STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. JERMAINE VAUGHN (96-12-1402, MERCER COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-1335-19

Jermaine Vaughn was convicted (judgment entered March 23, 1999) after rejecting a State plea offer (open plea to felony murder with no sentencing recommendation) and proceeding to trial.
Vaughn filed three PCR petitions: 2004, 2014, and the third in 2019 challenging pretrial procedure and plea counsel's advice about consequences of rejecting the plea.
He claimed the trial judge failed to hold a pretrial conference and that plea counsel misinformed him about sentencing exposure and the existence of a pretrial memorandum, which he said affected his decision to refuse the plea.
PCR Judge Timothy P. Lyndon denied the third petition without an evidentiary hearing, finding it time-barred, procedurally barred, and failing to state a prima facie claim of ineffective assistance.
The Appellate Division reviewed the denial de novo (no evidentiary hearing) and affirmed: petition untimely with no excusable neglect or showing of fundamental injustice; claims were procedurally barred or could have been raised earlier; no entitlement to an evidentiary hearing.

Issue	State's Argument	Vaughn's Argument	Held
Timeliness under R. 3:22-12	Petition filed >5 years after judgment and not excused; time bar applies	Pretrial memorandum issue surfaced later and justifies relaxing time bar	Time-bar sustained; Vaughn failed to show excusable neglect or likelihood of fundamental injustice
Procedural bar (R. 3:22-4)	Claims could have been raised on direct appeal or earlier PCRs; barred	Claims were novel and could not have been raised earlier	Procedural bar applies; claims either were raised or could have been raised earlier
Ineffective assistance of plea counsel (Strickland)	Record shows Vaughn understood plea exposure; no prima facie Strickland claim	Counsel failed to advise on consequences and misinformed about pretrial memorandum, affecting plea decision	No prima facie ineffective-assistance claim; prejudice not shown
Evidentiary hearing entitlement	No material disputed facts unresolved by record; no prima facie claim → no hearing	Hearing required to resolve factual disputes (e.g., pretrial memorandum existence)	Denial of hearing affirmed; Porter standard not met

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (two-part test for ineffective assistance of counsel)
State v. Goodwin, 173 N.J. 583 (time bar for PCR should be relaxed only in exceptional circumstances)
State v. Afanador, 151 N.J. 41 (factors for excusable neglect and preserving finality)
State v. Brown, 455 N.J. Super. 460 (when first PCR filed >5 years after judgment, judge must examine timeliness and require competent proof)
State v. Norman, 405 N.J. Super. 149 (excusable neglect requires more than a plausible explanation)
State v. Porter, 216 N.J. 343 (evidentiary hearing required only if prima facie claim and material disputed facts not resolvable from record)
State v. Fritz, 105 N.J. 42 (NJ application of Strickland standard in PCR context)
State v. McQuaid, 147 N.J. 464 (PCR is not a substitute for direct appeal; used to raise claims not previously available)