STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. JANEAN OWENS(07-01-00155 AND 07-01-00158, MIDDLESEX COUNTY AND Â STATEWIDE), A-3871-14T3

Background

In 2007 Owens was indicted for the fatal shooting of a victim; a 2009 jury convicted her of aggravated manslaughter and related offenses. She received a 25-year term subject to the No Early Release Act plus concurrent and consecutive terms on other counts.
On direct appeal this court affirmed convictions but modified sentencing and vacated one merged weapons sentence; the Supreme Court denied certification.
Five months after cert denial Owens filed a PCR petition asserting ineffective assistance of trial counsel (IAC) for failing to: (1) vigorously advocate at sentencing, (2) call Dr. Gerald Cooke to support diminished capacity/intoxication, and (3) assert a duress defense. She also claimed due process violations from a witness in jail clothing and a juror who nodded off.
The trial court had previously excluded some of Dr. Cooke’s proposed testimony on duress at a pretrial hearing; Cooke had testified in suppression proceedings that Owens had borderline personality traits, substance dependence, low–average intellect, and was susceptible to manipulation but did not opine she was so intoxicated as to lack purposeful or knowing conduct.
The PCR court denied relief without an evidentiary hearing; Owens appealed arguing the court should have found prima facie IAC and remanded for a hearing.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Owens)	Held
Whether trial counsel was ineffective for failing to present diminished capacity/intoxication evidence	PCR court: Owens failed to plead specific facts showing counsel’s performance was deficient or prejudice; intoxication alone is not a mental disease and Cooke did not say she was incapacitated	Trial counsel should have called Dr. Cooke to testify that Owens was intoxicated and lacked the requisite mental state	Denied. Court held intoxication is not a Chapter 4 mental disease and Cooke did not opine incapacitating intoxication; statutory and case law foreclose the claim and no reasonable probability of a different outcome was shown.
Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to assert duress defense	PCR court: pretrial exclusion limited Cooke’s duress testimony; Owens offered only speculation that a duress defense would have reduced murder to manslaughter	Counsel should have pursued and presented duress evidence from Cooke to show coercion by co-defendant and obtain a lesser conviction	Denied. Court found claim without sufficient factual support; prior pretrial ruling and speculative nature of relief made the IAC claim inadequate.
Whether PCR court erred by denying an evidentiary hearing on IAC claims	State: Owens did not allege specific, credible facts establishing a prima facie IAC claim requiring a hearing	Owens argued factual gaps require live testimony and development at a hearing	Denied. Court applied Strickland/Preciose standards and found Owens failed to allege specific facts warranting a hearing.
Other collateral claims (juror sleeping, witness in prison clothing, sentencing advocacy)	State: claims were alleged but not shown to be prejudicial or supported by specific facts	Owens argued these undermined a fair trial and effective representation at sentencing	Denied. Court summarily rejected these contentions as insufficiently particularized to warrant relief.

Key Cases Cited

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-part test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
State v. Preciose, 129 N.J. 451 (1992) (prima facie IAC claims entitle defendant to an evidentiary hearing)
State v. Cameron, 104 N.J. 42 (1986) (intoxication is not a mental disease under Chapter 4)
State v. Baum, 224 N.J. 147 (2016) (limitations on intoxication defenses when recklessness suffices for elements)
State v. Fritz, 105 N.J. 42 (1987) (counsel performance and prejudice framework under Strickland)