STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. CHRISTOPHER C. SCHWARTZ (15-11-1962 AND 15-12-2070, MONMOUTH COUNTY AND STATEWIDE)
A-2572-18
N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div.Jun 25, 2021Background
- Defendant faced two consolidated indictments arising from separate narcotics investigations: six undercover heroin buys (May–June 2015) and a traffic stop following a confidential informant tip (August 2015).
- Six undercover buys produced at least 17 "bricks" of heroin (aggregated to second-degree weight); separate car search after traffic stop produced ~102 bricks (≈5,112 wax envelopes) and suspected cocaine.
- Officer Spitale stopped defendant for motor-vehicle violations (failure to signal; obstructed temporary plate), saw pornographic-magazine–wrapped rectangular packages on the driver-side floor, believed them to be heroin, seized them, arrested defendant, and later obtained a warrant for full vehicle search.
- Trial court denied defendant's suppression motion, finding the stop lawful and the packages identifiable as heroin under the plain-view doctrine; defendant pleaded guilty (open plea) and the State sought a mandatory extended term under the CDRA (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(f)).
- Sentencing court merged counts, treated defendant as qualifying for a mandatory extended term, and imposed the statutory maximum on count 24: 20 years with 10 years parole ineligibility; all sentences ran concurrently.
- Appellate court affirmed the denial of suppression but vacated the sentence on count 24 and remanded for resentencing because the trial judge applied discretionary-extended-term (Dunbar) analysis and imposed a manifestly excessive mandatory extended term without adequate consideration of defendant's history and other sentencing factors.
Issues
| Issue | State's Argument | Schwartz's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lawfulness of warrantless seizure under plain-view after traffic stop | Officer was lawfully present, discovery was inadvertent, and packages' size/shape/wrapping plus CI tip and officer experience made their criminality immediately apparent | Packages were intrinsically innocent; officer lacked probable cause until he unwrapped/examined them | Affirmed: plain-view exception applied; objective circumstances (wrapping, CI tip, officer training) supplied probable cause |
| Validity of traffic stop | Stop lawful for failure to signal and obstructed temp plate | Stop was pretextual/night not supported by observed criminal activity (argued investigatory stop invalid) | Trial court's finding of valid traffic stop upheld (defendant did not contest traffic-violation finding on appeal) |
| Appropriateness of mandatory extended term procedure | CDRA mandated extended term based on prior qualifying convictions; sentence within statutory range (10–20 yrs) | Trial court applied wrong legal framework (used Dunbar/persistent-offender analysis) and abused discretion in imposing maximum term and parole ineligibility | Reversed as to count 24: judge erred by relying on Dunbar/Pierce (discretionary/persistent-offender law) and imposed a manifestly excessive term; remand for resentencing |
| Sentence length / parole-disqualifier reasonableness | Prior convictions and quantity justify maximum extended term and maximum parole ineligibility to protect public | Defendant is long-term substance abuser with remote priors, nonviolent street-level role, aggregated sales to reach second-degree weight; 20 yrs with 10-year disqualifier is excessive | Remand: aggravating factors found were supported but court failed to account for remoteness, addiction history, non-violent nature, and downstream consequences; 20/10 term shocks the judicial conscience for this record |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Demeter, 124 N.J. 374 (officer must show objective basis linking innocuous container to drugs)
- State v. Gonzales, 227 N.J. 77 (Fourth Amendment/Article I, ¶7 reasonableness is judged objectively; officer's subjective belief not dispositive)
- State v. Johnson, 171 N.J. 192 (plain-view seizure requires probable cause to associate item with criminal activity)
- Texas v. Brown, 460 U.S. 730 (probable-cause standard is a practical, nontechnical probability that item is incriminating)
- State v. Dunbar, 108 N.J. 80 (four-step framework for discretionary extended-term sentencing)
- State v. Pierce, 188 N.J. 155 (discusses sentencing of persistent offenders and public-protection considerations)
- State v. Mann, 203 N.J. 328 (State bears burden to prove warrantless-search exception by preponderance)
- State v. Watts, 223 N.J. 503 (standard of appellate review for suppression rulings)