State in Interest of J.C.
| Decision Date | 12 June 2019 |
| Docket Number | DOCKET NO. A-1613-18T2 |
| Parties | STATE OF NEW JERSEY IN THE INTEREST OF J.C., a Juvenile. |
| Court | New Jersey Superior Court — Appellate Division |
RECORD IMPOUNDED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court." Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.
Before Judges Simonelli and Firko.
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Chancery Division, Family Part, Cumberland County, Docket No. FJ-06-0057-18.
Jennifer Webb-McRae, Cumberland County Prosecutor, attorney for appellant State of New Jersey (Deirdre M. MacFeeters, Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the briefs).
Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney for respondent J.C. (John W. Douard, Assistant Deputy Public Defender, of counsel and on the brief).
J.C., a juvenile, was charged with one count of first-degree sexual assault under N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(a)(1) based upon allegations that he anally penetrated his younger brother. The trial judge ordered a competency evaluation of J.C. pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:4-5. Two reports were provided by a licensed psychologist, and J.C. moved to dismiss the complaint based upon lack of mental capacity to proceed. Following a competency hearing, the trial judge dismissed the charges against J.C., finding he was incompetent to stand trial. The State appeals the order dismissing the charges against J.C., arguing the trial judge did not follow proper competency procedures and failed to make findings as to whether J.C. is a danger to himself and others. For the following reasons, we reverse and remand.
We derive the following facts from the record. On April 12, 2017, Officer Joseph Cooper of the Vineland Police Department was dispatched to an elementary school to investigate a reported suspicious circumstance. Upon arrival, the principal advised Cooper that a student, eight-year-old E.Z., told her his brother, twelve-year-old J.C., had "humped" him that morning. E.Z. told the principal J.C. was clothed during the incident but he had removed E.Z.'s clothes. After leaving the school, Cooper spoke to the children's mother who reported observing J.C. "jumping away from" E.Z. that morning. She also mentioned that after questioning her sons about what they were doing, E.Z. told her J.C. was"humping" him. E.Z. later told her J.C. had "pulled down his pants and tried to put it in his butt."
After speaking with the mother, Cooper contacted the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office and the children, along with their mother, were transported to the prosecutor's office for questioning. A detective interviewed E.Z., and he disclosed that J.C. "held him down by his arms and legs and 'humped' him [that] morning[,]" while E.Z. was lying naked on his stomach and J.C. was clothed. E.Z. stated J.C. "put his penis on his body" and E.Z. could not tell him to stop because J.C. had covered E.Z.'s mouth with his hand. E.Z. also reported other acts of sexual contact with J.C. and explained the incidents occurred while his mother was asleep in another bedroom. E.Z. stated J.C. had inserted his penis into E.Z.'s mouth on multiple occasions, and inside his buttocks on April 11, 2017, and on April 12, 2017, the date of the interview.
J.C. was also interviewed. During his interview, J.C. admitted to "humping" E.Z. and putting his penis in E.Z.'s mouth earlier that morning, and he "admitted that he did stick his penis inside of [E.Z's] buttocks on Monday, April 10[], 2017." He also admitted to two incidents of anal sexual contact, and one incident of oral sexual contact with E.Z. After the interview was concluded, J.C. told his mother "he didn't want to live anymore and advised that he wantedto hurt himself." The detective called 911 as a result of this disclosure, and J.C. was hospitalized for crisis intervention, evaluation, and treatment.
On July 21, 2017, J.C. was charged with one count of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2(a)(1), as a result of the allegation that he anally penetrated E.Z. on April 11, 2017. On January 29, 2018, a prior judge ordered the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (Division) to provide a competency evaluation of J.C. pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:4-5. On March 27, 2018, Richard T. Barr, Ed.D. conducted an intellectual evaluation of J.C., and provided a written report dated March 31, 2018.
On April 3, 2018, J.C.'s counsel moved to dismiss the juvenile complaint based on Barr's report. The prior judge ruled J.C. "lacked the fitness to proceed at [that] time," and she inactivated the juvenile complaint for three months. On April 20, 2018, the State filed a motion to reconsider the judge's April 3, 2018 ruling and for leave to amend the order to schedule a competency hearing for J.C. Following oral argument on May 29 and 30, 2018, the judge denied the State's motion without prejudice, pending receipt of a second report from Barr.
On May 31, 2018, Barr conducted a second psychological-intellectual evaluation of J.C. and issued a supplemental report. On September 21, 2018,defense counsel filed a motion to dismiss the juvenile complaint based on J.C.'s lack of mental competence to proceed under N.J.S.A. 2C:4-4.
The trial judge held a competency hearing in connection with the motion on November 15, 2018. At the hearing, the trial judge qualified Barr as an expert witness in the field of psychology, and Barr opined as to J.C.'s competency to stand trial. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial judge granted the motion, dismissed the charges against J.C. with prejudice pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:4-6(c), and granted the State's request for a stay pending appeal.
On appeal, the State argues:
The State argues it is not requesting that J.C. be deemed competent to stand trial, but it did not stipulate to J.C.'s lack of competence to stand trial. The State also raises concerns about competency procedures going forward and requiring appropriate procedures to be followed. We do not provide advisory opinions. "The notion that a court of appeals willy-nilly can decide issues unnecessary to the outcome of the case results in the wholesale issuance of advisory opinions, a practice our judicial decision-making system categorically rejects." State v. Rose, 206 N.J. 141, 189 (2011); see De Vesa v. Dorsey, 134 N.J. 420, 428 (1993) (); see also Indep. Realty Co. v. Twp. of N. Bergen, 376 N.J. Super. 295, 301 (App. Div. 2005) (). Since the State's position is equivocal, we will address the issues raised.
State v. Jenewicz, 193 N.J. 440, 455 (2008) (quoting State v. Torres, 183 N.J. 554, 572 (2005)). Similarly, "our role in reviewing the decisions of a trial judge respecting competence [is] 'typically, and properly, highly deferential.'" State v. M.J.K., 369 N.J. Super. 532, 548 (App. Div. 2004) (quoting State v. Moya, 329 N.J. Super. 499, 506 (App. Div. 2000)).
An "abuse of discretion only arises on demonstration of 'manifest error or injustice[,]'" Hisenaj v. Kuehner, 194 N.J. 6, 20 (2008) (quoting Torres, 183 N.J. at 572), and occurs when the trial judge's "decision [was] made without a rational explanation, inexplicably departed from established policies, or rested on an impermissible basis." United States v. Scurry, 193 N.J. 492, 504 (2008) (alteration in original) (quoting Flagg v. Essex Cty. Prosecutor, 171 N.J. 561, 571 (2002)).
At the November 15, 2018 competency hearing, the trial judge qualified Barr as an expert in psychology, and noted he lacked expertise in respect of statutes pertaining to competency to stand trial but he had "a long education and years of experience in the field of psychology." The trial judge found:
I do recognize [Barr] as an expert in the field of psychology, and clearly . . . questions can be asked of him and challenges can be made to him . . . that he is not a forensic psychologist or that he does not have sufficient expertise in the field. [Those] are determinations that this [c]ourt has to make. This [c]ourt has to apply the statutory standards after listening to the testimony and evidence presented to me, and . . . has to decide whether or not this particular doctor has sufficient expertise in the field of knowledge that the [c]ourt has to make a determination of. But, I do find that with the education and experience that [] Barr has, that he is an expert in the field of psychology as of this point, and I will recognize him as that, and allow him to testify as that.
The State argues that the trial judge's decision to qualify Barr as an...
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