STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. RENE M. RODRIGUEZ
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ELIZABETH A. COLON
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ERIC L. LOWERS
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. STEPHEN E. NOLAN
STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. COURTNEY D. SWIDERSKI
A-5077-15T3/A-5078-15T3/A-5146-15T3/
A-5147-15T3/A-5160-15T3(CONSOLIDATED)
Each defendant in these five back-to-back appeals by the State was convicted of fourth-degree operating a motor vehicle during a period of license suspension. N.J.S.A. 2C:40-26. The statute prescribes a sentence of a "fixed minimum" term of at least 180 days without parole eligibility. N.J.S.A. 2C:40-26(c). The State contended the trial court exceeded its authority by imposing intermittent sentences under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-2(b)(7). The panel concluded that a minimum period of parole ineligibility measured in days requires service of continuous twenty-four-hour periods, but does not require an uninterrupted 180-day term. The panel rejected the State's argument that intermittent periods of release were akin to parole.
The panel held the trial court was authorized to impose weekend sentences running from Friday night to the same time Sunday night. Such a sentence would allow a defendant to accrue two days of credit each weekend toward the 180-day sentence. But, a sentence of nights only was not an authorized sentence, as aggregation of part-days is not permitted. The panel therefore modified two sentences; reversed two others; and remanded one for reconsideration.
