State v. Barden

Justice WALLACE, JR.,

delivered the opinion of the court.

In this case, the trial court admitted evidence that defendant sold drugs to co-defendant over a six-month period prior to the robbery under a theory of res gestae. On appeal, the Appellate Division affirmed, but held that the other-crimes evidence was properly admitted under N.J.R.E. 404(b) to show defendant’s motive with respect to the crimes charged and that the corresponding limiting instruction was appropriate. We granted certification “limited solely to the question of whether testimony that defendant sold drugs to the co-defendant…