SYLLABUS

(This syllabus is not part of the opinion of the Court. It has been prepared by the Office of the Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the Supreme Court. Please note that, in the interests of brevity, portions of any opinion may not have been summarized).

State v. Jamiyl Dock (A-8-10)

Argued January 18, 2011 -- Decided March 8, 2011

RIVERA-SOTO, J., writing for a unanimous Court.

The issue in this case is whether the ruling of State v. Artwell, 177 N.J. 526 (2003), presumptively banning the use of physical restraints on witnesses, applies retroactively and, if so, to what extent.

Defendant was convicted and sentenced in 1999 for the murder of Lamont Stewart and the shooting of Maurice Allen in broad daylight. At defendant’s trial, the State did not call Allen as a witness putatively because Allen was then serving a lengthy prison term and, at the time of the shooting, Allen had been engaged in a robbery. Defendant insisted that his counsel call Allen as a witness. Allen was produced in court wearing civilian clothes but with his hands handcuffed behind his back. Defendant’s counsel claimed to have been surprised by this, but he did not mention it on the record and did not request a limiting instruction from the court. Rather, defense counsel asked Allen questions to confirm that he was then incarcerated to explain why he was wearing handcuffs. Allen testified that just before he was shot, he had purchased heroin; that he gave a false name at the hospital because he had outstanding warrants; that he avoided talking to police because he did not want to go to jail; and that he had been arrested for armed robbery. Allen also admitted, during the State’s cross-examination, that he had several prior felony convictions. When defense counsel asked Allen to draw a diagram of the street where the shooting occurred, the court excused the jury so Allen’s handcuffs could be repositioned with his hands on his front so that he could draw. During his testimony, Allen stated that defendant was not the person who shot him and killed Stewart. The jury convicted defendant. His convictions and sentence were affirmed, and the Court denied certification in 2001.