State v. Henderson and the New Model Jury Charges - New Jersey ...

a-8-08.opn.html
perpetrator when he allegedly observed the
crime being committed; third, the accuracy of
any prior description of the perpetrator given
[b]y Womble; fourth, you should consider the
fact that in Womble’s sworn taped statement of
January 11th, 2003 to the police . . ., Womble did
not identify anyone as the person or persons
involved in the shooting of Rodney Harper . . . .
Next, you should consider the degree of
certainty, if any, expressed by Womble in
making the identification. . . . 3
You should also consider the length of time
between Womble’s observation of the alleged
offense and his identification . . . . You should
consider any discrepancies or inconsistencies
between identifications . . . .
Next, the circumstances under which any outof-court
identification was made including in
this case the evidence that during the showing to
him of eight photos by Detective Weber he did
not identify Larry Henderson when he first
looked at them and later identified Larry
Henderson from one of those photos.
. . . . You may also consider any other factor
based on the evidence or lack of evidence in the
case which you consider relevant to your
determination whether the identification made
by Womble is reliable or not.
Defendant did not object to the charge or ask for any additional instructions
related to the identification evidence presented at trial.
On July 20, 2004, the jury acquitted defendant of murder and aggravated
manslaughter, and convicted him of reckless manslaughter, N.J.S.A. 2C:11-
4(b)(1), aggravated assault, and two weapons charges. In a bifurcated trial the
next day, the jury convicted defendant of the remaining firearms offense:
possession by a previously convicted person. The court sentenced him to an
aggregate eleven-year term of imprisonment, with a period of parole
ineligibility of almost six years under the No Early Release Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-
http://njlaw.rutgers.edu/collections/courts/supreme/a-8-08.opn.html[4/15/2013 6:04:23 PM]