Three-judge panel to consider dismissal of old unresolved municipal court cases
The Supreme Court scheduled three regional hearings to elicit testimony on why older, minor municipal court complaints pending for more than 15 years should not be dismissed. Administrative Order 01-2018, docketed as PAS-L-3211-18, was issued on the heels of a report prepared by the Supreme Court Committee on Municipal Court Operations, Fines and Fees released on July 17 to address the efficiency of municipal courts.
Among a number of recommendations is the development of a process to dismiss old complaints, taking into account the seriousness of the offense charged, the age of the case, and other relevant factors. The Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) noted hundreds of thousands of cases still open and unresolved that are more than 10 years old involving minor infractions, and specifically do not include indictable offenses, disorderly persons charges, petty disorderly persons charges, and certain motor vehicle charges.
The New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) submitted written comments to be considered by the panel. It delineated between non-moving and moving violations, agreeing that warrants related to non-moving violations (i.e., parking tickets, ordinance violations and fish/game charges) that are 15 years or older should be dismissed. However, warrants related to moving violations “raise additional issues that weigh against automatic dismissal,” said NJSBA President John E. Keefe Jr.
The association urged the panel to consider a further distinction among moving violations between those that are minor – such as equipment failures that do not impose penalty points – and more serious offenses such as improper passing. Minor moving violations that are 15 years or older should probably be dismissed, said Keefe. “Dismissing a more serious older violation would simply reward a defendant’s behavior in not following through with required court appearances, resulting in more favorable treatment of those defendants that avoid court as compared to those who follow through with their court appearances,” said Keefe.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court appointed three assignment judges—Ronald Bookbinder, Ernest Caposela and Yolanda Ciccone—to conduct a series of hearings in northern, central and southern New Jersey. At least 60 days prior to any scheduled hearing, the panel was required to distribute to each municipality a list of cases that fall within the scope of the July 19 order issued by the AOC. The morning session of each hearing will provide an opportunity for members of the public and public interest groups to speak on the issue. The afternoon session will be available for representatives of affected municipalities, including mayors, attorneys for the municipalities and municipal prosecutors.
source https://tcms.njsba.com/personifyebusiness/Advocacy/GovernmentAffairs/CapitolReport.aspx?utm_source=direct&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NJSBA
NOTICE TO THE BAR
IN THE MATTER OF THE DISMISSAL OF UNRESOLVED MUNICIPAL COURT CASES THAT INVOLVE CERTAIN MINOR OFFENSES THAT ARE MORE THAN 15 YEARS OLD
On July 19, 2018, the Supreme Court issued an Order appointing Assignment Judges Ronald Bookbinder, Ernest Caposela, and Yolanda Ciccone to serve as a three judge panel and conduct a series of hearings in the northern, central and southern part of the State as to why older, minor municipal court complaints pending for more than fifteen years should not be dismissed. Pursuant to the attached October 1, 2018 Administrative Order issued by the Acting Administrative Director of the Courts and docketed under PAS L-3211-18, the three regional hearings will take place before the three-judge panel on the following dates, with locations and times indicated below:
October 22, 2018 10:00 a.m.
October 23, 2018 10:00 a.m.
October 24, 2018 10:00 a.m.
Essex County Veterans Courthouse 50 West Market Street
Courtroom 1114 - 11th Floor Newark, NJ 07102
Somerset County Courthouse 20 North Bridge St Courtroom 301
Somerville, NJ 08876
Burlington County Olde Courthouse 120 High Street
Courtroom 1
Mount Holly, NJ 08057
The issue to be considered at these hearings will be why older, minor municipal court complaints pending for more than fi een years should not be dismissed. Anyone who wishes to speak at one of the hearing sessions must by October 15, 2018 submit that request in writing as well as written comments related to the issue to be presented.
Attorneys submitting written comments and a request to speak before the panel should do so through eCourts Civil as a filing under docket number PAS-L-3211-18. The written comments and requests to speak should be filed in eCourts Civil under the "Miscellaneous Document"categoryas"GeneralCorrespondence." Instructionsonhowtosubmitafiling through eCourts can be found at https://www.njcourts.gov/attorneys/ecourtstraining.html or by contacting the Judiciary's help desk at 609-421-6100.
