State of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent v. Tyrone M. Brunson, Defendant-Appellant

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey reversed the conviction of Tyrone M. Brunson and remanded for a new trial, holding that the trial court erred by admitting evidence of Brunson's prior convictions that were similar to the charged offenses without sanitizing that evidence. The Court also affirmed that the State had satisfied the chain‑of‑custody requirement for the cocaine evidence, but that issue was moot after the reversal on the prior‑conviction ground. The decision establishes a new rule that prior convictions similar to the offense charged may be introduced only to the extent of the date, degree, and number of convictions, not the specific nature of the crimes.