STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ALBERTO LOPEZ (15-01-0014, MERCER COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (A-2694-18)
In this appeal, the court held that a statement elicited in violation of defendant's Sixth Amendment rights could be used for impeachment purposes, and the defendant's status as a juvenile waived to adult court had no impact on this conclusion. In doing so, the court relied upon the United States Supreme Court ruling in Kansas v. Ventris, 556 U.S. 586, 592 (2009), which held that voluntary statements obtained in violation of a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to counsel are admissible to impeach a defendant's inconsistent testimony at trial. Although the New Jersey Constitution provides a more robust right to counsel than the Federal Constitution, see State v. Sanchez, 129 N.J. 261, 275 (1992), the court reasoned that excluding the statement for all purposes "would add little appreciable deterrence" to police conduct. Ventris, 556 U.S. at 593.
In addition, acknowledging New Jersey's "special protections" accorded to juveniles in criminal proceedings, the court held that any inherent impulsivity or vulnerability due to defendant's age was remedied by the preclusion of his statement in the prosecution's case-in-chief. The court declined to expand New Jersey's juvenile protections so far such that a juvenile waived to adult court would be permitted to lie under oath, without permitting the State the opportunity to confront the defendant with his or her prior inconsistent statement.
