State v. Fedner Pierre-Louis (071552), 216 N.J. 577

Defendant Fedner Pierre-Louis was convicted in 2004 of aggravated manslaughter, robbery, felony murder, unlawful possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm for an unlawful purpose.
The underlying killing occurred March 2002 in the Wyndham Hotel parking lot in Elizabeth, New Jersey, leading to a sentence of 45 years for felony murder with 85% parole ineligibility.
Pierre-Louis filed a PCR petition in August 2007 alleging ineffective assistance of counsel for inadequate investigation, failure to serve an alibi notice, and failure to present an alibi defense.
The trial court initially granted PCR on January 12, 2009, but the State obtained a second evidentiary hearing and the court reversed on January 30, 2009.
Appellate Division affirmed denial of PCR substantially for reasons stated after the second hearing; the Supreme Court granted certification.
The Court remands for a new evidentiary hearing due to insufficient findings on both prongs of Strickland/Fritz, with live testimony and credibility determinations required.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether trial counsel was ineffective under Strickland/Fritz	Pierre-Louis contends trial counsel failed to investigate and present alibi	State argues no prejudice shown by counsel's conduct	Remand for a new evidentiary hearing; insufficient findings on both prongs

Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (U.S. 1984) (two-prong standard for ineffective assistance)
State v. Fritz, 105 N.J. 42 (N.J. 1987) (adopted Strickland standard in New Jersey)
State v. Harris, 181 N.J. 391 (N.J. 2002) (remand for record generation when necessary)
State v. Randolph, 210 N.J. 330 (N.J. 2012) (judicial factor articulation on remand for hearings)