State of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Appellant v. Nicholas Stefanelli, Samuel Corsaro, and Robert Bisaccia…

Summary

The Supreme Court held that the admission of co‑conspirator Joseph Cicala's guilty plea as substantive evidence of the conspiracy was error, but because the plea was admitted only for credibility purposes and the error was harmless, the defendants' convictions were reinstated. Justice Pashman's dissent argued that the error was not harmless and that such guilty‑plea evidence should never be admitted.