “sexual penetration” at the plea hearing because he did not understand the meaning of that phrase. I believe, under the Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment of the Federal Constitution and under Article 1, paragraph 1 of the New Jersey Constitution, see Greenberg v. Kimmelman, 99 N.J. 552, 568, 494 A.2d 294 (1985), that the majority’s holding obligates the Court to vacate the judgment adjudicating delinquency. “In these circumstances, where the responsible arms of the judicial ... establishment, together with [J.G.’s] own counsel, have misinformed him as to a material element of a plea negotiation, which [J.G.] has relied thereon in entering his plea, ... it would be manifestly unjust to hold [J.G.] to his plea.” State v. Nichols, 71 N.J. 358, 361, 365 A.2d 467 (1976). The appropriate remedy under the majority’s holding is to vacate the plea rather *347than to find the absence of an essential element of the offense, but otherwise leave the adjudication intact.
III.
I concur in the judgment of the Court in all other respects.
Justice LaVECCHIA joins in this opinion.
For affirmance in part; reversal in part; and modification in part — Justices STEIN, COLEMAN, LONG, LAVECCHIA, ZAZZALI, CARCHMAN, and WELLS — 7.
Opposed — None.