State v. Goodwin

• Citation: 173 N.J. 583,803 A.2d 102
• Parties: STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. David GOODWIN, Defendant-Respondent.
• Decision Date: 06 August 2002
• Court: United States State Supreme Court (New Jersey)

803 A.2d 102

173 N.J. 583

STATE of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. David GOODWIN, Defendant-Respondent.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Argued April 30, 2002.

Decided August 6, 2002.

Susan B. Gyss, Assistant Prosecutor, argued the cause for appellant (Fred J. Theemling, Jr., Hudson County Prosecutor, attorney).

Frank J. Pugliese, Assistant Deputy Public Defender, argued the cause for respondent (Peter A. Garcia, Acting Public Defender, attorney).

Erik W. Daab, Deputy Attorney General, argued the cause for amicus curiae Attorney General of New Jersey (Peter C. Harvey, Acting Attorney General, attorney).

Lawrence S. Lustberg, Newark and Shavar D. Jeffries, Washington, DC, submitted a letter brief on behalf of amicus curiae Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey (Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione, attorneys, Newark). The opinion of the Court was delivered by ZAZZALI, J.

This appeal concerns whether the second petition for post-conviction relief brought by defendant, David Goodwin, is barred by Rule 3:22-12. We also must consider whether the nature of the allegations in his petition for post-conviction relief are sufficient to require relaxation of the five-year time bar.

Eight years after he had been sentenced on his convictions of felony murder, armed robbery and unlawful possession of a handgun, defendant filed this second petition for post-conviction relief. His petition was filed well beyond the five-year deadline established by Rule 3:22-12 and is thus time-barred. This case does not present excusable neglect under Rule 3:22-12 such that relaxation of the procedural bar is justified. Nor do the interests of justice require relaxation.

I

On February 11, 1989, defendant David Goodwin drove Ronald Henderson, his cousin Willie Henderson, and Timothy White to Hoboken, New Jersey. On that day, Ronald Henderson shot James Wheeler to death. In his taped statement to police, Henderson stated that defendant told him to shoot Wheeler. Henderson later testified at defendant's trial under a grant of testimonial use immunity and denied the portion of his taped statement to the effect that defendant ordered him to shoot Wheeler. The relevant portion of his taped statement was played to the jury and admitted as substantive evidence.

Henderson also testified that defendant gave him the gun used to shoot Wheeler and that, prior to the shooting, both defendant and White identified Wheeler as they drove past him on the street. According to Henderson, he and his cousin then exited defendant's car and approached Wheeler. A brief struggle ensued, resulting in the fatal shooting of Wheeler. Henderson testified that he and his cousin fled the scene and met defendant who drove them to a mall. At that point, Henderson returned the gun to defendant and observed him put the gun in his trunk. Henderson testified that he and defendant communicated by "walkie-talkie" during the shooting and that defendant was supposed to pay him $1,500 for shooting Wheeler.

Wheeler's cousins, BaShawn Darden and Herman Darden, also testified on behalf of the State. Both witnesses testified that, immediately before the shooting, they observed defendant's car driving slowly down the street. They also testified that they observed White in defendant's car pointing in Wheeler's direction. Both BaShawn and Herman testified that they knew and recognized defendant.

Approximately thirty minutes after the shooting occurred, Officers John Alvarez and Dennis Figueroa, who were on patrol in a marked police car, received a transmission from headquarters "that they were looking for a gray four-door vehicle wanted in connection with a homicide that had occurred approximately one-half hour to an hour before in the Projects area." The description, based on information provided by eyewitnesses at the scene of the crime, included the vehicle's license plate number. Officer Figueroa had been at the scene of the incident and was told by two informants that defendant was driving the car observed at the time of the shooting.

Shortly thereafter, the officers observed defendant driving a car matching the description radioed to them from police headquarters. Officers Alvarez and Figueroa subsequently stopped the vehicle, which contained four men including defendant. The officers patted down the occupants and secured them in two police vehicles. According to police testimony, defendant was arrested when his vehicle was stopped. Before defendant and the other occupants of the car were transported to police headquarters, Officer Alvarez entered the car and observed a green and white cigarette box on the floor in the back. Officer Alvarez opened the box and discovered two vials of cocaine.¹ Shortly thereafter, Officer Alvarez observed leather tassels hanging from the underside of the dashboard. When he pulled at the tassels, a black leather pouch dropped down. Officer Alvarez opened the pouch and found two .38 caliber bullets.

