07-27-09 STATE OF NEW JERSEY V. JOHN LAKE
A-3988-07T4
As with official misconduct, N.J.S.A. 2C:30-2a, where a
non-pecuniary benefit is involved, bribery, N.J.S.A. 2C:27-2a,
is a second-degree crime, and the State has no burden to prove
that the benefit has a value of more than $200.
Personal characteristics of a defendant may be considered
as applicable to a downgraded sentence pursuant to the interest
of justice prong of N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1f(2) only if they relate to
the offense itself and give fuller context to the offense
circumstances.
We affirmed defendant's second-degree convictions for
misconduct in office and bribery, but reversed his sentence in
the third-degree range.
Richard Sadowski
Assistant Editor
