Carol E. Higbee
Carol E. Higbee was a judge on the Appellate Division of the Superior Court in New Jersey. She was appointed in July 2014 after serving on the court as a temporary assignment from April 14 to June 20. She officially assumed this office on August 1, 2014, and attained tenured status in 2000.[1][2] Higbee died on January 3, 2017.[3]
Higbee was a judge on the Vicinage 1 Superior Court from 1993 to 2014. She served on the Atlantic County Civil Division.[4] She was appointed to the superior court by former Governor James Florio in 1993 and was sworn into office on February 19, 1993.[1]
Education
Higbee received her undergraduate degree from Temple University in 1972 and her J.D. from the Temple University School of Law in 1976.[5]
Career
- 2014-2017: Judge, New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division
- 1993-2014: Judge, New Jersey Vicinage 1
- 1981-1993: Partner, Targan, Higbee & Kievit
- 1976-1981: Associate, Donald Targan Law Firm[5]
Noteworthy cases
Appeals court denies relief to man who murdered his girlfriend (2015)
Curtis Smith received a life sentence for the 1980 murder of his girlfriend. According to an accomplice, Smith and his family all participated in the gruesome kidnapping and torture of the woman. Smith and his girlfriend were fighting. When she arrived at Smith's apartment, he was there with his uncle and other members of his family, and all had been drinking. When the victim tried to leave, Smith and his family hit her, held her against her will, forced her to shave her head, sign over her car, and other sordid acts. Then, Smith, his step-father and uncle put the victim in a car trunk and drove her away. Smith and his step-father took the victim from the car and killed her by stabbing her. The three then buried her body. Smith's uncle later gave a statement to police implicating himself, Smith and other family members. The police later used hypnosis to get a more detailed statement from the uncle.
Smith was convicted of murder, and his family was convicted of several other offenses related to the crime. Since he was sentenced, Smith has sought post-conviction relief three times. The last petition, filed in March 2015, was denied at the lower court level. Smith appealed, and the ruling was reviewed by Judges Carol E. Higbee and Michael J. Haas of the New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division in May 2015. Smith claimed that he the lower court erred by saying it was bound by an earlier appellate decision and not allowing him to withdraw his guilty plea by applying a law retroactively in regards to the police's use of hypnosis. The Superior Court, however, affirmed the lower court's denial. It found that Smith's argument about the use of hypnosis to be without merit; further, he never raised an objection to the use of hypnosis at the time of trial.
Articles:
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shore News Today, "Absecon judge appointed to state Appellate Division," July 18, 2014
- ↑ New Jersey Appellate Law, "Judges Higbee, Manahan, and Sumners are Moved Up to the Appellate Division," March 14, 2014
- ↑ Press of Atlantic City, "Obituary: Higbee, Carol E.," January 6, 2017
- ↑ New Jersey Courts, "Atlantic/Cape May Counties Chambers and Administration," accessed July 18, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 RobeProbe, "Carol E. Higbee"
Federal courts:
Third Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of New Jersey • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of New Jersey
State courts:
New Jersey Supreme Court • New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division • New Jersey Superior Courts • New Jersey Municipal Courts • New Jersey Tax Court
State resources:
Courts in New Jersey • New Jersey judicial elections • Judicial selection in New Jersey
