State v. Hawks

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

CLIFFORD, J.

At issue on this appeal, here as of right because of a dissent below, see Rule 2:2-l(a)(2), are the mandatory extended-term provisions of the Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6c and N.J.S.A. 2C:44-3d. The precise question is whether those provisions apply to a defendant whose first Graves Act offense is the subject of his second Graves Act conviction.

The majority in the Appellate Division, in an opinion reported at 214 N.J.Super. 430 (1986), upheld the trial court’s imposition of an extended term, a result consistent with State v. Windsor, 205…