STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ANTIONETT E. PELZER (12-11-2561, ATLANTIC COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2017 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court."
Although it is posted on the internet, this opinion is binding only on the
parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-0334-16T1
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
ANTIONETT E. PELZER,
Defendant-Appellant.
_______________________________
Submitted October 31, 2017 – Decided November 13, 2017
Before Judges Reisner and Mayer.
On appeal from Superior Court of New Jersey,
Law Division, Atlantic County, Indictment No.
12-11-2561.
Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney
for appellant (Monique Moyse, Designated
Counsel, on the brief).
Damon G. Tyner, Atlantic County Prosecutor,
attorney for respondent (John J. Lafferty, IV,
Assistant Prosecutor, of counsel and on the
brief).
PER CURIAM
Defendant Antoinette E. Pelzer appeals from a July 6, 2016
order denying her petition for post-conviction relief (PCR). On
her appeal, she presents the following points of argument:
POINT ONE: THIS MATTER MUST BE REMANDED
BECAUSE THE PCR COURT DENIED RELIEF WITHOUT
STATING FINDINGS OF FACT OR CONCLUSIONS OF
LAW.
POINT TWO: MS. PELZER IS ENTITLED TO AN
EVIDENTIARY HEARING ON HER CLAIM THAT [HER]
ATTORNEY RENDERED INEFFECTIVE ASSISTANCE OF
COUNSEL.
POINT THREE: THE PCR COURT ERRONEOUSLY RULED
THAT MS. PELZER'S PETITION WAS PROCEDURALLY
BARRED.
We affirm the order insofar as the PCR court rejected
defendant's counseled PCR arguments. However, because the PCR
court did not address defendant's pro se PCR arguments, we remand
the case to the PCR court for the purpose of considering and
deciding those issues.
Defendant was charged with stabbing two women to death in
an unprovoked attack, which was captured on video and witnessed
by several bystanders. Defendant pled guilty to two counts of
first-degree murder, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-3(a)(1)(2), and was sentenced
to an aggregate term of eighty years in prison subject to the No
Early Release Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-7.2. We affirmed the sentence
on an excessive sentencing calendar, noting the brutality of the
murders and the sentencing judge's cogent statement of reasons.
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State v. Pelzer, No. A-4722-13 (App. Div. Dec. 4, 2014), certif.
denied, 221 N.J. 566 (2015).
Defendant filed a pro se PCR petition dated June 15, 2015,1
contending that her guilty plea was not "knowing and intelligent,"
because her trial attorney did not explain to her "the terms and
ramifications" of the State's plea offer or the "elements of the
crimes to which petitioner was to plead guilty." She also
contended that her trial attorney failed to effectively argue that
aggravating factor one, N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(a)(1) (the nature and
circumstances of the offense), should not apply. Defendant's PCR
assigned counsel submitted a formal brief contending that
defendant's trial counsel failed to effectively argue - in favor
of mitigating factor eight - that the crimes were the result of
circumstances unlikely to recur, because a prison term of life
with thirty years of parole ineligibility would prevent defendant
from committing future murders. See N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1(b)(8).
We agree with the PCR judge that the latter argument, even
if raised by trial counsel, would have been without merit and
would have made no difference to the sentence imposed. As a
result, defendant failed to satisfy both prongs of the test set
forth in Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 694, 104 S. Ct.
1Defendant's brief advises that the petition was filed on July 7,
2015.
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2052, 2068, 80 L. Ed. 2d 674, 698 (1984), and was not entitled
to an evidentiary hearing on that PCR claim. See State v.
Preciose, 129 N.J. 451, 463-64 (1992).
However, the judge did not address defendant's pro se
arguments, perhaps because PCR counsel did not include a reference
to them in his formal brief and did not mention them at oral
argument. PCR counsel had an obligation to bring to the court's
attention defendant's pro se arguments, and the court had an
obligation to consider them. See R. 3:22-6(d); State v. Webster,
187 N.J. 254, 258 (2006); State v. Rue, 175 N.J. 1, 4 (2002).
Because this did not occur, we must remand this matter to the PCR
court to consider the arguments raised in defendant's pro se PCR
filing. We do not retain jurisdiction.
Affirmed in part, remanded in part.
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