WAYNE MCCAW VS. VERNON TOWNSHIP BOARD OF EDUCATION (L-0113-13, SUSSEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE), A-0875-15T4

On March 22, 2014 police stopped a car driven by Jerome Williams with passenger Theresa Foxx after a records check showed Foxx had a suspended license and an outstanding warrant; Foxx was identified as the passenger by a photo on the officer’s screen.
During Foxx’s arrest and search, officer found 44 individually packaged baggies of crack cocaine in the right pocket of Foxx’s jacket; Foxx told the officer that Williams had put something in her jacket pocket.
Both Williams and Foxx were charged with possession and possession with intent to distribute; Foxx entered PTI and agreed to testify truthfully against Williams as a condition of admission.
At trial Foxx testified she left her jacket in the car at work, that Williams later told her he had put something in her jacket, and that she had not known about the drugs until the stop; an expert testified the circumstances were consistent with intent to distribute, but the jury acquitted Williams of intent to distribute and convicted him of possession.
Williams moved for acquittal or new trial and challenged the jury instruction on cooperating witnesses and the sufficiency of the evidence; the trial court denied the motion and sentenced Williams to five years imprisonment (declining the State’s request for an extended term).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Jury instruction on cooperating co-defendant/witness	Model Begyn-style charge properly instructs jury to scrutinize cooperating witness and may be used to assess credibility	Model charge improperly tells jurors they may convict on cooperating witness' testimony alone and should be overhauled	No error: charge correctly instructed jurors to scrutinize witness and to consider all factors; presumed jurors followed instructions; no plain error
Sufficiency of the evidence / motion for acquittal	State: evidence (Foxx's testimony that Williams placed drugs in her pocket plus corroborating facts) permitted conviction for possession	Williams: evidence insufficient to sustain conviction	Denied: viewing evidence favorably to State, a reasonable jury could find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt
Request to charge mere presence	State: not appropriate given evidence attributing possession to Williams	Williams: trial court should have given mere-presence charge	Denied: court correctly refused because possession was attributed to Williams by Foxx's testimony that he placed the drugs in her pocket
Sentence excessive / extended term request	State sought extended term under persistent-offender provisions	Williams argued sentence excessive	Denied: trial court applied sentencing factors, found aggravating factors (risk of recidivism, prior record, deterrence), no mitigating factors, and imposed a lawful, non-extended five-year term

State v. Begyn, 34 N.J. 35 (1961) (origin of model charge on cooperating co-defendant/witness testimony)
State v. Adams, 194 N.J. 186 (2008) (reaffirming principles governing cooperation witness instruction)
State v. Nelson, 155 N.J. 11 (1998) (presumption that jurors follow the court's instructions)
State v. Reyes, 50 N.J. 454 (1967) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Franklin, 52 N.J. 386 (1968) (denial of acquittal motion when evidence permits reasonable jury verdict)
State v. Hock, 54 N.J. 526 (1969) (plain error standard for jury charge review)
State v. Macon, 57 N.J. 325 (1971) (clarifying plain error requires reasonable doubt that error affected outcome)
State v. O'Donnell, 117 N.J. 210 (1989) (sentencing review standards)
State v. Gertler, 114 N.J. 383 (1989) (sentencing review standards)
State v. Roth, 95 N.J. 334 (1984) (sentencing review standards)