State v. Louis

We granted certification, 114 N.J. 471 (1989), to consider whether the Appellate Division had exceeded its proper scope of review in revising the sentence under appeal here. In State v. Roth, 95 N.J. 334, 365 (1984), we assured trial courts that if they followed the sentencing guidelines of our Code of Criminal Justice, they need not fear “second-guessing” of their sentencing decisions by appellate courts. We have repeatedly reaffirmed our commitment to this principle of sentencing. See State v. O’Donnell, 117 N.J. 210, 220 (1989) (Appellate Division “should not have substituted its judgment…