Now, they get by with just four full-time staff. Prior to 2014, court staff was comprised of a court administrator and six full-time employees. Now, we are getting remanded from the prosecutor’s office and the criminal division fourth degree and, believe it or not, a lot of third degree cases,” said O’Donnell.Īs a result, the court is now seeing double the amount of cases they handled in the same timeframe last year, and currently has 2,100 active pending cases. “Before, we would only handle disorderly persons or petty disorderly persons cases. The intention was to keep the system fair for poor defendants who struggle to post bail and face losing jobs and critical medical care while incarcerated. Implications brought on by recent state bail reform legislation can be seen with a closer look at Howell Township’s municipal court.Īt the township’s March 6 budget meeting, Court Administrator Rosemary O’Donnell revealed challenges brought on by the recent legislation, which eliminates bail for many defendants and forces a speedier trial for warrants. Micromedia Publications reported on Howell Twp – Mar 17, 2017 State Bail Reform Leaves Municipal Court Shorthanded This creates greater strain on municipal courts which will need additional staff and resources to handle the cases…something the state will not pay for of course. The adverse effect of this new philosophy is that municipal courts will now have to hear these cases, along with the cases remanded back from the county prosecutors office. This reduction is not a reduction in crime, it’s a change in philosophy and the judiciary’s interpretation of the new bail reform law. In our report, we identified the fact that CDR2 warrants (indictable offense warrants where you actually go to the jail for processing) have decreased over 41% year over year. New Jersey Attorney General and Judiciary – Accomplices in NJ Bail Reform Deception Recently US Bail Reform reported on the judiciary’s attempt to reduce jail population by simply releasing many indictable offenses on a summons. Howell Township MC Howell Township Municipal Court is struggling to keep up with increased case load thanks to the judiciary remanding 3rd and 4th degree indictable offenses.
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