State v. Valentin

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

GARIBALDI, Justice.

This appeal concerns the interpretation of the word “volunteers” in N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3b(4). Specifically, we must decide whether a defendant who in response to a law-enforcement officer’s inquiry gives a false name thereby violates N.J.S.A. 2C:29-3b(4), which proscribes “volunteer[ing] false information to a law enforcement officer.”

I

This case arises in the context of a motor vehicle stop. On April 9,1985, a state trooper stopped a car driven by defendant, Denny Valentin, for a routine motor vehicle violation. The car was registered to…