07-30-09 STATE V. SMITH A-5217-07T4

Defendant's conviction on trial de novo for violating
N.J.S.A. 39:4-125 is affirmed because he turned his vehicle
"around so as to proceed in the opposite direction on a highway"
on which a "no U turn" sign was conspicuously posted. Defendant
does not have to perform a "u turn." The West Annotated version
of the statute contains an error. The "no U turn" sign need not
be on a "state" highway, and therefore whether or not the road
was a "state" highway was irrelevant, as there is a rebuttable
presumption the statute was properly posted. As defendant was
not entitled to assigned counsel, the fact he was improperly
assigned counsel in the Law Division does not require vacation
of the municipal conviction because he was not assigned counsel
there.

Chase Smith assistant editor