Unpublished Opinions for the Week of August 1, 2016

01-2-9846 Ravenell v. N.J. Dep’t of Corr., N.J. Super. App. Div. (per curiam) (5 pp.) Gregory Ravenell, an inmate at the New Jersey State Prison in Trenton, appealed from the final administrative decision of the Department of Corrections to continue his placement in involuntary protective custody because the initial conditions that resulted in his placement in 2007 had not changed. Ravenell is serving a 30-year mandatory minimum sentence for murder. Ravenell claimed that the decision to keep him in involuntary protective custody was not based on credible evidence because no documents in the record supported the assertion, which he denied, that Ravenell was placed in the general population in several prisons and always sought protective custody. The appellate panel also found no support in the record for this assertion, which was relied on by the hearing officer to make her decision. To the contrary, documentation supported Ravenell’s continuing desire for housing in the general population since 2011. At least six times he submitted a written request to be transferred to the general population. The panel therefore reversed and remanded for another protective custody review hearing where documentation of Ravenell’s alleged multiple requests for placement in protective custody would be reviewed before any reliance was placed on the assertion that he made such requests.

07-2-9861 Marcotte v. Edison Police Dep’t, N.J. Super. App. Div. (per curiam) (5 pp.) Plaintiff Kenneth Marcotte appealed the Law Division’s entry of a judgment of no cause after a jury trial in his civil suit claiming unlawful arrest and assault. On Nov. 11, 2009, plaintiff called 9-1-1 after his wife struck him with a hand-held massager. According to a responding officer, when the officers refused to arrest plaintiff’s wife, plaintiff became mad and ultimately poked an officer in the chest. In response, the officers handcuffed plaintiff and informed him that he was under arrest. Plaintiff provided a different account at trial. He stated that he became upset when the officers refused to arrest his wife, and, in the course of directing the officers to leave his property, his outstretched finger made contact with an officer, who grabbed him by the neck, pulled him to the ground, handcuffed him and stepped on his testicles. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, plaintiff pleaded guilty to a municipal ordinance violation. Plaintiff filed a civil complaint against defendants the Township of Edison Police Department/Township of Edison and four police officers. The complaint alleged violations of the New Jersey Constitution, violations of the New Jersey Civil Rights Act, assault and unlawful arrest. The appellate panel affirmed the entry of judgment of no cause. The panel rejected plaintiff’s argument that he was entitled to a new trial because his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance. There is no constitutional right to counsel in ordinary civil cases such and thus no right to a new trial based upon alleged ineffective assistance of counsel.