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Members of the public submitting a request to speak and written comments should mail their documents to the following address:
Passaic County New Courthouse Civil Division Intake Office
77 Hamilton St., First Floor Paterson, NJ 07505
Attn: Cecilia Nardone, CSSII
Further details regarding the hearings and instructions on the submission process for written comments and requests to speak are contained in the appended Administrative Order. Questions may be directed to Steven A. Somogyi, Assistant Director, Municipal Court Services at 609-815-2900 ext. 54850.
Dated: October 2, 2018
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Glenn A. Grant, J.A.D.
Acting Administrative Director of the Courts
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IN THE MATTER OF THE DISMISSAL OF UNRESOLVED MUNICIPAL COURT CASES THAT INVOLVE CERTAIN MINOR OFFENSES THAT ARE MORE THAN 15 YEARS OLD
Administrative Order 01-2018
ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER PAS-L-3211-18
To: The public and various interested organizations, including the Municipal Prosecutor's Association, League of Municipalities, all affected municipalities, Attorney General, County Prosecutors, Public Defender, New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, New Jersey State Bar Association, Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and American Civil Liberties Union
This Administrative Order is issued by the Acting Administrative Director of the Courts in the performance of his administrative responsibilities to carry out the mandates of the Supreme Court's Order of July 19, 2018 (Exhibit A), regarding hearings to consider the dismissal of unresolved Municipal Court cases that involve certain minor offenses which are more than 15 years old, and have open bench warrants for a failure to appear attached to them.
The Supreme Court has appointed a three-judge panel consisting of Assignment Judges Ronald Bookbinder, Ernest Caposela, and Yolanda Ciccone, (the "panel") to conduct a series of hearings. The Supreme Court additionally required that at least 60 days prior to any scheduled hearing, the panel was to distribute to each municipality a list of cases that fall within the scope of the Court's July 19, 2018 order ("dismissal reports"). Dismissal reports identifying eligible cases were distributed to each municipality by August 20, 2018.
The following procedures are ordered to implement the hearing process directed
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by the Supreme Court:
1. Three regional hearings will take place before the panel on the following
dates, with locations and times indicated below:
October 22, 2018 10:00 a.m.
October 23, 2018 10:00 a.m.
October 24, 2018 10:00 a.m.
Essex County Veterans Courthouse 50 West Market Street
Courtroom 1114- 11th Floor Newark, NJ 07102
Somerset County Courthouse 20 North Bridge St Courtroom 301
Somerville, NJ 08876
Burlington County Olde Courthouse 120 High Street
Courtroom 1
Mount Holly, NJ 08057
2. The only issue that will be considered at these hearings will be why older, minor municipal court complaints pending for more than fifteen years should or should not be dismissed. Challenges to individual cases will not be considered at these hearings.
- Each hearing date will have a morning and an afternoon session.
- The afternoon session of each hearing will be to solicit comments from
representatives of the affected municipalities, including, but not limited to, mayors, attorneys for the municipality ("municipal attorney"), and municipal prosecutors.
5. The morning session of each hearing will be to solicit comments from all others who wish to speak, including, but not limited to, members of the public and public interest groups.
6. Anyone who wishes to speak at a hearing session must submit a) a request to speak, and b) written comments related to the issue of why older, minor municipal court complaints pending for more than fifteen years should or should not be
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dismissed. There will be no filing fees assessed for the request to speak or the written comments.
- Each speaker's oral presentation will be limited to five minutes.
How to Submit a Request to Speak
- The request to speak must identify the individual who seeks to speak,
whether that individual is an attorney, whether the speaker will be representing an organization, and at which hearing (date, location, and morning or afternoon session) the speaker requests to appear.
9. The request to speak must reference docket number PAS-L-3211-18 and be submitted by October 15, 2018 to the following address:
Passaic County New Courthouse Civil Division Intake Office
77 Hamilton St., First Floor Paterson, NJ 07505
Attn: Cecilia Nardone, CSSII
How to Submit Written Comments
10. Written comments may only relate to the issue of why older, minor municipal court complaints pending for more than fifteen years should or should not be dismissed, and may not exceed five pages.
11. Written comments must include the author's name and address, and are subject to public disclosure upon receipt. The panel will not consider written comments that are submitted anonymously.
12. Written comments must reference docket number PAS-L-3211-18 and be submitted by October 15, 2018 to the following address:
Passaic County New Courthouse Civil Division Intake Office
77 Hamilton St., First Floor
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Paterson, NJ 07505
Attn: Municipal Dismissal Public Hearings
13. A request to speak may be submitted with written comments. However,
there is no requirement to speak at a hearing if written comments are submitted. AFTER HEARINGS
14. At the conclusion of the hearings, the panel shall issue a report to the Supreme Court. The report shall include a recommendation for the general disposition of older, pending, minor municipal court matters, and, if appropriate, a recommended process and timeframe to raise challenges to the dismissal of individual complaints against specific defendants.
