State of New Jersey v. Ajmal Nesbit ( 2024 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE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-1157-22
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Plaintiff-Respondent,
v.
AJMAL NESBIT, a/k/a
AJMAL J. NESBIT,
Defendant-Appellant.
_______________________
Argued September 16, 2024 – Decided October 17, 2024
Before Judges Gummer and Jacobs.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law
Division, Somerset County, Indictment No. 21-06-
0433.
Rachel Glanz, Assistant Deputy Public Defender,
argued the cause for appellant (Jennifer Nicole Sellitti,
Public Defender, attorney; Rachel Glanz, of counsel
and on the briefs).
David M. Galemba, Deputy Attorney General, argued
the cause for respondent (Matthew J. Platkin, Attorney
General, attorney; David M. Galemba, of counsel and
on the brief).
PER CURIAM
Defendant Ajmal Nesbit appeals from the trial court's August 4, 2020
order denying his motion to suppress evidence seized following a traffic stop
and a December 9, 2022 judgment of conviction, which was entered after a
guilty plea. Central to defendant's argument is the purported unconstitutional
vagueness of the statute on which police relied to effectuate the stop. Defendant
argues that any lane change ambiguity should be construed in his favor, thereby
invalidating the stop and subsequent search. For the reasons that follow, we
hold the statute is not unconstitutionally vague and affirm the trial court's order
and judgment.
I.
We draw the facts from video recordings of the stop and search, testimony
elicited at the motion to suppress, and colloquy from the guilty-plea proceeding.
In the afternoon of August 29, 2019, defendant was a passenger in a Nissan
Altima sedan operated by Ashley Smith. Smith was driving westbound on Route
22 in Green Brook Township. At the same time and location, the Somerset
County Sheriff's Department was conducting training for traffic infractions.
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Senior officer Michael Kromar was driving a "low profile" 1 police vehicle
accompanied by junior officer Joshua Manzo. As part of the training protocol,
Officer Manzo would voice alleged infractions to Officer Kromar. Officer
Kromar would then advise whether he agreed. When both agreed on a given
infraction, the officers would effectuate a stop.
In traffic described as "medium," with vehicles in both westbound-
dedicated lanes of highway, the police cruiser travelled directly behind Smith's
sedan in the left lane. The officers observed Smith "swerve[ ] over the center
line with its two right side tires. As the vehicle d[id] this, the driver put[ ] . . .
a blinker on and finishe[d] the lane change." Both officers determined an
improper signaling traffic infraction had occurred, activated their body-worn
cameras and initiated a stop, with both vehicles coming to rest front-to-back in
an adjacent parking lot.
The officers approached Smith's car to obtain her credentials, which she
provided. As they returned to their cruiser, both officers commented on the
1
The "low profile" police vehicle, also known as a "stealth" or "ghost car," was
marked with faded Somerset County Sheriff's lettering. The vehicle did not have
the familiar light bar on its roof, though it did have "police lights in the grill and
there was a visible spotlight on the left-hand side."'
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smell of marijuana emanating from within Smith's car.2 The officers asked
Smith about the location of the marijuana, and she told them it was in the center
console. Smith, Nesbit, and a third back-seat occupant were told to exit the
vehicle. When patted down, the officers recovered approximately 250 bags of
fentanyl from Nesbit's front left pants pocket. Defendant was arrested and later
indicted for third-degree unlawful possession of a controlled dangerous
substance with intent to distribute. N.J.S.A. 2C:35-5(a)(1); N.J.S.A. 2C:35-
5(b)(5).
Following the hearing on defendant's motion to suppress, the trial court
found credible the officers' testimony regarding Smith's violative operation of
her vehicle and concluded the stop was valid. The court found defendant's
testimony to be less than credible, noting that "he wished to advance his
narrative of the events at all costs, regardless of what made sense under the
circumstances . . . was rambling at times, and beset with his opinions and
suggestions that he was improperly targeted by the officers regardless of the
objective facts[.]" The court also found that Nesbit's "body language and
2
The record lacks information on whether the smell was of raw or burnt
marijuana. In either event, defendant has not advanced an argument that the
police did not have probable cause to search the vehicle. Instead, defendant
challenges the lawfulness of the stop preceding the search.
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demeanor indicate he was less than truthful . . . ." Concerning Smith's violation
of N.J.S.A. 39:4-126, "[s]ignaling before starting, turning[,] or stopping," the
court reasoned in an August 4, 2020 written decision:
This motor vehicle statute does not require that a signal
be given whenever a lane change is made – only when
any other traffic may be affected by such movement.
