State v. Womack

In State v. Womack, 145 N.J. 576, 679 A.2d 606 (1996), the defendant was charged with practicing medicine without a license in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:21-20 (a) and (c). The principal investigating agent from the Enforcement Bureau of the Division of Consumer Affairs testified before the grand jury as to his contacts with the defendant while in an apparent undercover capacity. Womack, supra., 145 N.J. at 587, 679 A.2d 606. The agent, however, failed to testify that the defendant made him sign a disclaimer which extensively set forth that the defendant was a "naturopath" and not a medical doctor. Ibid. The Court dismissed only that portion of the indictment pertaining to subsection (C) of the statute which prohibits one from "hold(ing) himself out to the public or any person as being eligible to engage in that practice (of medicine)." The Court reasoned that the non-disclosed evidence, ie. a written form defendant provided which clearly indicated that he was not a medical doctor, met the requirements of the standard set forth in Hogan. Womack, supra, 145 N.J. at 588, 679 A.2d 606. The evidence that the defendant disclosed his professional status to the investigator "flatly contradicts the principle element of (the) charge. Because the evidence was clearly exculpatory, highly reliable, and known by the prosecutor, that evidence should have been submitted to the grand jury. The failure to do so requires dismissal of that portion of the indictment." Id. at 589, 679 A.2d 606.