Court Opinion

ID: 9862626
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-25 01:35:40.440671+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T11:27:12.836171
License: Public Domain

Justice PATTERSON,
dissenting.
The majority holds that N.J.S.A 2C:44-5(b)(l) bars the imposition of an extended term sentence for third-degree aggravated assault on defendant because in his prior sentencing proceeding, severed by his own motion from this separately-considered crime, defendant had been sentenced to an extended term for a third-degree offense involving a different victim. Because I agree with the Appellate Division that the' trial court properly exercised its discretion in imposing upon defendant a sentence for this crime that included an extended term, I respectfully dissent. In my view, the majority’s construction of N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b)(l) contravenes the statute’s goals and legislative history, and unnecessarily constrains the discretion of sentencing courts.
N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(a) restricts a sentencing court’s discretion when simultaneously sentencing a defendant for more than one crime in two respects: (1) “[t]he aggregate of consecutive terms to a county institution shall not exceed 18 months;” and (2) “[n]ot more than one sentence for an extended period shall be imposed.” *539N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(a)(l) and (2). N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b) provides that “[w]hen a defendant who has previously been sentenced to imprisonment is subsequently sentenced to another term for an offense committed prior to the former sentence, other than an offense committed while in custody,” N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b), “the multiple sentences imposed shall so far as possible conform to subsection a. of this section.” N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b)(l). Absent the phrase “so far as possible,” there would be no question that when N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b)(l) applies, a sentencing court may not impose more than one extended term sentence, and the majority’s conclusion would be self-evident. The language “so far as possible” is part of the statute, however, and the Legislature’s intent when it chose to include those four words is thus the central issue.
The majority ascribes to the language “so far as possible” a plain meaning. It concludes that if N.J.S.A. 2C:44—5(b)(1) applies, a second extended term sentence would be barred unless (1) the defendant has also committed an offense that requires a mandatory extended term, such as a violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(f), that would “override the more general sentencing direction contained in N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b)(l),” or (2) other situations necessitating another extended term develop, such as a “cold case” in which the State, at the time of the first trial and sentencing, would have been unaware of a prior crime rendering defendant eligible to be sentenced to an extended term. Ante at 534-36, 39 A.3d at 163. In the majority’s view, this construction is clear based upon the unambiguous language of the statute. Ante at 535-36, 39 A.3d at 163.
I respectfully differ from the majority’s view of the import of the statutory language. The Legislature did not use the precise language that it typically does when it conveys the message to which the majority refers. When the Legislature expresses its intent that statutory language shall govern unless, in a given case, it would directly contravene another provision of the statutory scheme, it uses such language as “unless otherwise provided by” *540or “except as otherwise provided.”1 No such language is found in N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5 (b)(1). There, instead of qualifying the limitation on extended term sentences with “unless otherwise provided by” or “except as otherwise provided,” the Legislature chose to modify the word “shall” with the more general phrase “so far as possible.” N.J.S.A 2C:44r-5(b)(l). By virtue of the Legislature’s choice of language, the direction to sentencing courts—not to impose a second extended term when N.J.S.A 2C:44-5(b) applies—is not intended to be absolute. N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5 (b)(1).
The crucial word “possible” has a variety of definitions:
Capable of existing, happening, being, becoming or coming to pass; feasible, not contrary to nature of things; neither necessitated or precluded; free to happen or not; contrasted with impossible. In another sense, the word denotes improbability without excluding the idea of feasibility. It is also sometimes equivalent to “practicable” or “reasonable,” as in some cases where action is required to be taken “as soon as possible.”
[Black’s Laiw Dictionary 1166 (6th ed. 1990).)
In light of this range of definitions, the meaning of the Legislature’s direction that no more than one sentence for an extended term shall be imposed “so far as possible” is not, in my view, obvious from the plain language. For example, if “possible” is defined as “practicable” or “reasonable,” the Legislature intended it to be more broadly construed than the majority suggests.
Accordingly, because the phrase that the Legislature actually chose to convey its meaning is ambiguous, under our rules of statutory construction, the Court may “turn to extrinsic evidence for guidance.” State v. Gandhi 201 N.J. 161, 177, 989 A.2d 256 (2010) (citing Richardson v. Bd. of Trs., Police & Firemen’s Ret. Sys., 192 N.J. 189, 195, 927 A.2d 543 (2007)). As the Court held in DiProspero v. Penn, 183 N.J. 477, 492-93, 874 A.2d 1039 (2005):
*541[I]f there is ambiguity in the statutory language that leads to more than one plausible interpretation, we may turn to extrinsic evidence, “including legislative history, committee reports, and contemporaneous construction.” Cherry Hill Manor Assocs. v. Faugno, 182 N.J. 64, 75, 861 A.2d 123 (2004) (internal quotations omitted). We may also resort to extrinsic evidence if a plain reading of the statute leads to an absurd result or if the overall statutory scheme is at odds with the plain language. See Hubbard ex rel. Hubbard v. Reed, 168 N.J. 387, 392-93, 774 A.2d 495 (2001).
