State v. Livingston

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

COLEMAN, J.

This appeal raises novel questions concerning the application of the Persistent Offenders Accountability Act, also known as the “Three Strikes” law, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.1a. That statute mandates a sentence of life imprisonment for a third-time criminal offender “who has on two or more prior and separate occasions been convicted” of certain enumerated first- and second-degree offenses. The specific issue raised is whether the statute may be applied to a third-time offender who previously entered two separate guilty pleas for two separate crimes…