State of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent v. James I. Hunt, Defendant-Appellant

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed James I. Hunt's murder conviction but reversed his death sentence, finding multiple errors in the penalty phase—including the failure to instruct the jury that aggravating factors must outweigh mitigating factors beyond a reasonable doubt, a defective instruction on aggravating factor c(4)(c), and coercive handling of a jury deadlock. The case was remanded for imposition of a non‑capital sentence. Justice Handler dissented, arguing that the conviction itself should be set aside and that death‑qualified juries violate the right to an impartial jury.