New Jersey Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

In this case, the defendant won on appeal by arguing that his attorney misinformed him of the consequences of his guilty plea re: Megan's Law tier classification.

State v. R.E., unpublished opinion, App. Div. Docket No. A-4655-07T4 (December 4, 2009) - Denial of PCR reversed, case remanded for new hearing. "The paramount issues before us are whether defendant's defense counsel not only provided defendant with constitutionally deficient advice concerning the direct or indirect Megan's Law consequences that he faced if convicted pursuant to the plea bargain, but also whether he suffered prejudice even if he was misinformed.

It is the second prong of this framework that suffers from an unfinished analysis, and which impels our order of remand.... The issue here is not that defendant failed to understand that he was subject to Megan's Law. Rather, it is defendant's stance that he was misinformed as to the extent of his exposure to a tier reclassification by pleading guilty, which was unfortunately compounded by the court's statement at sentencing that

'I don't think you're subject to Megan's Law anyhow, so that's not a concern right now.' This statement, albeit accurate insofar as the immediate criminal sexual contact charge was concerned, would lead a person in defendant's circumstances to reasonably believe that the new conviction would have no impact whatsoever on his extant Megan's Law status.

The absence of any comment by defendant's defense counsel, either to clarify the sentencing judge's statement on the record or to consult privately with defendant and advise him otherwise, reinforced the potential for misapprehension.... Given the significance to all concerned -- the defendant, the State, and the community -- of tier classifications, we cannot confidently say that defendant did or did not receive the effective assistance of counsel when he acceded to the plea agreement and fulfilled his part of the plea bargain.

That the effect of that event was not felt until several months later, when defendant's tier classification was reviewed and increased, does not detract from our uneasiness with the truncated process that defendant received in January and February 2006. All we direct is that the PCR judge conduct a limited further hearing, with or without testimony in his discretion, to explore whether, in light of Slater and what we have determined regarding the performance of defendant's former counsel, defendant should be entitled to withdraw his guilty plea." (Richard Sparaco, Designated Counsel)
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/a4655-07.pdf

In this case, the defendant's criminal defense attorney allegedly failed to inform the defendant, who was underage at the time he committed a sex offense, that he would not be able to be removed from the Megan's Law registry upon his 18th birthday. The defendant successfully argued on appeal that this materially influenced his decision to plead guilty.

State in the Matter of Registrant B.A., unpublished opinion, App. Div. Docket Nos. A-0109-08T1 and A-1997-08T1 (December 16, 2009) - Order denying motion to be relieved of Megan's Law registration requirements affirmed, order denying motion to withdraw guilty plea reversed, case remanded for evidentiary hearing.

"The court, the defense attorney, and by silence, the assistant prosecutor, were unaware of the fact that B.A. was not eligible to apply for relief from Megan's Law registration requirements when he turned eighteen unless he was under fourteen years of age at the time of the commission of the offense.

B.A. asserts that he relied upon this mistaken impression of what was required under Megan's Law in seeking to withdraw his guilty plea, arguing that it materially influenced him to enter a guilty plea.... B.A. contends that he entered his guilty plea believing that he would be eligible to apply for relief from Megan's Law registration requirements when he became eighteen years old.

This belief was fortified by the colloquy between the trial court and his then-counsel. The State made no objection or comment. As a consequence, he reasonably anticipated that he could petition for relief when he turned eighteen.... [T]he trial court did not even consider the mistaken impression conveyed to B.A. at the time he entered his plea.... On remand, the trial court will have to hold a hearing to explore the issue of the materiality of this misimpression to determine whether a plea withdrawal is appropriate. (Jane M. Personette)
http://www.judiciary.state.nj.us/opinions/a0109-08a1997-08.pdf