State v. William A. Case, Jr. (072688)

The New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice, N.J.S.A 2C:1-1 to 2C:104~9, sets forth detailed sentencing guidelines to channel the discretion of trial judges to ensure fair and uniform sentences. This approach is intended to minimize the potential for idiosyncratic and disparate sentencing. Our judges are given wide discretion to sentence within the range prescribed by a criminal statute, but that discretion is not unconstrained. In fixing a sentence within the statutory range, a judge must determine whether specific aggravating or mitigating factors are grounded in credible evidence in the record…