The State must establish that the officer had a
reasonable and articulable suspicion that the failure to
signal may have affected other traffic. The State need
not prove that a motor vehicle violation occurred as a
matter of law. The question is whether the stop is
lawful, not whether the State could convict the driver.
The court found "Smith['s] vehicle drifted over the center line between the
two lanes and entered into the right lane and [only] then activated the blinker."
It concluded "by a preponderance of the credible evidence . . . a reasonable and
articulable suspicion [existed] that a traffic violation occurred . . . [forming a]
legal basis to stop the Smith vehicle."
In September 2022, defendant pleaded guilty to a single count of
possession of controlled dangerous substances with intent to distribute along
with an unrelated charge. In exchange, the State agreed to recommend an
aggregate term of a flat four years in state prison. After imposing the prison
term in accordance with the plea agreement, the trial court stayed incarceration
pending the outcome of this appeal.
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II.
On appeal, defendant does not challenge the legality of the search per se.
Instead, he advances the following arguments for the first time.
POINT I
THE TRAFFIC STOP WAS UNLAWFUL BECAUSE
N.J.S.A. 39:4-126 CANNOT BE CONSTRUED TO
REQUIRE A MOTORIST TO SIGNAL AN
INTENTION TO CHANGE LANES. EVEN IF SUCH
A CONSTRUCTION WERE PERMISS[I]BLE,
POLICE LACKED REASONABLE AND
ARTICULABLE SUSPICION THAT A SIGNAL WAS
REQUIRED UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES.
A. The Plain Language of N.J.S.A. 39:4-
126 Does Not Require a Motorist to
Signal a Lane Change Because a Lane
Change is Not a "Turn" Within the
Meaning of the Statute. Alternatively,
the Word "Turn" as Used in the Statute
is Unconstitutionally Vague as Applied
to the Conduct of Changing Lanes.
B. Assuming that a Lane Change is a
"Turn" Within the Meaning of N.J.S.A.
39:4-126, Police Lacked Reasonable
and Articulable Suspicion that a Turn
Signal was Required Under the
Circumstances.
When reviewing a decision on a motion to suppress, appellate courts defer to
the trial court's factual findings and will uphold those findings when they are
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supported by sufficient, credible evidence in the record. State v. Tiwana, 256 N.J.
33, 40 (2023) (citing State v. A.M., 237 N.J. 384, 395 (2019)). "[F]actual findings
based on a video recording or documentary evidence" are reviewed under the same
standard. State v. S.S., 229 N.J. 360, 381 (2017). In contrast, appellate courts do
not defer to a trial court's legal conclusions, which are reviewed de novo. Tiwana,
256 N.J. at 40 (citing State v. Rockford, 213 N.J. 424, 440 (2013)). Because
defendant does not challenge the credibility findings made below as to probable
cause for the search, we instead concern ourselves with the stop.
"To justify a stop, an 'officer must have a reasonable and articulable
suspicion that the driver . . . is committing a motor-vehicle violation' or some
other offense." State v. Carter, 247 N.J. 488, 524 (2021) (quoting State v.
Scriven, 226 N.J. 20, 33-34 (2016) (internal quotations omitted)); see also
Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 663 (1979) (recognizing the constitutional
propriety of warrantless traffic stops if based upon articulable police suspicions
of illegality). If an officer articulates reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation
to justify a traffic stop, the State has the burden to prove by a preponderance of
the evidence that reasonable suspicion was present. State v. Amelio, 197 N.J.
207, 211 (2008); State v. Bernokeits, 423 N.J. Super. 365, 370 (App. Div. 2011)
(holding a "motor vehicular violation, no matter how minor, justifies a stop
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without any reasonable suspicion that the motorist has committed a crime or
other unlawful act" and that the initial stop for tinted windows and loud exhaust
was valid).
III.
At issue is interpretation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-126, which reads in pertinent
part:
No person shall turn a vehicle at an
intersection unless the vehicle is in proper
position upon the roadway . . . , or turn a
vehicle to enter a private road or driveway
or otherwise turn a vehicle from a direct
course or move right or left upon a
roadway, or start or back a vehicle unless
and until such movement can be made with
safety. No person shall so turn any vehicle
without giving an appropriate signal in the
manner hereinafter provided in the event
any other traffic may be affected by such
movement.
A signal of intention to turn right or left
when required shall be given continuously
during not less than the last 100 feet
traveled by the vehicle before turning.
