State v. La Russo

MINUSKIN, J.S.C.

This matter is before the Court on defendant’s application for an order to preclude evidence of his guilty plea from being admitted in any civil proceeding. The issue presented is whether personal hardship to a defendant as a result of later civil use of his plea constitutes “good cause shown” under R. 3:9-2 so as to justify the granting of relief.

The charges in this case arose out of an altercation which ensued between defendant, a tractor trailer driver, and the victim, a bicyclist, who prevented defendant from passing him on the road. As a result of plea negotiations,…