Skip navigation
Criminal Legal News
CLN bookstore
× You have 2 more free articles available this month. Subscribe today.

New Jersey Takes First Steps in Eliminating Public Defender Fees

Loaded on Nov. 1, 2023 by Jordan Arizmendi published in Criminal Legal News November, 2023, page 17
Filed under: Attorney Fees (PLRA). Location: New Jersey.

by Jordan Arizmendi

Although advocates say there is still work to do to ensure New Jersey public defenders don’t come with a price tag attached, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) took the first giant step earlier this summer when he signed a bill removing burdensome fees that clients of public defenders are forced to pay.

Still, there are hurdles that the New Jersey justice system must overcome to provide completely free legal assistance for those who need it. For example, an individual tried in a municipal court could still incur fees as high as $200 for just applying for court-appointed assistance.

Before Murphy signed this bill, individuals seeking legal help from New Jersey’s Office of the Public Defender would pay increasing fees depending on a variety of factors. For example, more severe charges would result in higher fees, as would the speed with which the public defender was able to resolve the case.

“The goal would be to eliminate [counsel fees] across the board. No one should have to have their right to counsel come with a price tag,” said Marleina Ubel, Policy Analyst at New Jersey Policy Perspective.  

Source: The Appeal

As a digital subscriber to Criminal Legal News, you can access full text and downloads for this and other premium content.

Subscribe today

Already a subscriber? Login

More from this issue:

  1. Your Car Is Spying on You, by Michael Thompson
  2. People of Maine at Forefront of Battle to Keep Government Security Apparatus in Check, by Douglas Ankney
  3. A Nation of Snitches: DHS Is Grooming Americans to Report on Each Other, by Nisha Whitehead, John W. Whitehead
  4. Montana Supreme Court: Retroactive Application of Montana’s Sex Offender Registration Law, as Amended Since 2007, Violates Ex Post Facto Clause of State Constitution, by Douglas Ankney
  5. Checking In With Community Supervision, by Anthony Accurso
  6. New Jersey Takes First Steps in Eliminating Public Defender Fees, by Jordan Arizmendi
  7. Ninth Circuit: Younger Abstention Doctrine Inapplicable Where Habeas Petitioner Seeks Stay While § 1172.6 Petition in State Court Being Litigated and Petitioner Entitled to Stay of Habeas Proceedings While State Petition Pending, by Douglas Ankney
  8. Advent of ‘Green’ Ammunition Prompts Forensic Science to Analyze Organic and Inorganic Gunshot Residue and Establish Benchmarks for CSI, by Jo Ellen Nott
  9. Colorado Supreme Court Announces ‘Self-Serving Hearsay’ Statements Introduced Under Rule of Completeness Not Hearsay and Do Not Render Defendant Impeachable, by Richard Resch
  10. Michigan Supreme Court Holds Guilty Plea Cannot Be ‘Voluntary and Knowing’ When Induced by Inaccurate Understanding of Minimum and Maximum Prison Sentence, by David Reutter
  11. Study Reveals Important Details About iPhone’s Building Level Registration Reliability, by Jo Ellen Nott
  12. California Supreme Court Clarifies Harmless-Error Analysis of Alternative-Theory Error, Reverses and Remands Where Court of Appeal Applied Incorrect Standard, by Douglas Ankney
  13. Ninth Circuit Explains Martinez ‘Cause’ and ‘Prejudice’ to Excuse Procedural Default in Federal Habeas Proceeding Where Claim of IAC in State Proceedings Was Procedurally Defaulted Due to Postconviction Counsel’s Failure to Timely Raise Claim, by Douglas Ankney
  14. 10th Circuit Reverses Guidelines Enhancement Because Possession of Ammo Does Not Facilitate Possession of a Firearm, by Anthony Accurso
  15. Study: ‘Inconclusive Finding’ by Examiner of Cartridge Casing Should Be Finding of ‘Excluded’ 85% of the Time, by Douglas Ankney
  16. Facial Recognition Software Gives Unreliable Results with Black Individuals and Leads to Unlawful Arrests, by Jo Ellen Nott
  17. ICE Employees Caught (Again) Misusing Access to Databases, by Jordan Arizmendi
  18. Fourth Circuit: Evidence Suppressed Where Officers Seized Defendant Without Reasonable Suspicion and Forced Him to Prove He Was Not Armed, by Anthony Accurso
  19. Electrocution by Taser Is Not Death From Excited Delirium, by Douglas Ankney
  20. New Jersey Supreme Court Announces Presumption in Favor of In-Person Interpreter for Criminal Trials and Issues Guidelines for Use of Video Remote Interpreting, by Matthew Clarke
  21. Sheep and Sheepdogs: Use and Abuse of Non-Lethal Crowd Control Weapons, by Benjamin Tschirhart
  22. Arizona Attorney General Settles Lawsuit, Agrees to Toss Unconstitutional Law Banning the Recording of Cops, by Jo Ellen Nott
  23. Fourth Circuit Vacates Denial of First Step Act Relief Where Record Unclear Whether District Court Considered All Nonfrivolous Arguments Raised by Defendant, by Douglas Ankney
  24. Sixth Circuit: Plain Error Where District Court Required Defendant at Resentencing to Admit Guilt in Order to Fully Consider Defendant’s Evidence of Rehabilitation, by Douglas Ankney
  25. Colorado’s Amendments to Post-Conviction DNA Testing Statute Allows Greater Number of Affected Persons to Seek Testing, by Douglas Ankney
  26. Gunshot Detection Technology Continues to Acquire New Business Despite Major Clients Dropping Contracts and Researchers Questioning Its Effectiveness, by Jo Ellen Nott
  27. Tenth Circuit Announces District Court Erred in Applying Attempted Murder Cross-Reference Under U.S.S.G. § 2A2.1 Based on Malice Aforethought, Without Finding Intent to Kill, by Douglas Ankney
  28. Computing Fear in Black and Brown Communities, by Michael Thompson
  29. DOJ Concludes Louisville Police Engaging in Patterns of Unconstitutional Conduct, by Douglas Ankney
  30. ICE Tramples Over the Judicial System, by Jordan Arizmendi
  31. U.K. Study of Consistency Among Pairs of Child Witnesses Shows Surprising Results, by Matthew Clarke
  32. Third Circuit Announces COA Required for Federal Prisoner Appealing District Court’s Choice of Remedy in § 2255 Proceeding, by Douglas Ankney
  33. West Virginia Supreme Court Announces in the Absence of a Deadline, Trial Court Must Permit Defendant to Stipule to Prior Conviction During Trial, by Douglas Ankney
  34. Geofencing January 6th, by Michael Thompson
  35. Three’s a Crowd: Issues of DNA Mixture Analysis and Interpretation, by Eike Blohm, MD
  36. New Mexico Supreme Court Announces Trial Courts Retain Common Law Jurisdictional Authority to Correct Illegal Sentences, Allows Defendant to Withdraw Plea After Sentence Correction Involving Additional Parole Time, by Anthony Accurso
  37. News in Brief

More from Jordan Arizmendi:

More from these topics:

 

 

Disciplinary Self-Help Litigation Manual - Side
CLN Subscribe Now Ad
Disciplinary Self-Help Litigation Manual - Side