Defendant contends that the plain language of this statute cannot be
construed to require a driver to signal before changing lanes. Instead, he
maintains that it applies only to a left or right "turn" and that because a lane
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change does not constitute a "turn" in any normative sense, the statute is
inapplicable to the motorist's actions here. Defendant further contends that
"[b]ecause N.J.S.A. 39:4-126 unambiguously does not prohibit changing lanes
without signaling, Officer Manzo was wrong to stop the sedan on that basis."
He also posits that "if the statute is construed as anything other than
unambiguous . . . , it must be deemed unconstitutionally vague as applied to the
conduct of changing lanes without signaling." Defendant surmises that even if
the statute could be read to require a motorist to signal a lane change under
certain circumstances, Officer Manzo did not have reasonable and articulable
suspicion under these circumstances. Defendant contends that because the stop
was not supported by a reasonable, articulable suspicion of a motor-vehicle
violation, it was unlawful.
In advancing these arguments, defendant maintains we are faced with a
question of first impression, noting that leading cases do not squarely address
whether a motorist is required to signal a lane change "under any
circumstances." Defendant observes that our Supreme Court in State v.
Williamson, 138 N.J. 302 (1994), considered the circumstances where "a
motorist may be pulled over for failing to signal a lane change, . . . but was not
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presented with the question of whether the statute's signaling requirement
applies to lane changes in the first instance."
In Williamson, the Court was faced with a scenario where a New Jersey
state trooper observed defendant while driving "a few car lengths ahead,
mov[ing] from the center lane into the right lane without a signal. The trooper
stopped defendant's vehicle on that basis." Id. at 303-04. In remanding to the
trial court for further findings, the Supreme Court found that "[t]he statute does
not require a signal for every lane change. Perhaps it should. Because the statute
does not contain such a requirement, the officer ordering a stop must have some
articulable basis for concluding that the lane change might have an effect on
traffic." Id. at 304. On remand, the Court required the trial court to determine
whether "the failure to signal may have affected any other traffic." Id. at 305.
Defendant also invites us to consider a related statute, N.J.S.A. 39:4-
88(b), which provides:
A vehicle shall be driven as nearly as practicable
entirely within a single lane and shall not be moved
from that lane until the driver has first ascertained that
the movement can be made with safety.
Because the Legislature employed the word "moved" and not "turned" to
describe the lane change, as in N.J.S.A. 39:4-126, he urges it is reasonable for
us to infer that the statute at issue does not adequately describe, and thereby
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proscribe, unsignaled lane changes. We decline to adopt that interpretation.
N.J.S.A. 39:4-126 applies when "any other traffic may be affected" by
an unsignaled turn. "'Other traffic' may include an officer's vehicle."
Williamson, 138 N.J. at 304. A potential impact on traffic is enough. State v.
Moss, 277 N.J. Super. 545, 547 (App. Div. 1994). "Motorists in the vicinity
whose movements may be affected must be made aware of a driver's intentions."
Williamson, 138 N.J. at 304. To justify a stop, the quantum of evidence need
only be reasonably articulable; it need not reach the quantum of evidence
necessary for conviction. Id. at 303. The record here establishes that "other
traffic" consisted of the police cruiser following defendant, as well as any of the
surrounding vehicles constituting the credibly attested medium-level traffic in
the area.
A canon of statutory interpretation is that we "avoid constructions that
render any part of a statute inoperative, superfluous, or meaningless, or lead to
absurd results." Innes v. Innes, 117 N.J. 496, 509 (1990) (quoting Abbotts
Dairies v. Armstrong, 14 N.J. 319, 328 (1954)); Paper Mill Playhouse v.
Millburn Twp., 95 N.J. 503, 521 (1984).
As defendant acknowledges in his brief, every day on the roadways of this
state, drivers know to signal before they change lanes. We disagree with
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defendant's theory that while commonplace, "[s]uch behavior may demonstrate
[an intent] to be cautious and courteous to other drivers on the road. It does not
bespeak the public's understanding that the failure to properly signal a lane
change is grounds to be pulled over by police." Rather, we agree with the State's
position that it is well within our citizenry's experience to know that those who
do not adequately signal a lane change, when that lane change might impact
other traffic, may fairly expect to receive a summons when pulled over by the
police. In the first of six separate audio-visual clips of the stop, Smith
acknowledged as much. Were we to hold otherwise, the operative phrase "move
right or left upon a roadway" in the subject statute would be rendered
inoperative, superfluous, and meaningless, leading to absurd results.
The case before us does not present an unprecedented circumstance or
merit a novel interpretation of well-established law. Our examination of the
record supports the trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law, as based
on sufficient, credible evidence.
Affirmed.
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