Hon. Glenn A. Grant, J.A.D. Acting Administrative Director of
the Courts
Date: October 1, 2018
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Exttib:if A
SUPREME COURT OF NEW JERSEY
On July 17, 2018, the Court released a report prepared by the Supreme Court
Committee on Municipal Court Operations, Fines, and Fees. The report included a recommendation to develop a process for the dismissal of old complaints, taking into account the seriousness of the offense charged, the age of the case, and other relevant factors.
According to the Administrative Office of the Courts, there are hundreds of thousands of open, unresolved cases that involve minor municipal offenses more than a decadeold. Fortheperiodbefore2003,forexample,thereare787,764openwarrants for failure to appear in cases that involve parking violations, motor vehicle offenses (such as going through a stop sign, improper passing, general motor vehicle equipment violations, certain speeding offenses, and running a red light), local ordinance violations, fish and game violations, penalty enforcement actions, and related matters. The vast majorityofthosecasesarefrom1986to2003. Someareevenolder. 355,619ofthose matters involve parking tickets: 348,631 relate to tickets for moving violations.
The above cases from prior to 2003 do not include more serious matters, namely:
(1) Indictable charges
(2) Disorderly persons charges
(3) Pettydisorderlypersonscharges
(4) The following motor vehicle charges:
N.J.S.A. 39:3-10 N.J.S.A. 39:3-10.13
Driving without a license
Operating a commercial vehicle while
intoxicated
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N.J.S.A. 39:3-10.24 N.J.S.A. 39:3-10.18(b)
N.J.S.A. 39:3-40
N.J.S.A. 39:4-49.1 N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.4a N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.14 N.J.S.A. 39:4-50.19 N.J.S.A. 39:4-96 N.J.S.A. 39:4-98
N.J.S.A. 39:4-128.1 N.J.S.A. 39:4-129(a), (b)
N.J.S.A. 39:6B-2 N.J.S.A. 12:7-46
Refusal to submit to a breath test while operating a commercial vehicle
Operating a commercial vehicle while commercial license suspended or revoked
Driving while li.cense suspended or revoked
Drugs in a motor vehicle
Driving while intoxicated
Refusal to submit to a chemical test Underage driving while intoxicated Failure to install an interlock device Reckless driving
Speeding (in excess of 35 mph over the
posted speed limit)
Passing a stopped school bus Leaving the scene of an accident
resulting in personal injury or
property damage Driving without insurance Boating while intoxicated
(5) or cases associated with a matter in any of the above categories. Those old outstanding complaints and open warrants in minor matters raise
questions of fairness, the appropriate use of limited public resources by law enforcement and the courts, the ability of the State to prosecute cases successfully in light of how long matters have been pending and the availability of witnesses, and administrative efficiency.
To determine the appropriate way to address older, pending municipal court complaints that involve minor matters, it is ORDERED as follows:
1. The Court appoints the Honorable Ronald Bookbinder, Ernest Caposela, and Yolanda Ciccone, Assignment Judges of the Superior Court, to serve as a three-judge panel and conduct a series of hearings in the northern, central, and southern part of the
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State as to why older, minor municipal court complaints pending for more than fifteen years should not be dismissed.
2. Notice of the hearing dates should be provided to the public and various interested organizations, including the Municipal Prosecutors Association, League of Municipalities, all affected municipalities (see paragraph 3), Attorney General, County Prosecutors, Public Defender, New Jersey State Association of Chiefs of Police, New Jersey State Bar Association, Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, and American Civil Liberties Union.
3. At least sixty (60) days before the hearing dates, the panel, with the assistance of the Administrative Office of the Courts, shall make available to each municipality a list of cases described above for their municipality.
4. In advance of any hearing, interested parties shall submit in writing their position as to the dismissal of older, pending, minor municipal court matters.
5. At the conclusion of all of the hearings, the panel shall issue a report to the Supreme Court. The report shall include a recommendation for the general disposition of older, pending, minor municipal court matters, and, if appropriate, a recommended process and timeframe to raise challenges to the dismissal of individual complaints against specific defendants.
Date: July 19, 2018
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For the Court, ~---<>...9--"'
Chief Justice
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