Legislators are gaining ground in upgrading questionable cash bail practices around the country. A report created by the nonprofit Pretrial Justice Institute evaluated each of the 50 states on their pretrial practices. The report focuses on each state in view of its pretrial confinement rate, its dependence on payment as a condition for discharge before trial and its utilization of pretrial risk assessment. In spite of late advancements in pretrial justice reform, the country received an overall D and New Jersey, alone, received an A. In 2014, New Jersey’s bail reform law became effective toward the start of the year. Pretrial organizations now lead specialized assessments in determining the potential threat that the defendant poses to the community and provide courts with discharge options. Under the new framework, money bail is utilized if all else fails.
The individuals who can’t afford the costs of bail can be stuck in prison for a considerable length of time, months or longer since they’re poor while others may turn to commercial bail bond services to secure their discharge. These organizations charge a nonrefundable administration expense, which implies litigants or their loved ones can be left paying hefty charges, regardless of the possibility that the charges are dropped or if the respondent is never discovered liable of a wrongdoing. Almost 450,000 individuals who have not been sentenced for a crime are in prisons all over the nation. According to a Pretrial Justice Institute report, they make up almost 66% of the prison population and locking these individuals up costs U.S. citizens roughly $14 billion every year.
Frank T. Luciano has been representing people accused of marijuana related issues for over 40 years. He is a lifetime member of the legal committee for the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and has been a member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorney’s for many years. He is familiar with bail/detention procedures in Bergen (Hackensack), Passaic (Paterson) and Hudson (Jersey City) Counties.