STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. VALERIE WILLIAMS (17-036, MORRIS COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2021 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-5163-18
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Plaintiff-Respondent, APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION
March 18, 2021
v.
APPELLATE DIVISION
VALERIE WILLIAMS,
Defendant-Appellant.
_______________________
Submitted December 15, 2020 – Decided March 18, 2021
Before Judges Gilson, Moynihan and Gummer.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey,
Law Division, Morris County, Municipal Appeal No.
17-036.
Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin,
attorneys for appellant (Ryan T. Gannon, on the
briefs).
Feintuch, Porwich & Feintuch, attorneys for
respondent (Philip Feintuch, on the brief).
The opinion of the court was delivered by
MOYNIHAN, J.A.D.
Following a trial de novo in the Law Division, defendant Valerie
Williams appeals from her conviction for violating a municipal ordinance that
prohibits the unnecessary obstruction of any street in the Borough of Victory
Gardens. The undisputed facts adduced at trial evidence that she used black
paint to cover white lines painted on a paved surface by the municipality and
painted a new exterior white line. She describes that paved area as a "parking
bay" she claims is part of her property; the State claims it is part of a public
street. On appeal, she argues:
[POINT I]
THERE WAS REVERSIBLE ERROR THAT
REQUIRES [DEFENDANT'S] CONVICTION TO BE
OVERTURNED OR ALTERNATIVELY
REMANDED FOR A NEW TRIAL.
[(A)] The municipal court improperly excluded
[defendant's] ability to present evidence of
ownership of the parking bay where she
painted[.]
[(B)] The prosecution failed to meet its burden
of demonstrating that [defendant]
"obstructed" a public street[.]
[POINT II]
THE FINES IMPOSED VIOLATE STATE V.
NEWMAN[1] AND THE MUNICIPAL CODE[.]
1
132 N.J. 159 (1993).
A-5163-18
2
Our review of the Law Division's final decision after a trial de novo is
typically "limited to determining whether there is sufficient credible evidence
present in the record to support the findings of the Law Division judge, not the
municipal court," State v. Clarksburg Inn, 375 N.J. Super. 624, 639 (App. Div.
2005), requiring "'consideration of the proofs as a whole,' and not merely those
offered by the defendant," State v. Kuropchak, 221 N.J. 368, 383 (2015)
(quoting State v. Johnson, 42 N.J. 146, 162 (1964)). Under that standard, we
disregard "[a]ny error or omission . . . unless it is of such a nature as to have
been clearly capable of producing an unjust result[.]" R. 2:10-2; see also
Kuropchak, 221 N.J. at 383. We nevertheless review the Law Division's
interpretation of the law de novo without according any special deference to
the court's interpretation of "the legal consequences that flow from established
facts." Manalapan Realty, L.P. v. Twp. Comm. of Manalapan, 140 N.J. 366,
378 (1995); see also Kuropchak, 221 N.J. at 383. The proofs did not establish
that defendant violated the ordinance; we therefore reverse.
The Borough issued a summons charging defendant with violating
Chapter III, Section 3-7.29 of the Borough's Municipal Code that provides, in
pertinent part: "No person shall unnecessarily obstruct any . . . street, or
public place in the Borough with any kind of vehicle, boxes, lumber, wood, or
any other thing[.]" The Law Division convicted defendant, reasoning that
A-5163-18
3
painting over the white lines constituted an obstruction of the street within the
meaning of "or any other thing[.]" We disagree.
"The established rules of statutory construction govern the interpretatio n
of a municipal ordinance." Twp. of Pennsauken v. Schad, 160 N.J. 156, 170
(1999). "The first step of statutory construction requires an examination of the
language of the ordinance. The meaning derived from that language controls if
it is clear and unambiguous." Ibid. (citations omitted). Such is the case here.
The portions of Chapter III of the Borough ordinances provided in the
record contain several sections of definitions, but those sections, including
those specific to Section 3-7, do not define "obstruct." We must therefore
"read and construe[]" the words "with their context" and, "unless another or
different meaning" is specified, give them "their generally accepted meaning,
according to the approved usage of the language." N.J.S.A. 1:1 -1; see also In
re Plan for the Abolition of the Council on Affordable Hous., 214 N.J. 444,
467-68 (2013); Pub. Serv. Elec. & Gas Co. v. Twp. of Woodbridge, 73 N.J.
474, 478 (1977).
Ingrained in all the common definitions of "obstruct" is the physical
impediment of passage along a course. Black's Law Dictionary defines it as
"[t]o block or stop up (a road, passageway, etc.); to close up or close off,
esp[ecially] by obstacle[.]" Black's Law Dictionary 1246 (10th ed. 2014). The
A-5163-18
4
Oxford Universal Dictionary's several definitions include: "To block, close
up, or fill (a way or passage) with obstacles or impediments; to render
impassable or difficult of passage." The Oxford Universal Dictionary 1353
(3d ed. 1964). Webster defines the term as "to block or close up with an
obstacle or obstacles, as a road . . .; make difficult to pass." Webster's
Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language 995 (1989).
