NJ Courts Grant Nearly 600 People Early Probation

NEW JERSEY — Nearly 600 New Jersey residents have been released from probation early since December as part of an effort to “ensure equal justice in the courts,” administrators announced Wednesday.

Since the state’s probation services started reviewing 819 “priority” cases in December 2020, New Jersey’s judges have signed early termination orders for 577 adults and juveniles who have “demonstrated rehabilitation.”

The majority were discharged completely from probation, while others with financial obligations were converted to collections cases, officials said.

Here’s who is eligible for early termination under the revamped state protocol:

• Completed at least half of their probation term
• No pending probation violations
• No indications of drug use in the last six months
• Must have attended school or maintained employment
• Must have been sentenced for a “crime of the third-degree or less”

People serving a diversionary program or with special case types, such as domestic violence, sex offender, drug court and intensive supervision, are not eligible for consideration.

“Probation Services will review future cases periodically to determine eligibility for early termination,” court administrators said.

• See related article: NJ 'Drug Court' Helps Hundreds Turn Lives Around, Avoid Jail
• See related article: Inspiring Videos From NJ Ex-Inmates: 'Voting Changed Our Lives'

The New Jersey Supreme Court issued an action plan in July 2020 that aims to “eliminate disparities within the court system and remove institutional obstacles to justice.”

Taking a fresh look at who deserves to be released early from probation is only one part of the effort, officials say.

The court’s Action Plan For Ensuring Social Justice includes:

REVAMPING PROBATION – “Reduce timeframes for post-dispositional supervision for persons on probation supervision, such as graduates of the Drug Court Program and Intensive Supervision Program, to ensure that supervisory terms are tailored to provide maximum benefit without prolonging court involvement that does not contribute to rehabilitation”

JURY EQUALITY – “Support juror impartiality by implementing policies and protocols so that juror orientation, model jury charges, jury selection questions and the juror selection process include a focus on impartiality and implicit bias”

CUT COURT FINES FOR JUVENILES – “Support juvenile rehabilitation by examining options for retroactively rescinding and prospectively eliminating court-imposed punitive fines and penalties for juveniles where appropriate”

TRAIN JUDGES/LAWYERS – “Require anti-bias Continuing Legal Education for judges and attorneys”

SUPPORT EXPUNGEMENT – “Utilize new technology to make the expungement process easier and improve opportunities for all persons to access expungement resources”

LESS IN-PERSON APPEARANCES – “Enable alternative methods of resolving court matters to reduce the need for litigants to appear in person at municipal courts”

GUIDANCE ABOUT INTERPRETERS – “Broaden language access resources to provide more detailed guidance on interpreting services for remote court proceedings”

ACCESS TO COURT RECORDS – “Reexamine access to court records that create inappropriate hardships for disadvantaged populations, such as landlord/tenant complaint filings that do not note the outcome of the matter”

BOOST TENANTS/LANDLORDS – “Improve the landlord/tenant process by providing plain language information to tenants and landlords about claims and defenses, and engaging judges in focused review of settlement agreements, especially those involving self-represented litigants”

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