Reforming “Bail Reform”

well and it would be a mistake to try to improve it, a former attorney general under Gov. Christie wrote in a recent column. However, that advice came about seven months too late, after Gov. Murphy had signed a change to the law that passed by solid bipartisan votes, with several objections to be sure.

That change encourages the pretrial detention of those arrested for offenses that qualify under the “Graves Act,” which imposes mandatory minimum prison terms for people convicted of certain crimes involving a gun. The law was passed after a number of urban mayors, including those of Newark, Paterson and Trenton, pressed for its enactment. Momentum seems to be building for even more changes. I’ve heard from police, sheriffs, prosecutors and others that change is urgently needed. Mostly, that need is associated with the huge increase in carjacking over the past couple of years, although some dispute any connection with releasing suspects before trial.

At an Assembly committee hearing in December on carjacking, there was bipartisan agreement on the need for new reforms. As I write this, a Senate committee is scheduled to consider bills relating to pretrial release, including one that creates a presumption of pretrial detention for carjacking and burglary suspects.

That former AG’s column notes with apparent pride that only New Jersey’s “bail reform” received an “A” grade from the Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI). That sounds prestigious and suggests we should respect the institute’s opinion.

That’s why it’s interesting to note that, in February 2020, the PJI reversed its prior support of “pretrial risk assessment