New Jersey


		About New Jersey Indigent Defense Structure New Jersey has public defender. The Public Defender is appointed to a five-year term by the Governor of New Jersey and is approved by the State Senate. There is no state commission. The Office of the Public Defender is considered a component of the Department of the State and is responsible for regulating procedure and activities of public defense throughout the state. Funding The indigent defense system in New Jersey receives funding solely from the state. Read More

"Passaic County Near Last in N.J. for Speed of Cases"--NorthJersey.com, May 14, 2007 "Pirro, Cuomo Aim to Halt Wrongful Imprisonments"--Newsday, Sept. 22, 2006 "Public Interest Law Jobs Still Paying Peanuts "--New York Law Journal, Sept. 12, 2006 "For Those in Jail, Justice Will Have to Wait a While"--The Gloucester County Times, July 7, 2006 "Eyewitness' Blind Spot"--The Philadelphia Inquire, May 22, 2006 More Timely News Here...		PD Argues that Only Juries – Not Judges – Can Be Finder of Facts in Criminal Jury Trials Referencing the 2000 decision under Blakely vs. Washington, the Office of the State Public Defender argued that the jury must be the ultimate decision-maker in moving to increase sentencing after being given new facts in a case. A judge, then, cannot decide to lengthen a sentence without a finding of fact by the jury. Read the Press Release

		Looking to Change the Death Penalty in New Jersey In 2005, New Jersey was approaching the possibility of its first execution since 1963, but lawmakers put it to a halt. In December 2005, the New Jersey Senate passed bipartisan legislation (S-709) that would impose a moratorium on executions while a study is conducted. In January 2006, this bill was signed into law. The new study is to be completed by November 15, 2006. Read More


	ACLU of New Jersey, Criminal Justice Division Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers of NJ NJ Office of the Public Defender