State v. Bakka

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

ZAZZALI, J.

The primary issue in this appeal is whether a defendant’s operation of a vehicle with a revoked license, absent any indication of the reasons for that revocation, is probative of recklessness within the meaning of the aggravated manslaughter, N.J.S.A. 2C:ll-4a, or vehicular homicide, N.J.S.A 2C:ll-5, statutes.

This matter arose after defendant Benhart Bakka was involved in a vehicular accident on the Garden State Parkway that killed his friend Wayne Teague. A jury convicted defendant of first-degree aggravated manslaughter, N.J.S.A…