In the State of New Jersey - whose governor and Legislature are democrat party controlled - there are often more questions than answers.
But this one sure takes the cake (and puts the delivery driver back on the road as well!)
Pre-2017, judges would release defendants pretrial only if they paid bail. The powers-that-be noticed that the jails were filling up with black people as they just so happened to be less able to afford to post bail. This caused a "racial disparity" in who was in jail pending trial.
The Legislature fixed this "big problem" by implementing the Criminal Justice Reform Act (CJRA) which eliminated the bail system nearly completely. Instead, in each case the judge decides to either detain the defendant regardless of ability to post bail, or to release without any monetary bail.
Essentially, judges now release most defendants pretrial.
Lawmakers are enthusiastic to see the "huge success" of the program: the total jailed population decreased by approximately 47 percent between 2012 and 2021.
However, Trenton dem's still aren't satisfied.
At budget committee hearings held on the recently adopted state budget, lawmakers discussed with Judiciary officials their concerns that "while the overall jail population has decreased since the implementation of the CJRA, Black defendants are still disproportionately represented at each step in the criminal justice process, including: arrest, those issued complaint/warrants, and those detained in jail, as well as defendants overall."
The lawmakers and judges agreed that "they will continue to engage in continued and comprehensive research to minimize racial disparities for each step of the way through the adjudication process from prosecution to sentencing."
An FAA News investigation reveals that now, not only have the "racial disparity" and "persecuted minorities" concerns resulted in defendants getting released pretrial, but even with getting charges majorly dropped completely!
The Lakewood Police Department responded to a motor vehicle crash in which there were two injuries. Following an investigation the driver was charged with two counts of Fourth Degree Assault by Automobile, Operating Under the Influence, an Reckless Driving.
Turns out that the driver is not a legal citizen. In such a case, a conviction would result in an order of deportation.
Over the objections of the Ocean County Prosecutor, the Superior Court judge sitting in Ocean County decided to grant him Pretrial Intervention (PTI) which is officially a program which seeks to render early rehabilitative services, such as drug/alcohol treatment, when such services can reasonably be expected to deter future criminal behavior.
Basically, PTI "assists in the rehabilitation of worthy defendants, and, in the process, spares them the rigors of the criminal justice system."
In granting PTI, the defendant will be able to avoid running up a guilty conviction, and ultimately will not face deportation.
However, this isn't simply a "side perk" - it was actually a major factor in why the judge let the guy slide!
In an audio recording obtained by FAA News, the judge is heard saying "I need to take into consideration that if this guy gets deported then his wife and kids will become dependent on government assistance." The Assistant Prosecutor argued back "Your Honor, of what relevance is that?" To which the judge responded "it's of paramount concern!"
So there you got it! Under the New Jersey justice system, you have a better chance of getting criminal charges tossed out if you're not a legal citizen!
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4 comments:
Which “Judge” came up with this bizarre rationale?
u didn't write the name of the judge
Why does the author use quotes around the words "racial disparity"?
Because the term racial disparity speaks more as an interpretation of the cause than as a statement of the facts at hand. If there is a higher crime rate among minorities, it follows that there will be (and should be) a higher rate of prosecution, as the amount of prosecution has to fit the crime rate. It should not be relevant what the race of the perpetrator is unless they are getting prosecuted more than their non-minority counterparts for the same rate of crime. Unfortunately, that is not the case. The only issue at hand should be addressing why there is more crime among minorities, not why there is more prosecution.
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