STATE OF NEW JERSEY v. JUAN NIEVES

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
               APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION

                                   SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
                                   APPELLATE DIVISION
                                   DOCKET NO. A-3756-08T4



STATE OF NEW JERSEY,

         Plaintiff-Respondent,

    v.

JUAN NIEVES,

         Defendant-Appellant.

________________________________________________________________

         Submitted March 16, 2010 - Decided April 15, 2010

         Before Judges Carchman and Lihotz.

         On appeal from the Superior Court of New
         Jersey, Law Division, Passaic County,
         Indictment No. 07-08-1042.

         Triarsi, Betancourt, Walsh & Wukovits,
         L.L.C., attorneys for appellant
         (Steven F. Wukovits, of counsel;
         Richard D. Huxford, on the brief).

         Camelia M. Valdes, Passaic County Prosecutor,
         attorney for respondent (Steven E. Braun,
         Chief Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and
         on the brief).

PER CURIAM

    Defendant Juan Nieves appeals from a February 25, 2009

order of the Law Division denying his application to be admitted

to an Alcohol Inpatient Program.   At the time of the

application, defendant was serving an aggregate four-year

sentence with no parole disqualifier.

     Subsequent to the filing of this appeal, defendant served a

portion of his sentence and was released from prison in December

2009 or early January 2010.1    There is no longer any extant issue

under R. 3:21-10(b),(1), regarding a change in a custodial

sentence to permit defendant to enter an alcohol rehabilitation

program.

     Where there is no remedy that can be afforded defendant nor

issue of public importance requiring our intervention, we will

                               See State v. Hughes, 230 N.J. Super.
dismiss an appeal as moot.

223, 226-27 (App. Div. 1989). There is no challenge to the

underlying conviction or the terms of the sentence other than

the denial of the application for admission to the treatment

program.   The narrow issue is now moot, and we dismiss the

appeal.

     Appeal dismissed as moot.




1
  The record is unclear as to the actual release date; however,
in a communication with defense counsel and the prosecutor, both
acknowledged that defendant had been released.




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