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S4229
SENATE, No. 4229
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MAY 14, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� RAJ MUKHERJI
District 32 (Hudson)
Senator� JON M. BRAMNICK
District 21 (Middlesex, Morris, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
���� Directs Office of Public Defender to provide legal
representation for certain criminal contempt violations.�
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning representation by the Office of the Public
Defender in certain domestic violence contempt violation cases 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.� a.
�
The
Public Defender shall, in the manner prescribed by P.L.1967, c. 43 (C.
2A:158A-1 et seq.), provide representation to any indigent defendant charged
under subsection b. of N.J.S.2C:29-9 with contempt for the violation of an
order entered pursuant to the provisions of the �Prevention of Domestic
violence Act of 1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-17 et seq.).
b.� Orders entered pursuant to
paragraphs (3), (4), (5), (8), and (9) of subsection b. of section 13 of
P.L.1991, c.261 (C.2C:25-29) or substantially similar orders entered under the
laws of another state or the United States shall be excluded from the provisions
of this section.
���� 2.��� This act shall take
effect on the first day of the fourth month next following the date of
enactment.
STATEMENT
����� This bill, as amended, would direct the Office of the
Public Defender (OPD) to provide legal representation for indigent defendants
charged with contempt for certain violations of domestic violence restraining
orders that may be prosecuted as a crime of the fourth degree or a disorderly
persons offense under N.J.S.2C:29-9.
����� Under current law, the OPD is required to provide
legal representation to any indigent defendant charged with committing an
indictable offense, and any person charged with a disorderly persons offense or
with the violation of any law, ordinance or regulation of a penal nature where
there is a likelihood that the person charged, if convicted, would be subject
to imprisonment or any other consequence of magnitude.�
See
Section 5 of
P.L.1967, c.43, s.5 (C.2A:158A-5); section 3 of P.L.1974, c.33
(C.2A:158A-5.2).�� A person charged with contempt under N.J.S.2C:29-9 for
violating any provision in an order entered under the provisions of the
"Prevention of Domestic Violence Act of 1991," P.L.1991, c.261
(C.2C:25-17 et seq.), could be convicted of a crime of the fourth degree, an
indictable offense subject to a term of incarceration of up to 18 months, or a
disorderly persons offense, which could result in imprisonment of up to six
months.
����� This bill would direct the OPD to provide
representation to any indigent defendant charged with contempt for violating an
order contained in a domestic violence restraining order, other than when the
violation concerns one of the following orders, which violations are not
considered to be a crime or disorderly persons offense under N.J.S.2C:29-9: an
order providing for parenting time arrangements; an order requiring the
defendant pay the victim compensation for losses resulting from the act of
domestic violence; an order for the defendant to receive domestic violence
counseling; an order for the defendant to make rent or mortgage payments on the
residence occupied by the domestic violence victim; and an order granting a
party temporary possession of specified personal property, such as an
automobile, checkbook, or personal effects.�
See
Section 13 of P.L.1991,
c.261 (C.2C:25-29) (listing of categories of orders not considered a crime or
disorderly persons offense that are cross-referenced in N.J.S.2C:29-9, contempt
violations).���
����� This bill addresses Recommendation 29 of the Report
of the New Jersey Supreme Court Reconvened Joint Committee on Criminal Justice,
issued on June 7, 2023.