At headquarters, the police informed defendant of his Miranda rights. Sergeant Paul DiMartino and Investigator Patrick Sorrentino then questioned defendant. Initially, defendant denied any knowledge of the shooting. Investigator Bartucci subsequently took over the questioning and readministered defendant's Miranda rights. Defendant then gave a taped statement. At that point, defendant admitted his involvement in the shooting, but claimed that White had hired the Hendersons to rob or shoot Wheeler because Wheeler had been robbing White's drug dealers. Defendant admitted that he drove the Hendersons to and from the scene of the crime, but stated that he had not planned to do so. Later that night, defendant told the police where he had hidden the gun used in the shooting. That gun was determined to be the gun used to shoot Wheeler.

Defendant testified at trial that he had no prior knowledge of the plan to rob or shoot Wheeler and that he had spoken to no one about such a plan. He claimed that he told the Hendersons to get out of his car and that he did not arrange to meet them after the shooting. Defendant testified that he had parked his car to talk to his cousin when the Hendersons happened by and asked him for a ride back to Newark. Although he admitted that there were "walkie-talkies" in his car, he denied that he used them during the shooting. That testimony was contradicted when his earlier taped statement was played for the jury.²

In October 1990, the jury convicted defendant of felony murder, armed robbery, and unlawful possession of a handgun. On November 30, 1990, defendant was sentenced to an aggregate sentence of thirty years imprisonment with a thirty-year parole disqualifier. In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division affirmed defendant's convictions in March 1993. We denied certification. State v. Goodwin, 134 N.J. 475, 634 A.2d 522 (1993).

In January 1994, defendant filed a timely pro se petition for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel. The petition was dismissed without a hearing or appointment of counsel. Defendant filed a motion for reconsideration, which was granted, and counsel was appointed. After oral argument, the court again dismissed the petition on the ground that defendant failed to meet even the first prong of the test for ineffective assistance of counsel. The Appellate Division affirmed the dismissal, finding that defendant failed to state a prima facie claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. Once again, we denied defendant's petition for certification. State v. Goodwin, 153 N.J. 214, 708 A.2d 64 (1998).

On August 4, 1998, defendant filed a second petition for post-conviction relief, again alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel. After a hearing on the petition in July 1999, the court dismissed defendant's petition based on Rule 3:22-12, Rule 3:22-4, and Rule 3:22-5. The trial court explained that defendant previously had litigated the claim of ineffective assistance of counsel and that even if defendant had not raised the same claim his petition was time-barred and defendant had failed to demonstrate excusable neglect. The court also briefly addressed the merits of defendant's petition and concluded that the search of defendant's vehicle was supported by probable cause.

In an unpublished opinion, the Appellate Division reversed the dismissal of the second petition and remanded the matter to the trial court for an evidentiary hearing. The court found that although defendant filed his second petition for post-conviction relief beyond the limitations period, the delay was excusable due to ineffective assistance of counsel. Additionally, the court found that the issue presented raised substantial constitutional questions and thus the "interests of justice" required a relaxation of the five-year time bar. Finally, the Appellate Division found that Rule 3:22-5, which bars a defendant from raising claims that already have been adjudicated, did not prevent defendant from proceeding. The court reasoned that defendant asserted a specific constitutional issue that had yet to be adjudicated, namely, that defendant's constitutional rights had been violated when he received ineffective assistance of counsel.

We granted certification. 171 N.J. 40, 791 A.2d 219 (2002). We also granted the motions of the Attorney General and the Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of New Jersey to participate as amicus curiae.

II

A

"Post-conviction relief is New Jersey's analogue to the federal writ of habeas corpus." State v. Preciose, 129 N.J. 451, 459, 609 A.2d 1280 (1992). Rule 3:22-2 sets forth four grounds for post conviction relief: (a) "substantial denial in the conviction proceedings" of a defendant's state or federal constitutional rights; (b) a sentencing court's lack of jurisdiction; (c) an unlawful sentence; and (d) any habeas corpus, common-law, or statutory grounds for a collateral attack. A petitioner must establish...