Clarifies court's discretion in imposing monetary conditions of bail; establishes rebuttable presumption that person charged with violent crime be detained prior to trial.

A1600

ASSEMBLY, No. 1600

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

222nd LEGISLATURE

�

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION

Sponsored by:

Assemblyman SEAN T. KEAN

District 30 (Monmouth and Ocean)

SYNOPSIS

���� Clarifies court's discretion in imposing monetary
conditions of bail; establishes rebuttable presumption that person charged with
violent crime be detained prior to trial.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning pretrial release, amending P.L.2014, c.31
and supplementing Title 2A of the New Jersey Statutes.

����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:

���� 1.��� (New section)�
Notwithstanding any provision of law, court rule, or directive to the contrary,
when a prosecutor does not seek pretrial detention for a defendant pursuant to
section 5 of P.L.2014, c.31 (C.2A:162-19), the court may impose any combination
of monetary bail and non-monetary conditions which would reasonably assure the defendant�s
appearance in court when required, protect the safety of any other person or
the community, or prevent the person from obstructing or attempting to obstruct
the criminal justice process.� The defendant or prosecutor shall have the right
to request that a monetary condition of bail be set and shall receive the
court�s due consideration of such request.

���� 2.��� Section 1 of P.L.2014,
c.31 (C.2A:162-15) is amended to read as follows:

���� 1.��� The provisions of
sections 1 through 11 of P.L.2014, c.31 (C.2A:162-15 et seq.)
and section 1 of
P.L.����� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purpose of
[
primarily
]
relying upon
pretrial release by
monetary or
non-monetary means to reasonably assure
an eligible defendant's appearance in court when required, the protection of
the safety of any other person or the community, that the eligible defendant
will not obstruct or attempt to obstruct the criminal justice process, and that
the eligible defendant will comply with all conditions of release, while
authorizing the court, upon motion of a prosecutor, to order pretrial detention
of the eligible defendant when it finds clear and convincing evidence that no
condition or combination of conditions can reasonably assure the effectuation
of these goals. Monetary bail may be set for an eligible defendant only when it
is determined that no other conditions of release will reasonably assure the
eligible defendant's appearance in court when required.

���� For the purposes of sections 1
through 11 of P.L.2014, c.31 (C.2A:162-15 et seq.), "eligible
defendant" shall mean a person for whom a complaint-warrant is issued for
an initial charge involving an indictable offense or a disorderly persons offense
unless otherwise provided in sections 1 through 11 of P.L.2014, c.31
(C.2A:162-15 et seq.).

(cf: P.L.2014, c.31, s.1)

���� 3.��� Section 5 of P.L.2014,
c.31 (C.2A:162-19) is amended to read as follows:

���� 5.��� a.� A prosecutor may
file a motion with the court at any time, including any time before or after an
eligible defendant's release pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2014, c.31
(C.2A:162-17), seeking the pretrial detention of an eligible defendant for:

���� (1)�� any crime of the first
or second degree enumerated under subsection d. of section 2 of P.L.1997, c.117
(C.2C:43-7.2);

���� (2)�� any crime for which the
eligible defendant would be subject to an ordinary or extended term of life
imprisonment;

���� (3)�� any crime if the
eligible defendant has been convicted of two or more offenses under paragraph
(1) or (2) of this subsection;�

���� (4)�� any crime enumerated
under paragraph (2) of subsection b. of section 2 of P.L.1994, c.133 (C.2C:7-2)
or crime involving human trafficking pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2005, c.77
(C.2C:13-8) or P.L.2013, c.51 (C.52:17B-237 et al.) when the victim is a minor,
or the crime of endangering the welfare of a child under N.J.S.2C:24-4;

���� (5)�� any crime enumerated
under subsection c. of N.J.S.2C:43-6;

���� (6)�� any crime or offense
involving domestic violence as defined in subsection a. of section 3 of
P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-19); or

���� (7)�� any other crime for
which the prosecutor believes there is a serious risk that:

���� (a)�� the eligible defendant
will not appear in court as required;

���� (b)�� the eligible defendant
will pose a danger to any other person or the community; or

���� (c)�� the eligible defendant
will obstruct or attempt to obstruct justice, or threaten, injure, or
intimidate, or attempt to threaten, injure or intimidate, a prospective witness
or juror.�

���� b.��� When a motion for
pretrial detention is filed pursuant to subsection a. of this section, there
shall be a rebuttable presumption that the eligible defendant shall be detained
pending trial because no amount of monetary bail, non-monetary condition or combination
of monetary bail and conditions would reasonably assure the eligible
defendant's appearance in court when required, the protection of the safety of
any other person or the community, and that the eligible defendant will not
obstruct or attempt to obstruct the criminal justice process, if the court
finds probable cause that the eligible defendant:

���� (1)�� committed murder
pursuant to N.J.S.2C:11-3;
[
or
]

���� (2)�� committed any crime for
which the eligible defendant would be subject to an ordinary or extended term
of life imprisonment
; or

����
(3) committed any crime of
the first or second degree enumerated under subsection d. of section 2 of
P.L.1997, c.117 (C.2C:43-7.2)
.

���� c.���� A court shall hold a
hearing to determine whether any amount of monetary bail or non-monetary
conditions or combination of monetary bail and conditions, including those set
forth under subsection b. of section 3 of P.L.2014, c.31 (C.2A:162-17) will
reasonably assure the eligible defendant's appearance in court when required,
the protection of the safety of any other person or the community, and that the
eligible defendant will not obstruct or attempt to obstruct the criminal
justice process.

