State v. Jarrells

On December 7, 2001, defendant pled guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide, N.J.S.A. 20:11-5, and related charges. He was sentenced on that charge to a term of five years, subject to an eighty-five percent parole ineligibility term under the No Early Release Act (NERA), N.J.S.A. 20:43-7.2.

On appeal to the Appellate Division, defendant argued that his conviction for vehicular homicide should not have been subject to NERA because his plea was entered prior to the 2001 amendment to the statute that expressly included “vehicular homicide” in its list of covered offenses. He contended that the…