State of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent and Cross-Appellant v. Robert R. Simon, Defendant-Appellant and…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey affirmed Robert Simon's convictions for capital murder and his death sentence, holding that the indictment was proper, the grand jury instructions were not misleading, the guilty plea was voluntary and established the requisite mens rea, and the out‑of‑state prior murder conviction qualified as an aggravating factor. The Court also granted a proportionality review of the death sentence. Justice Stein and Justice Handler dissented, arguing that the foreign murder conviction should not count as an aggravating factor and that the plea was not entered voluntarily.