Richardson v. Nickolopoulos

The opinion of the Court was delivered by

O’HERN, J.

Once again, we must reconcile anomalies and ambiguities that inhere in the Code of Criminal Justice (Code), N.J.S.A. 2C:1-1 to 98-4, occasioned by the Legislature’s selective inclusion and omission of provisions of its conceptual source, the Model Penal Code (MPC).

This appeal concerns the meaning of N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5b(2), which governs sentencing at different times for multiple offenses. This provision requires that when a defendant who has been sentenced to imprisonment is subsequently sentenced to another term for an offense committed prior…