New Criminal rules effective 2017,
No more cash bail
Everyone with a Warrant gets to spend at least one night in jail !!!
The Supreme Court adopted a package Criminal Justice Reform-related rule amendments – amending various Part III and Part VII Rules – to be effective January 1, 2017. Read the Court’s Omnibus2 Rule Amendment Order.
Attorneys also need to set up an Ecourts login and file Superior Court motions online
From NJ Law Journal
The new system will permit pretrial release for low risk offenders and will allow judges to require non-monetary conditions to release depending on risk, such as supervision by a new pre-trial services staff, adherence to a curfew, and in some instances, the use of ankle bracelets. For high-risk offenders, pretrial release can be denied without the option for bail. The new system should correct fundamental issues such as jail overcrowding, the disparate impact of bail on minorities and the poor, and improve public safety by disallowing the pretrial release of high-risk offenders.
The bail reform bill also comes with strict time requirements. Most notably, pretrial hearings on risk assessment and release must be held within 48 hours of arrest. The 48-hour requirement will result in court staff and prosecutors holding hearings over the weekend.
If a prosecutor wants to detain a suspect without bail, the prosecutor will have three days after the risk assessment hearing to hold a plenary hearing where the State must prove by clear and convincing evidence that the suspect should be detained pending trial. These defendants are then required to be tried within 180 days of indictment.
These strict time deadlines, in addition to the new pretrial release supervision conditions, require the use of more judicial and public resources. Recognizing the need for more resources, Senate President Steve Sweeney recently introduced a bill that would allocate $9.3 million to hire 20 new judges to help provide more timely pretrial hearings. Counties need to hire additional prosecutors and court security to provide prompt pretrial hearings and comply with the speedy trial mandate.
Understanding the bail reform initiative and its impact on the state judiciary is crucial to successfully navigating the New Jersey trial court system in the upcoming year. The New Jersey Judiciary has suffered from judicial vacancies for years, and the new bail reform bill will place a great deal of strain on an already overburdened court system. This is important for criminal and civil practitioners alike. As a young lawyer, you should be aware of the impact of the bail reform bill in order to successfully navigate your case through the changing system.
If you are a criminal practitioner, it is imperative you know and understand the new bail reform bill, pretrial hearing procedure, pretrial supervision requirements and deadlines for trial if your client is not granted pretrial release. You may be required to work weekends, and you may need to quickly prepare for an in-depth plenary hearing if your client is a high-risk offender or accused of a violent crime.
If you are a civil practitioner, it is equally important for you to understand the constraints placed on the court system as a result of the bail reform. More judges will be pulled from the civil division to work on criminal cases, particularly pretrial assessment hearings. This may result in backlog on the civil docket and slower processing of cases. Civil judges may also be more reluctant to grant oral argument and may decide more cases on the papers. Civil trials will also continue to be backlogged. While cases may be fully ready for trial, it could take months to secure a firm date.
As a civil practitioner, you need to counsel your client on the potential for processing delays if a case is filed in New Jersey state court. You should also evaluate whether you have any basis to bring your claim in federal court or remove an action to federal court. Is there diversity jurisdiction? Is there a related federal cause of action that could result in federal question jurisdiction? You should fully explore your options of where to file and explain to your client the pros and cons of state court litigation versus federal court litigation.
If you do have a civil case in state court, the backlog and processing delays as a result of the bail reform bill and judicial vacancies could also be used in furthering settlement discussions. A client may be more willing to settle a case after dispositive motion practice if they learn that the case will not be brought to trial for at least six months or more. You should be upfront with your client that the likelihood of a firm trial date in New Jersey state trial court is minimal and the case will likely be called for trial multiple times before the case is actually brought before a jury. These wait times will only increase with the bail reform initiative.
As a young lawyer, having practical knowledge of the court system and processing time is valuable and will set you apart as a practitioner. You should be able and ready to talk intelligently about the bail reform bill and its impact on both the criminal and civil dockets. These skills will help you as you grow your practice and establish your reputation as a competent and knowledgeable attorney.
Bail Reform Highlights
• Persons accused of crimes will now receive a risk assessment hearing within 48 hours of arrest to determine the amount of bail.
• The bail reform system shifts the focus from a monetary-based "how much can the person afford" system to one that questions "does this person pose a flight risk."
• Due to the need for a risk assessment hearing within 48 hours of arrest, the case backlog in civil may exponentially increase
• Consider whether a civil action could be filed in federal court in order to avoid the unknown of the length of backlogs in civil, following the bail reform measures.
• If you are looking for a new position, consider applying to your local prosecutor's office or public defender's office, as the demand may now increase with the bail reform measures.• source http://www.njlawjournal.com/id=1202774975577/Ringing-in-the-New-Year-with-Bail-Reform?mcode=0&curindex=0&curpage=ALL
