The New Jersey Supreme Court tossed three defendants’ convictions for being leaders of a narcotics trafficking network, commonly referred to as the “kingpin” offense. For one defendant, the Court held that the State failed to produce sufficient evidence that he occupied a high-level position within the network. Therefore the trial court erred in denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal. For the other two defendants, the Court held that the trial court’s jury instructions did not adequately define the term “high level.” The Court remanded those two cases for a new trial. The Court rejected the defendants’ remaining arguments that (1) expert testimony regarding drug distribution strayed beyond permissible grounds, (2) jailhouse calls were improperly admitted, (3) Facebook pages were not sufficiently authenticated, and (4) the sentences of life imprisonment with 30 years of parole ineligibility were cruel and unusual.
