State of New Jersey, Plaintiff-Respondent and Cross-Appellant v. Anthony Caliguiri, Defendant-Appellant and…

Summary

The Supreme Court of New Jersey held that a prosecutor may treat a third-degree school‑zone drug offense (N.J.S.A. 2C:35-7) as presumptively ineligible for Pre‑Trial Intervention (PTI), requiring the defendant to show compelling reasons to overcome the presumption, and affirmed the Appellate Division’s decision while invalidating the Attorney General’s Directive that mandated categorical denial. Justice STEIN concurred in part and dissented in part, arguing the presumption should not be applied to third‑degree offenses.