���� d.� (1)� Except as otherwise
provided in this subsection, the pretrial detention hearing shall be held no
later than the eligible defendant's first appearance unless the eligible
defendant, or the prosecutor, seeks a continuance. If a prosecutor files a motion
for pretrial detention after the eligible defendant's first appearance has
taken place or if no first appearance is required, the court shall schedule the
pretrial detention hearing to take place within three working days of the date
on which the prosecutor's motion was filed, unless the prosecutor or the
eligible defendant seeks a continuance. Except for good cause, a continuance on
motion of the eligible defendant may not exceed five days, not including any
intermediate Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday. Except for good cause, a
continuance on motion of the prosecutor may not exceed three days, not
including any intermediate Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

���� (2)�� Upon the filing of a
motion by the prosecutor seeking the pretrial detention of the eligible
defendant and during any continuance that may be granted by the court, the
eligible defendant shall be detained in jail, unless the eligible defendant was
previously released from custody before trial, in which case the court shall
issue a notice to appear to compel the appearance of the eligible defendant at
the detention hearing. The court, on motion of the prosecutor or sua sponte,
may order that, while in custody, an eligible defendant who appears to be a
drug dependent person receive an assessment to determine whether that eligible
defendant is drug dependent.

���� e.� (1)� At the pretrial
detention hearing, the eligible defendant has the right to be represented by
counsel, and, if financially unable to obtain adequate representation, to have
counsel appointed. The eligible defendant shall be afforded an opportunity to
testify, to present witnesses, to cross-examine witnesses who appear at the
hearing, and to present information by proffer or otherwise. The rules
concerning admissibility of evidence in criminal trials shall not apply to the
presentation and consideration of information at the hearing.�

���� (2)�� In pretrial detention
proceedings for which there is no indictment, the prosecutor shall establish
probable cause that the eligible defendant committed the predicate offense. A
presumption of pretrial detention as provided in subsection b. of this section
may be rebutted by proof provided by the eligible defendant, the prosecutor, or
from other materials submitted to the court. The standard of proof for a
rebuttal of the presumption of pretrial detention shall be a preponderance of
the evidence. If proof cannot be established to rebut the presumption, the
court may order the eligible defendant's pretrial detention. If the presumption
is rebutted by sufficient proof, the prosecutor shall have the opportunity to
establish that the grounds for pretrial detention exist pursuant to this
section.

���� (3)�� Except when an eligible
defendant has failed to rebut a presumption of pretrial detention pursuant to
subsection b. of this section, the court's finding to support an order of
pretrial detention pursuant to section 4 of P.L.2014, c.31 (C.2A:162-18) that no
amount of monetary bail, non-monetary conditions or combination of monetary
bail and conditions will reasonably assure the eligible defendant's appearance
in court when required, the protection of the safety of any other person or the
community, and that the eligible defendant will not obstruct or attempt to
obstruct the criminal justice process shall be supported by clear and
convincing evidence.

���� f.���� The hearing may be
reopened, before or after a determination by the court, at any time before
trial, if the court finds that information exists that was not known to the
prosecutor or the eligible defendant at the time of the hearing and that has a
material bearing on the issue of whether there are conditions of release that
will reasonably assure the eligible defendant's appearance in court when
required, the protection of the safety of any other person or the community, or
that the eligible defendant will not obstruct or attempt to obstruct the
criminal justice process.

(cf: P.L.2014, c.31, s.5)

���� 4.��� This act shall take
effect on the 90
th
day following enactment.

STATEMENT

���� This bill clarifies the court�s
discretion in imposing monetary conditions of bail and establishes a rebuttable
presumption that persons charged with certain violent crimes be detained prior
to trial.

Monetary
Conditions of Bail

���� The bill provides that, notwithstanding
any provision of law, court rule, or directive to the contrary, when a
prosecutor does not seek pretrial detention for a defendant pursuant to N.J.S.A.2A:162-19,
the court may impose any combination of monetary bail and non-monetary
conditions which would reasonably assure the defendant�s appearance in court
when required, protect the safety of any other person or the community, or
prevent the person from obstructing or attempting to obstruct the criminal
justice process.� The bill also provides that the defendant or prosecutor shall
have the right to request that a monetary condition of bail be set and shall
receive the court�s due consideration of such request.

Pretrial
Detention

���� Under current law, upon motion
by the prosecutor the court may order a defendant detained before trial under
certain circumstances. In addition, if the court finds probable cause that the
defendant committed murder or committed any crime for which the defendant would
be subject to life imprisonment, there is a rebuttable presumption that the
defendant be detained pending trial.

���� This bill provides that the
rebuttable presumption of pretrial detention would also apply to a defendant
charged with any crime of the first or second degree enumerated under
subsection d. of N.J.S.A.2C:43-7.2. These crimes include murder; aggravated
manslaughter or manslaughter; vehicular homicide; aggravated assault; disarming
a law enforcement officer; kidnapping; aggravated sexual assault; certain
sexual assaults; robbery; carjacking;� aggravated arson;� burglary;� extortion;
booby traps in CDS manufacturing or distribution facilities; strict liability
for drug induced deaths; terrorism; producing or possessing chemical weapons,
biological agents or nuclear or radiological devices;� racketeering, when it is
a crime of the first degree; firearms trafficking; and causing or permitting a
child to engage in a prohibited sexual act, knowing that the act may be
reproduced or reconstructed or be part of an exhibition or performance.