State v. Biegenwald

This appeal arises under the provisions of the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice (Code) authorizing a separate proceeding for purposes of determining the sentence to be imposed upon a defendant found by a jury to be guilty of the crime of murder. N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3c. The case requires that we determine whether, during the penalty phase of a capital proceeding, the State may use as an aggravating factor, pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3c(4)(a), a defendant’s prior conviction for murder when the appeal of that conviction has not yet been resolved. We now hold that a defendant having been found…