STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. EARL AUSTIN (12-02-0309, HUDSON COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-5251-17T3

Background

In May 2011 Austin pled guilty to a CDS offense and, while awaiting sentencing, shot A.A. three times in a vehicle; A.A. died and Austin turned himself in.
A 2012 indictment charged Austin with homicide and related weapon/robbery counts; in January 2015 he pled guilty to aggravated manslaughter (amended count) under a deal capping exposure at 15 years and preserved argument for a lesser term.
In March 2015 Austin was sentenced to 15 years subject to the No Early Release Act (NERA); concurrent sentence on the drug charge. His direct appeal was affirmed.
In July 2017 Austin filed a PCR petition alleging ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to investigate and advise regarding defenses (defense of others, lack of actus reus), failing to investigate a purported witness recantation, and misadvising him about sentence length.
Austin submitted an unsigned investigator’s report asserting a witness recanted; at plea allocution Austin admitted firing three shots and causing the death. The PCR court denied relief without an evidentiary hearing and the Appellate Division affirmed.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether defendant made a prima facie showing to warrant an evidentiary PCR hearing on ineffective assistance claims	Defendant's allegations were bald, unsupported by affidavits or evidentiary proof; trial allocution and conduct contradicted his new theory	Trial counsel failed to investigate or pursue defenses; an evidentiary hearing would develop recantation and other proof	Denied — no prima facie showing; unsigned, unauthenticated report and allocution defeat claim, so no hearing required
Whether counsel was ineffective for failing to investigate or present defenses (defense of others; lack of actus reus)	No proof counsel knew of any viable defense or recanted witness; claims speculative	Counsel failed to investigate video evidence and witness statements that would have supported self-defense/defense-of-others theory	Denied — performance and prejudice not established under Strickland/Fritz; allegations speculative and unsupported
Whether counsel misled Austin about sentencing so plea was involuntary	Court and plea forms clearly established the 15-year cap and judge confirmed defendant’s understanding at allocution	Counsel told Austin he would get 10 years, so plea was not knowing/voluntary and induced by bad advice	Denied — plea was knowing and voluntary; Nuñez-Valdéz/Lafler standard not met; defendant affirmed understanding at plea allocution
Whether cumulative errors merit relief	No meaningful individual errors shown; cumulative-speculation cannot establish prejudice	Multiple counsel errors cumulatively deprived him of fair proceedings and forced plea	Denied — no individual errors proven, so cumulative-error doctrine does not apply

Key Cases Cited

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984) (two-prong standard for ineffective assistance: performance and prejudice)
State v. Fritz, 105 N.J. 42 (1987) (New Jersey adoption of Strickland standard)
Lafler v. Cooper, 566 U.S. 156 (2012) (Strickland principles apply to plea advice)
Missouri v. Frye, 566 U.S. 134 (2012) (counsel's duty to communicate plea offers and competent plea advice)
State v. Nuñez-Valdéz, 200 N.J. 129 (2010) (standard for vacating a plea based on ineffective assistance: competence and reasonable probability defendant would have gone to trial)
State v. Cummings, 321 N.J. Super. 154 (App. Div. 1999) (prima facie PCR claim requires more than bald assertions)
State v. Peoples, 446 N.J. Super. 245 (App. Div. 2016) (mere assertion of ineffective assistance does not automatically trigger hearing)
State v. Echols, 199 N.J. 344 (2009) (burden on PCR petitioner to prove entitlement to relief by preponderance)
State v. DiFrisco, 174 N.J. 195 (2002) (right to competent counsel measured by prevailing professional norms)
State v. Castagna, 187 N.J. 293 (2006) (deficient performance is conduct outside the wide range of professionally competent assistance)
State v. McDonald, 211 N.J. 4 (2012) (discussion of Strickland/Fritz application in New Jersey)