[DiProspero, supra, 183 N.J. at 492-93, 874 A.2d 1089.]
In its interpretation of statutes, the Court is required to effectuate the legislative plan that may be discerned “from the enactment When read in the full light of its history, purpose and context.’ ” State v. Lewis, 185 N.J. 363, 369, 886 A.2d 643 (2005) (quoting State v. Gill, 47 N.J. 441, 444, 221 A.2d 521 (1966)). Importantly, N.J.S.A. 2C:l-2(c) provides:
The provisions of the code shall be construed according to the fair import of then-terms but when the language is susceptible of differing constructions it shall be interpreted to further the general purposes stated in this section and the special purposes of the particular provision involved. The discretionary powers conferred by the code shall be exercised in accordance with the criteria stated in the code and, insofar as such criteria are not decisive, to further the general purposes stated in this section.
[N.J.S.A. 20:1-2 (c).]
The “general purposes” of the Code’s sentencing provisions are:
(1) To prevent and condemn the commission of offenses;
(2) To promote the correction and rehabilitation of offenders;
(3) To insure the public safety by preventing the commission of offenses through the deterrent influence of sentences imposed and the confinement of offenders when required in the interest of public protection;
(4) To safeguard offenders against excessive, disproportionate or arbitrary punishment;
(5) To give fair warning of the nature of the sentences that may be imposed on conviction of an offense;
(6) To differentiate among offenders with a view to a just individualization in their treatment;
(7) To advance the use of generally accepted scientific methods and knowledge in sentencing offenders; and
(8) To promote restitution to victims.
[N.J.S.A. 2C:l-2 (b).]
Further, when determining the legislative intent behind any statute, including N.J.S.A 2C:44-5, “we consider not only the partieu*542lar statute in question, but also the entire legislative scheme of which it is a part.” In re Adoption of Child by W.P., 163 N.J. 158, 168, 748 A.2d 515 (2000) (quoting Cornblatt v. Barow, 153 N.J. 218, 234, 708 A.2d 401 (1998)). As this Court held in State v. Haliski, 140 N.J. 1, 656 A.2d 1246 (1995), “ “whatever be the rule of statutory construction, it is subordinate to the goal of effectuating the legislative plan as it may be gathered from the enactment when read in full light of its history, purpose and context.’ ” Id. at 9, 656 A.2d 1246 (quoting Gill, supra, 47 N.J. at 444, 221 A.2d 521). Statutory interpretations that lead to unreasonable or absurd results “are to be avoided.” Ibid.
The legislative history of N.J.S.A 2C:44-5 is of minimal assistance. The statute was originally enacted in 1978 and was based on Model Penal Code (MPC) § 7.06; the commentary to our Code of Criminal Justice characterizes N.J.S.A 2C:44-5 as “similar to § 7.06 of the Model Penal Code.” N.J.S.A 2C:44-5 (Historical and Statutory Notes). Given the Legislature’s use of MPC § 7.06 as a basis for N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5, the commentary to the relevant MPC section may be consulted by the Court in determining the legislative intent. See State v. D.A., 191 N.J. 158, 167, 923 A.2d 217 (2007). However, that commentary reflects that the limiting language of N.J.S.A 2C:44r-5(b)(l) was primarily intended to address a provision that did not find its way into the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice. MPC § 7.06(l)(c) would have barred consecutive indefinite terms that “exceed in minimum or maximum length the longest extended term authorized for the highest grade and degree of crime for which any of the sentences was imposed!)]” Model Penal Code and Commentaries (MPCC) § 7.06(l)(c) (1985). The commentary provides in part:
Subsection (2) [of MPC § 7.06] is based on the premise that the timing of the trials for multiple charges against a defendant should have as little bearing on the extent of his exposure to consecutive sentences as possible. In other words, the limits on consecutive sentences should apply in like manner when the defendant is tried and sentenced in the same proceeding for multiple offenses and when he is tried separately for each of them, either by the same court or by another comparable court within the same state.
[MPCC, supra, § 7.06, cmt. 3.]
*543However, as the majority notes, ante at 530-31 n. 9, 39 A.3d at 160 n. 9, our Legislature chose not to adopt the provision that is discussed by the drafters, MPC § 7.06(1 )(e)2 See N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5; Richardson v. Nickolopoulos, 110 N.J. 241, 244, 540 A.2d 1246 (1988). Accordingly, the MPC authors’ primary objective in drafting § 7.06(2)(a)—applying MPC § 7.06(l)(c)’s limitation on consecutive sentences when a defendant previously sentenced to imprisonment is subsequently sentenced to another term for an offense committed prior to the former sentence—is irrelevant to N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b)(l), as enacted by the Legislature. The MPC commentary thus provides little guidance to the Court.
