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Administrative Director Of NJ Courts Says Bail Reform Has Eliminated Injustices

Judge James Grant testifies at Senate Budget Committee hearing.

The Administrative Director of New Jersey courts says the transformation of the cash bail system has eliminated injustices and created a fairer system.

Judge Glenn Grant says bail reforms that took effect last year mean defendants accused of low-risk crimes no longer have to sit in jail because they can’t afford to pay modest amounts of bail and those who pose a significant risk of violence can’t buy their way back onto the streets.

He says more than 8,000 high-risk defendants were detained last year while awaiting trial. And the pre-trial jail population dropped 20 percent.

He told lawmakers it’s too soon to know if that means that counties will be able to cut their jail expenses.

“The question is, are these reductions long-term projections? One year of a reduction of 20 percent is not a significant enough time period if you will for the county to say based upon this one year reduction I’m going to close a pod or I’m going to reduce staffing.”

Senator Declan O’Scanlon says the statistics indicate the reforms are having some success.

“We know every single time someone is let out and reoffends. It’s hard to prove the number of people who are kept in the acts of violence, maybe major acts of violence, that were avoided.”

Judge Grant says revenue from court filing fees is dropping and a dedicated source of funding is needed for the pretrial services program to help get defendants the services they need to turn their lives around.

“Expenses are projected to exceed revenues by $13 million in Fiscal Year 2019. Even with large carryover balances and reserves, and strict controls over spending, our projections show the Pretrial Services program will run out of money by the fourth quarter of 2020.”