STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. ROBERT COOKE, III

 

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE

APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY

APPELLATE DIVISION

DOCKET NO. A-5538-05T15538-05T1

STATE OF NEW JERSEY,

Plaintiff-Respondent,

v.

ROBERT COOKE, III,

Defendant-Appellant.

______________________________________________

 

Submitted January 18, 2007 - Decided March 26, 2007

Before Judges Stern and Lyons.

On appeal from the Superior Court of New

Jersey, Law Division, Essex County,

Docket No. MA-2005-12.

Serruto & Associates, attorneys for appellant

(Roger A. Serruto, of counsel; David E. Gray,

on the brief).

Paula T. Dow, Essex County Prosecutor, attorney

for respondent (Lucille M. Rosano, Assistant

Prosecutor, of counsel and on the brief).

PER CURIAM

The judgment of conviction for driving while intoxicated, in violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-50, is affirmed substantially for the reasons expressed by Judge Joseph C. Cassini, III, in his oral opinion of November 17, 2006. See State v. Locurto, 157 N.J. 463, 470-71 (1999). The record supports the finding at trial de novo that Lt. William Sona lawfully stopped defendant after defendant approached the officer while driving at a "high rate of speed," then "slow[ed] down drastically" as he approached the officer, and finally stopped at a red light "well past the stop line of Park Place and into the intersection." We agree with Judge Cassini that:

The record below established that the defendant did stop after the white line in violation of the statute. This violation [of N.J.S.A. 39:4-105] gave Detective Sona objectively reasonable justification to stop the defendant and [the] fact that the officer did not issue a summons for that, I don't believe, is of any moment with respect to this case.

We further agree with the judge that the fact that the officer may have articulated the basis for the stop on another principle of law is not dispositive because he observed a motor vehicle violation and, in any event, had "an objectively reasonable basis that a law ha[d] been violated . . . ."

 
State v. Puzio, 379 N.J. Super. 378 (App. Div. 2005), on which defendant relies, is distinguishable because Lt. Sona actually observed a motor vehicle violation or at least had an "objectively reasonable" basis for stopping defendant based on what he observed. Id. at 383.

Affirmed.

(continued)

(continued)

2

A-5538-05T1

March 26, 2007