STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. JAMES DAVIS

 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-2648-06T52648-06T5

STATE OF NEW JERSEY,

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

JAMES DAVIS,

Defendant-Appellant.

_________________________________________________

 

Submitted December 12, 2007 - Decided

Before Judges Stern and Collester.

On appeal from the Superior Court of New

Jersey, Law Division, Essex County,

Indictment No. 98-12-4855 and 99-01-0231.

James Davis, appellant pro se.

Paula T. Dow, Essex County Prosecutor,

attorney for respondent (Maryann K. Lynch,

Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on

the brief).

PER CURIAM

Defendant appeals from the denial, on November 28, 2006, of his motion for change or reduction of sentence and transfer to a drug treatment program under R. 3:21-10(b)(1).

Defendant was sentenced in September 1999 to concurrent twenty year terms with 85% to be served before parole eligibility under the No Early Release Act (NERA) for two carjackings. On direct appeal the NERA component was vacated under State v. Burford, 163 N.J. 16 (2000). His prior application in 2003 under the same rule was denied, and we affirmed that order.

Defendant has served nine years (including 336 days of jail credit) of his twenty-year sentences for carjacking. There is a letter in the record from the Department of Corrections' ombudsman stating that defendant is drug dependent and needs treatment, and he may need such assistance before returning to the streets on parole. However, defendant submitted no evaluation of his dependency, and refers to no program indicating a willingness to enroll him. Thus, there is no basis for finding that Judge Vichness abused his discretion in denying the application. See State v. Davis, 68 N.J. 69, 86 (1975); State v. Robinson, 148 N.J. Super. 278, 285 (App. Div. 1977); State v. McKinney, 140 N.J. Super. 160, 163-64 (App. Div. 1976). See also R. 2:11-3(e)(2); R. 3:21-10(c).

Affirmed.

 

The offenses occurred before June 29, 2001. See N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2.

The Law Division's order provided that defendant's "Pre-Sentence Report makes no reference to any substance abuse issues. In fact, Defendant Davis denied the use of any illegal substance . . . ."

(continued)

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A-2648-06T5

January 2, 2008