One aspect of the legislative history of N.J.S.A. 2C:44-o is important, however. Nothing in the legislative history suggests that the language “so far as possible” was constricted to the narrow meaning ascribed to it by the majority—to exclude from the limitations of NJ.S.A 2C:44-5(a)(2) sentences for offenses involving mandatory extended terms. See ante at 534, 39 A.3d at 162-63. This could not have been the Legislature’s intent, because at the time of the statute’s enactment, there were no such offenses in existence. In 1978, when N.J.S.A 2C:44-5 was enacted, and in 1979, when it was first amended, the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice did not yet include provisions mandating extended terms.3 Nor could the “so far as possible” language *544have been a reference to mandatory extended terms in the MPC, because it contained no mandatory extended sentences at that time. Consequently, there is nothing to suggest that the MPC’s drafters intended the “so far as possible” language to refer to such sentences. It is unlikely that the 1978 Legislature enacted the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice devoid of provisions mandating extended terms, and nonetheless added the “so far as possible” language to N.J.S.A. 2C:44—5(b)(1), for the sole purpose of anticipating a statutory change that was years away. If the Legislature had intended the phrase “so far as possible” to allow for mandatory extended terms that were not part of New Jersey’s Code as it then existed, but only to anticipate a future change in the law to provide for such terms, it would surely have so indicated.
It is, in my view, more likely that the Legislature included the language “so far as possible” in N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b) in order to leave to sentencing judges an essential modicum of discretion to ensure that a given sentence will satisfy the Legislature’s overarching sentencing goals. The Legislature has identified paramount objectives in enacting the sentencing provisions of the Code: deterrence and punishment of crimes, correction and rehabilitation of offenders, promotion of the public safety, and fairness, consistency and “just individualization” in sentencing. N.J.S.A. 2C:l-2(b). N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5 should be construed in accordance with the purpose of the persistent offender extended term statute, N.J.S.A 2C.-44-3, to enhance the punishment for habitual offenders. See State v. Pennington, 154 N.J. 344, 361, 712 A.2d 1133 (1998). Statutory sentencing criteria, not the court calendar, should govern the outcome; extended term sentences imposed in separate proceedings should be no more severe than the maximum sentences that could have been imposed by a single judge in a *545single proceeding. See Richardson, supra, 110 N.J. at 255, 540 A.2d 1246 (sentencing courts should respect the principle that “to the extent possible, sentencing for multiple offenses should not produce disparate results because of the incidental chronology of sentencing”); Meyer v. State Parole Bd., 345 N.J.Super. 424, 430, 785 A.2d 465 (App.Div.2001), certif. denied, 171 N.J. 339, 793 A.2d 717 (2002); State v. Guaman, 271 N.J.Super. 130, 133-34, 638 A.2d 162 (App.Div.1994).
While a limitation to one extended term under N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b) will promote these objectives in most instances, our courts should retain the discretion to consider the nuances of a given case in devising a sentence. A sentencing judge is uniquely situated to identify the unusual situation in which a blanket prohibition on a second extended term would give a persistent offender an unfair and arbitrary advantage, and thereby contravene legislative goals. Construed to preserve such limited discretion, the true significance of the phrase “so far as possible” becomes apparent.
Indeed, N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5 has long been interpreted to permit the imposition of a second extended term, at the discretion of the trial judge, when a defendant who qualifies as a persistent offender under N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3 is sentenced for different crimes in different proceedings. See State v. Williams, 299 N.J.Super. 264, 272-73, 690 A.2d 1082 (App.Div.1997) (N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(a)(2) “does not apply to a situation in which two different courts have imposed extended terms for different offenses”); State v. Reldan, 231 N.J.Super. 232, 238, 555 A.2d 653 (App.Div.1989) (same); Cannel, New Jersey Criminal Code Annotated, comment 2 on N.J.S.A 2C:44-5 (2011) (“The limitation of the statute has no application where extended terms have been imposed by two different courts for different offenses and at different times.”). Contra State v. Pennington, 418 N.J.Super. 548, 14 A.3d 790 (App.Div.2011) (discussed by the majority, ante at 536-37, 39 A.3d at 164). The Legislature is “presumed to be aware of the judicial construction placed on an enactment.” State v. Smith, 197 N.J. 325, 335, 963 A.2d 281 (2009) (quoting State v. Chapland, 187 N.J. *546275, 291, 901 A.2d 351 (2006)). It has not amended the “so far as possible” language of N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b)(l) in the thirty-four years since the statute was enacted, despite the long-standing judicial construction that is rejected by the majority in this ease.
