STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. THOMAS HAWKINS (12-02-0380, MIDDLESEX COUNTY, AND 11-08-1383, HUDSON COUNTY, AND STATEWIDE) (A-5777-17T3)
The court rejects defendant's argument that the imposition of an eight-year custodial sentence after serving almost five years of special probation was an unconstitutional judicial extension of the statutory ten-year maximum custodial sentence, contrary to Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490 (2000) and Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 303 (2004). Years served on special Drug Court probation are not equivalent to incarceration. Special Drug Court probation is an extraordinary rehabilitative opportunity, provided to defendants who choose to accept it with the clear explanation that a violation could result in the imposition of the maximum term of incarceration.