In a statute similar to the Borough ordinance, persons who "purposely or
recklessly obstruct[] any highway or other public passage" without "having . . .
legal privilege to do so" commit "a petty disorderly persons offense." N.J.S.A.
2C:33-7(a). "'Obstructs' means renders impassable without unreasonable
inconvenience or hazard." Ibid. We agree with certain Law Division holdings
requiring an actual blockage as a necessary element of that offense. Before her
tenure in the Appellate Division and subsequent appointment to our Supreme
Court, then-Judge Virginia A. Long, assigned to the Criminal Part in Union
County, found a defendant not guilty of violating N.J.S.A. 2C:33-7 after
determining "obstruction [was] simply not an issue" where
[t]he only testimony about obstruction from the
[arresting] officer was his admission that access to the
unemployment office was not obstructed at all, but
that his concern was with people having to walk on
the gravel which was not, to him, "proper access."
This testimony, taken in light of an uncontroverted
diagram offered by defendants to show other available
means of access to the unemployment office, falls far
A-5163-18
5
short of what would be necessary to establish an
obstruction under the statute.
[State v. Greenberg, 179 N.J. Super. 565, 571 (Law
Div. 1980).]
In contrast, a defendant who "barred the use of the" doorway to a medical
clinic that performed abortions, "rendering it impassable to employees and
visitors," was found guilty of violating N.J.S.A. 2C:33-7(a). State v.
Wishnatsky, 258 N.J. Super. 67, 82 (Law Div. 1990).
The plain language of the Victory Gardens ordinance requires a physical
blockage before a person can be held accountable for "unnecessarily
obstruct[ing] . . . [a] street." Indeed, Section 3-7.29 specifies examples of
items that constitute such blockage: "any kind of vehicle, boxes, lumber,
wood, or any other thing[.]" (Emphasis added.) In context, therefore, the mere
act of repainting the lines or painting a new line—assuming the paved portion
was a street—did not obstruct the street in violation of the ordinance. There is
no evidence defendant obstructed the street by parking her car in the repainted
area. Nor is there any evidence the area was otherwise rendered impassable by
defendant's act.
Even if the term "obstruct" is ambiguous—which we do not determine or
suggest—we must strictly construe the ordinance and narrowly interpret its
terms "[b]ecause municipal court proceedings to prosecute violations of
A-5163-18
6
ordinances are essentially criminal in nature." Schad, 160 N.J. at 171. All
courts "should also be guided by the rule of lenity, resolving any ambiguities
in the ordinance in favor of a defendant charged with a violation thereof."
Ibid. Viewed through that narrowly focused lens, defendant did not obstruct
the street.
We do not imply defendant did not commit some violation of another
ordinance or a statute. We reverse because the prosecution did not establish a
violation of the charged ordinance.
Our determination renders it unnecessary to address defendant's claim
that she was precluded from offering into evidence what she described as a
"building permit" to prove she owned the paved area. We would have
determined that argument to be without sufficient merit to warrant discussio n,
see R. 2:11-3(e)(2), because, contrary to defendant's contention, she was not
precluded from introducing the evidence. As her second counsel 2 admitted to
the Law Division, that evidence "was not presented at the [municipal court]
hearing" and there was no evidence presented to establish defendant's
ownership rights. Our review of the record reveals there was no effort to
2
Defendant was represented by a different attorney during the municipal court
trial.
A-5163-18
7
authenticate the "building permit" or any other documentary proof that would
have supported defendant's claim of ownership.
Our decision also renders moot defendant's arguments regarding the fine
and restitution. 3 We do agree with her position that neither the municipal court
nor the Law Division complied with N.J.S.A. 2C:44-2(c). Courts are required
to "take into account the financial resources of the defendant and the nature of
the burden that its payment will impose" when "determining the amount and
method of payment of a fine." N.J.S.A. 2C:44-2(c)(1); see also Newman, 132
N.J. at 169-70. When "determining the amount and method of payment of
restitution," courts are likewise required to "take into account all financial
resources of the defendant, including the defendant’s likely future earnings,
and shall set the amount of restitution so as to provide the victim with the
fullest compensation for loss that is consistent with the defendant’s ability to
pay." N.J.S.A. 2C:44-2(c)(2); see also Newman, 132 N.J. at 169-70.
Although courts have considerable discretion in imposing monetary sanctions,
they must comply with the statutory safeguards. Newman, 132 N.J. at 169-70.
3
The municipal court imposed the maximum fine of $1,250, $33 in court
costs and $4,229.33 in restitution, totaling $5,512.33. The Law Division
resentenced defendant and imposed a fine of $1,250, court costs of $33 and
restitution of $900. In her merits brief, defendant refers to the restitution
imposed as an "additional fine."
A-5163-18
8
Reversed.
A-5163-18
9