State v. Davis

This appeal arises under the provisions of the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice permitting the imposition of the penalty of death for the commission of the crime of murder. N.J.S.A. 2C :11-3c. The case involves the question of the admissibility of certain kinds of evidence relating generally to the character of the defendant, offered as a mitigating factor under N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3c(5)(h), in the course of the trial phase of the case that is concerned solely with the penalty — death or life imprisonment — to be imposed on the defendant. The issue reaches us following an interlocutory order of…