NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY APPELLATE DIVISION DOCKET NOS. A-5556-16 A-0686-17 STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Respondent, APPROVED FOR PUBLICATION v. April 15, 2021 APPELLATE DIVISION AAKASH A. DALAL, Defendant-Appellant. _______________________ STATE OF NEW JERSEY, Plaintiff-Respondent, v. ANTHONY M. GRAZIANO, Defendant-Appellant. ________________________ Argued January 12, 2021 – Decided April 15, 2021 Before Judges Fisher, Gilson, and Moynihan. On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Bergen County, Indictment No. 13-03-0374. Alan L. Zegas argued the cause for appellant Aakash A. Dalal (Law Offices of Alan L. Zegas, attorneys; Alan L. Zegas and Joshua M. Nahum, on the briefs). John A. Albright, Designated Counsel, argued the cause for appellant Anthony M. Graziano (Joseph E. Krakora, Public Defender, attorney; John A. Albright, on the briefs). William P. Miller, Assistant Prosecutor, argued the cause for respondent (Mark Musella, Bergen County Prosecutor, attorney; William P. Miller, of counsel and on the briefs; Nicole Paton, Assistant Prosecutor, and John J. Scaluti, Legal Assistant, on the briefs). The opinion of the court was delivered by GILSON, J.A.D. During a one-month period, between December 10, 2011, and January 11, 2012, five Jewish houses of worship were vandalized, fire-bombed, or attempted to be fire-bombed. Following an investigation, co-defendants Anthony Graziano and Aakash Dalal were charged with multiple crimes related to those acts. Defendants were tried separately, and juries convicted each defendant of numerous crimes, including first-degree terrorism, N.J.S.A. 2C:38-2(a); first- degree aggravated arson, N.J.S.A. 2C:17-1(a)(2) and N.J.S.A. 2C:2-6; first- degree conspiracy to commit arson, N.J.S.A. 2C:17-1 and N.J.S.A. 2C:5-2; and first-degree bias intimidation, N.J.S.A. 2C:16-1(a)(1) and N.J.S.A. 2C:2-6. Graziano was also convicted of second-degree hindering apprehension or A-5556-16 2 prosecution for conduct constituting the crime of terrorism, N.J.S.A. 2C:38-4(a) and N.J.S.A. 2C:2-6. Both defendants were sentenced to aggregate terms of thirty-five years in prison, with thirty years of parole ineligibility. Defendants separately appeal, challenging the constitutionality of the New Jersey Anti-Terrorism Act (Act), N.J.S.A. 2C:38-1 to -5. In this consolidated opinion we address a question of first impression: whether the Act is unconstitutionally vague. We hold it is not. Accordingly, we affirm defendants' convictions. We also address an Eighth Amendment challenge to the sentence imposed under the Act and conclude that it is not cruel and unusual.1 I. Sometime between the evening of December 10, 2011, and the following morning, the Jewish temple Beth-Israel in Maywood was vandalized. Swastikas and other white supremacist graffiti were spray-painted on the front entrance and handicap ramp of the temple. The graffiti included the phrase "Jews did 9/11." Ten days later, on December 21, 2011, the Jewish temple Beth El in Hackensack was vandalized. Multiple swastikas were spray-painted on the 1 Defendants raise other challenges to their convictions and Graziano also appeals from his sentence. We have analyzed and rejected those arguments in separate unpublished opinions also filed today. A-5556-16 3 doors of the synagogue. The phrase "Jews did 9/11" was spray-painted on the ground in front of the temple. …
Original document
Source: All recent Immigration Decisions In All the U.S. Courts of Appeals