SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE
STATEMENT TO
SENATE, No. 74
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
DATED: JANUARY 18, 1996
The Senate Judiciary Committee reports favorably Senate Bill No. 74.
Presently, under the provisions of N.J.S.2C:44-3, if a person who had previously been convicted of a serious crime while armed with a firearm is convicted again of a serious crime involving the use of a firearm, a mandatory extended term of imprisonment must be imposed. In State v. Coperman, 197 N.J. Super. 261 (App. Div. 1984), the court ruled that the language of N.J.S.2C:44-3 does not permit the imposition of an extended term of imprisonment if the prior conviction occurred in a jurisdiction other than New Jersey. This bill would amend 2C:44-3 to provide that a conviction in another jurisdiction would constitute a prior conviction for purposes of the extended term of imprisonment for repeat firearm offenders.
The bill was prefiled in the 1996 session pending technical review. As reported, the bill includes the changes required by technical review which has been performed.