Summary
The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a bare allegation of prosecutorial misconduct was insufficient to disqualify an entire county prosecutor's office from representing the State in a post-conviction relief proceeding. The court concluded that the defendant had not shown a specific conflict involving the appointed prosecutor or other attorneys who might handle the matter. It vacated the PCR court's disqualification order and remanded for further proceedings.
Topics
Practice areas
Questions Presented
- Whether the return of former prosecutor Glenn Berman to the bench rendered moot the conflict concerns based on his prior role as prosecutor.
- Whether a defendant's bare allegations of prosecutorial misconduct and possible testimony by members of a county prosecutor's office require disqualification of the entire office from representing the State in a post-conviction-relief proceeding.
- Whether the Attorney General's decision to supersede or continue to supersede the county prosecutor's office is subject to judicial displacement on the circumstances presented.
Holdings
- Berman's return to the bench rendered moot any conflict based on his prior status as prosecutor, and the Court expressed no opinion on that moot aspect of the PCR court's decision.
- A bare allegation of prosecutorial misconduct is insufficient to disqualify an assistant prosecutor and all other assistant prosecutors from representing the State in a PCR proceeding.
- The possibility that a member of the prosecutor's office may be called as a witness does not itself disqualify the entire office from representing the State.
- Under N.J.S.A. 52:17B-107a and applicable precedent, whether to continue superseding the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office was for the Attorney General to decide.
Key quotations
“To warrant disqualification in this setting, the asserted conflict "must have some reasonable basis."” (601)
“We are satisfied that the bare allegation of prosecutorial misconduct is insufficient to disqualify McClure and all other assistant prosecutors from representing the State.” (601-602)
“At bottom, defendant seeks to disqualify a whole agency by asking us to presume that neither McClure nor any person working under her is capable of independently evaluating his petition.” (603)
Factual background
Harvey was twice tried for capital murder in Middlesex County and received a death sentence after each trial; the Supreme Court reversed the first conviction and later affirmed the second conviction and sentence. His PCR petition alleged ineffective assistance, discovery violations, and prosecutorial misconduct involving the handling and return of a bloody quilt and blanket and other evidence. The Attorney General assigned deputy attorneys general to the matter and later appointed Middlesex County Deputy First Assistant Prosecutor Julia McClure as special deputy attorney general after defense counsel objected to the involvement of assistant prosecutor Thomas Kapsak. The PCR court disqualified McClure and the entire Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office, but former prosecutor Berman returned to the bench during the appeal.
Procedural history
Harvey filed a post-conviction-relief petition challenging his capital-murder conviction and death sentence, including claims that prosecutors had destroyed or mishandled potentially exculpatory evidence. The Union County PCR court granted discovery and later disqualified Julia McClure and all other county prosecutors from representing the State based primarily on the appearance of a conflict arising from former trial judge Glenn Berman's subsequent service as Middlesex County prosecutor. While the appeal was pending, Berman returned to the bench. The Supreme Court vacated the disqualification order and remanded for further PCR proceedings.
Remand instructions
Vacate the PCR court's disqualification order and remand to the Law Division for that purpose and for further proceedings consistent with the opinion.