STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. TROY J. HENDERSON (13-09-0786, UNION COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-5383-14T4

Defendant Shaun Stukes was convicted after a jury trial of second-degree unlawful possession (N.J.S.A. 2C:39-7(b)(1)) and sentenced to an extended 14-year term with seven years parole ineligibility.
A sheriff's officer who transported inmates (including, defendant says, Stukes) served as a juror; defendant claimed he recognized the officer from repeated transports and objected to his serving.
At trial, defense counsel discussed the officer with defendant; counsel recommended keeping the officer on the jury because he was an impartial, intelligent African-American juror and noted the difficulty of obtaining African-American jurors in Atlantic County.
At the post-conviction relief (PCR) plenary hearing, defendant testified he told counsel to strike the officer (and that counsel said she had no peremptories left), while counsel testified defendant agreed to accept the juror and never said he personally knew the officer.
The officer testified to a vague recollection of transporting defendant but denied that familiarity influenced his verdict or was disclosed to other jurors.
The PCR court credited trial counsel, found defendant’s testimony contradictory and incredible, noted defense had remaining challenges when it accepted the jury, and denied PCR. The Appellate Division affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether counsel was ineffective for not striking a juror who was a sheriff's officer with a vague recollection of transporting defendant	Counsel exercised strategic judgment to keep an African-American, apparently impartial juror; representation was reasonable	Counsel failed to remove a juror known to defendant, depriving him of effective assistance and warranting relief	Counsel was not ineffective; PCR court’s credibility findings supported denial of relief

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (establishes two-part ineffective-assistance test)
State v. Fritz, 105 N.J. 42 (adoption of Strickland in New Jersey)
State v. Holmes, 290 N.J. Super. 302 (prejudice requires result be fundamentally unfair or unreliable)
State v. Allegro, 193 N.J. 352 (deference to counsel’s trial judgment)
State v. Castagna, 187 N.J. 293 (limits on overturning convictions for tactical choices)
State v. Bey, 161 N.J. 233 (failed strategy alone does not prove ineffectiveness)
State v. Nash, 212 N.J. 518 (deference to PCR court credibility findings)