STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. CASSEY GROSS(07-11-2589, MONMOUTH COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-1716-14T1

Background

Cassey Gross pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to first-degree conspiracy to commit murder; the State dismissed a murder count and recommended a 15-year term with an 85% parole disqualifier under the No Early Release Act.
Defendant was sentenced March 9, 2010 in Monmouth County consistent with the plea.
Gross appealed under Rule 2:9-11 challenging sentence length and the adequacy of her factual allocution; the Appellate Division affirmed.
Gross filed a pro se PCR petition (Oct. 24, 2012) alleging ineffective assistance of trial counsel for failing to challenge the sufficiency of her factual basis; counsel was replaced during PCR proceedings.
PCR counsel sought broad discovery (the prosecutor’s file comprises multiple boxes); the prosecutor refused wholesale copying but offered to provide specific documents; the PCR judge denied a motion to compel discovery based on State v. Marshall; the PCR petition was denied on the merits.
On appeal from the denial of PCR, the Appellate Division affirmed, finding the plea allocution adequate, the ineffective-assistance claims meritless or procedurally barred, and the PCR judge acted within Marshall when denying broad discovery.

Issues

Issue	State's Argument	Gross's Argument	Held
Adequacy of factual basis for guilty plea to conspiracy	Allocution met elements of conspiracy; admissions that she participated in meeting, was a Bloods member, and that plan was formed and executed satisfied the statute	Allocution was insufficient and trial counsel should have objected or investigated further	Held: Allocution adequate; no reversible error; review de novo and elements satisfied
Ineffective assistance of trial counsel for not challenging allocution or failing to investigate	Even if performance deficient, Gross cannot show prejudice — no reasonable probability she would have rejected plea; issue also procedurally barred by prior appeal	Trial counsel was silent during untrustworthy allocution and failed to interview co-defendant, warranting an evidentiary hearing	Held: Claim denied — no prejudice shown and issue previously raised on direct appeal (procedurally barred)
Ineffective assistance of appellate counsel for using Rule 2:9-11 summary process instead of plenary appeal	Appellate counsel raised allocution adequacy in Rule 2:9-11 proceeding; no deprivation of effective assistance	Using summary process prevented fuller challenge to factual basis	Held: Claim lacks merit and does not warrant relief
PCR discovery motion to compel broad production of prosecutor’s files	Wide discovery not required in PCR; Marshall limits PCR discovery and requires specificity; State offered to produce specific documents upon request	PCR counsel demanded full file review and copying to identify needed materials	Held: Denial of broad discovery affirmed; discovery in PCR is limited and must be particularized; trial court acted within its discretion

Key Cases Cited

State v. Marshall, 148 N.J. 89 (limits PCR discovery; requires narrow, specific requests)
State v. Afanador, 151 N.J. 41 (PCR as state analogue to habeas corpus)
Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (two-prong test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
State v. Fritz, 105 N.J. 42 (adoption of Strickland standards in New Jersey)
State v. Tate, 220 N.J. 393 (de novo review of factual-basis sufficiency for guilty pleas)
State v. Pierre-Louis, 216 N.J. 577 (cited authority applying ineffective-assistance standards)
State v. Mitchell, 126 N.J. 565 (burden on defendant in PCR to show injustice if petition barred)
State v. Herrera, 211 N.J. 308 (quoted guidance on limited PCR discovery and when to order disclosure)
State v. Ramseur, 106 N.J. 123 (prosecutor’s duty to seek justice)