STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. J.A.

 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-6130-03T26130-03T2

STATE OF NEW JERSEY,

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

J.A.,

Defendant-Appellant.

____________________________________

 

Submitted October 11, 2005 - Decided

Before Judges Skillman and Axelrad.

On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Hudson County, Indictment No. 98-04-00673.

J.A., appellant, pro se.

Peter C. Harvey, Attorney General, attorney for respondent (Linda K. Danielson, Deputy Attorney General, of counsel and on the brief).

PER CURIAM

A jury found defendant guilty of aggravated sexual assault, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:14-2a(1); endangering the welfare of a child, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:24-4a; and child abuse, in violation of N.J.S.A. 9:6-1. The court sentenced defendant to an eighteen-year term of imprisonment, with eight years of parole ineligibility, for aggravated sexual assault. The court also imposed a concurrent eight-year term, with four years of parole ineligibility, for endangering the welfare of a child. The court merged defendant's conviction for child abuse into his conviction for endangering the welfare of a child.

On appeal, we affirmed defendant's conviction and sentence, State v. J.A., 337 N.J. Super. 114 (App. Div. 2001), and the Supreme Court denied certification, 169 N.J. 606 (2001).

Subsequently, defendant filed a first petition for post-conviction relief, which the court denied by an opinion and order entered on June 26, 2002. Defendant did not file an appeal from the denial of that petition.

On December 1, 2003, defendant filed a second petition for post-conviction relief. The trial court denied that petition in an oral opinion rendered on January 28, 2004, which was memorialized by an order entered that same day.

On his appeal from the denial of his second petition for post-conviction relief, defendant presents the following arguments:

I. THE TRIAL COURT ERRED IN NOT BRINGING DEFENDANT'S SON, AND [L.B.] TO THE COURT TO TESTIFY THEREBY DEPRIVING DEFENDANT OF A FAIR TRIAL AND HIS RIGHT TO PRESENT DEFENSE.

II. THE COURT ERRED IN DENYING DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR POST-CONVICTION RELIEF BASED ON THE REASONS ON SECTION 2 OF THE ORDER.

We reject these arguments and affirm the denial of defendant's petition substantially for the reasons set forth in the trial court's oral opinion of January 28, 2004. Defendant's arguments are clearly without merit and do not warrant any discussion in addition to the comments set forth in the trial court's opinion. R. 2:11-3(e)(2).

 
Affirmed.

(continued)

(continued)

3

A-6130-03T2

RECORD IMPOUNDED

October 21, 2005