The Legislature’s distinction between sentences imposed in a single proceeding under N.J.SA 2C:44-5(a)(l), which does not contain the “so far as possible” language, and N.J.S.A 2C:44-5(b)(1), which does, is consonant with the legislative purpose if that language is read to grant limited discretion to the sentencing court. When a defendant is sentenced to two or more offenses in the same proceeding, the sentencing court is limited to a single extended term sentence. N.J.S.A 2C:44-5(a)(2); State v. Papasavvas, 163 N.J. 565, 627, 751 A.2d 40 (2000); Pennington, supra, 154 N.J. at 361, 712 A.2d 1133. With all of the defendant’s offenses before it, that court is in a position to impose an extended term for the most serious offense, if warranted by an application of N.J.SA 2C:44-3’s criteria to the specific case.
In contrast, as the majority understands that “so far as possible” limitation, a subsequent sentencing court has no discretion to achieve a similar result. A sentencing court confronted with a defendant previously sentenced to an extended term sentence for a lesser crime and who then appears for sentencing on a higher-degree offense is prohibited fimo choosing the defendant’s most serious offense for the imposition of the extended term. Only if the second sentencing court is afforded sufficient discretion to sentence the defendant to a second extended term can the court ensure that the defendant’s offenses—not an accident of timing— will guide the result.4
*547This case illustrates the appropriate exercise of such discretion. The maximum ordinary term that could have been imposed for defendant’s third-degree offense was five years. N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(a)(3). His sentence in this case, the lowest extended term sentence that could be imposed under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7(a)(4), was five years. Notwithstanding his election to seek severance of his twenty-two-eount indictment, defendant’s sentence was comparable to what a sentencing court could have imposed had defendant been tried, convicted and sentenced in a single proceeding in which the court was limited by N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(a) to a single extended term. Defendant’s sentence was within the statutory range that would have been available to the sentencing court in a combined proceeding. The Legislature’s purpose in enacting N.J.S.A. 20:44-3 and N.J.S.A. 20:44-5 was fully achieved by the trial court’s sentence, and properly construed by the Appellate Division panel that affirmed the sentence.
I disagree with the majority that construing N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5(b) to deprive trial courts of the opportunity to impose an extended term sentence in matters covered by that provision, no matter what the circumstances of the individual case, is either warranted by the language of the statute or consonant with the Legislature’s objectives. Accordingly, I would affirm the determination of the Appellate Division, and I respectfully dissent.

 See, e.g., N.J.S.A. 2C:27-12(b) ("Except as otherwise provided in section----"); NJ.S.A. 2C:52-27 ("Unless otherwise provided by law____”). Notably, the Legislature specifically provided that persons convicted of violating NJ.S.A. 2C:17-8 (tampering with a nuclear plant which results in death) are subject to an extended term "notwithstanding the provisions of NJ.S.A. 2C:44-3.”

 The Legislature also altered a second MPC § 7.06 provision, which is irrelevant itere: MPC § 7.06(l)(b). Had the Legislature adopted that provision verbatim, it would have limited the aggregate time that a defendant could serve consecutive terms in a county correctional facility to a year; instead, the Legislature opted for a limit of eighteen months. NJ.S.A. 2C:44 -5 (a)(1).

 See, e.g., NJ.S.A. 2C:33-28(d) (mandatory extended term for soliciting, recruiting, coercing or threatening a person under eighteen years of age to commit enumerated offenses related to street gangs, enacted in 1999); NJ.S.A. 2C:43-6(c) (mandatory extended term for certain violations of the Graves Act, enacted in 1981); NJ.S.A. 2C:43-6(1) (mandatory extended term for certain drug crimes, enacted in 1987); NJ.S.A. 2C:43-6(g) (mandatory extended term for repeat offendei assault firearm crimes, enacted in 1990); N.J.S.A. 2C:43- 6.4(e) (mandatory extended term for certain crimes committed while serving a special sentence of parole supervision for life, enacted in 1994); NJ.S.A. 2C:43-7.1(b) *544(mandatory extended term for repeat violent offenders, enacted in 1995); N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3 (mandatory extended term for sexual assault in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2, or aggravated sexual assault in violation of NJ.S.A. 2C:14-3, enacted in 1994); NJ.S.A. 2C:44-5.1 (mandatory extended term for certain crimes committed while released on bail, enacted in 1997).

 This is illustrated by the companion case of State v. McDonald, 209 N.J. 78, 35 A.3d 669 (2012). There, the majority of this Court today holds that the defendant, who had been previously sentenced to an extended term for a third-degree crime, could not be sentenced in a subsequent proceeding to an extended term for a second-degree offense, even though the overall sentence would have complied with the range applicable to the more serious offense. By virtue of the Court's construction of NJ.S.A. 2C:44—5(b)(1) to eliminate the sentencing court's *547discretion, the defendant in McDonald will receive a substantial benefit by virtue of the chronology of her sentences.