New Jersey Bail Reform Guidelines

How the Updated Bail Reform Law NJ Affects Your Rights When Facing Criminal Charges in New Jersey

When you’re charged with a crime in New Jersey, you’re innocent until proven guilty. Until New Jersey bail reform laws came into effect in 2017 as part of the state’s broader criminal justice reform efforts, defendants often lost their freedom while they awaited trial due to being unable to post bail.

As a criminal defense attorney who has spent 35 years representing the accused throughout New Jersey, I, John W. Tumelty, understand how deeply being denied your freedom while awaiting trial can impact your life. I’m committed to ensuring that defendants across the state understand what to expect from the bail hearing process and what can be required from them under this new approach to pretrial detention release.

For help presenting your case at a detention hearing or developing a strong defense against the charges you’re facing, contact me today. I offer a free, confidential consultation and can help you pursue release under New Jersey’s current risk-based system.

What New Jersey Bail Reform Laws Mean for You

In short, criminal justice reforms that went into effect in New Jersey in 2017 can impact the legal process for defendants in multiple ways.

You will not be required to pay bail except in very limited circumstances. Monetary bail can be used only to assure appearance and only if non-monetary conditions won’t suffice; it cannot be used to protect public safety or to prevent release. This is a big difference between the current system and the criminal justice system before these reforms, when courts would routinely set financial conditions on pretrial release.
The court will use an assessment to determine to what extent your release poses a risk of further criminal offenses or of failing to appear in court. This assessment is considered to be more objective, as it takes into account factors such as prior convictions or failures to appear.
It’s still important to have a dedicated attorney on your side, particularly if the findings of the assessment exaggerate the real risk you pose or if the prosecutor is arguing for detention until trial or for more restrictive conditions on your release.

Protect yourself early on in the legal process by retaining an attorney who will fight for your best interests at every stage, from the detention hearing to the development of an effective defense strategy and the eventual resolution through plea negotiations or at trial.

How Posting Bail Works Under New Jersey Bond Reform

Until 2017, New Jersey’s criminal justice system, like many other systems, primarily focused on using monetary bail requirements as a condition of release while a defendant’s case was processed.

Under this system, thousands of people per year could find themselves stuck in jail while awaiting trial because they couldn’t afford to post bail. In some cases, this loss of freedom could go on for months or even years.

New Jersey’s Criminal Justice Reform Act, passed in 2014, took effect on January 1, 2017, and it drastically changed the state’s bail system. With that change, New Jersey joins more than a dozen other states that have brought an end to the practice of widespread cash bail requirements. You no longer have to post bail to be released as you await your trial in most situations.

Changes to the Bail System Under NJ’s Criminal Justice Reform Law

Today, New Jersey instead turns to a risk-based system to determine when a defendant should be held in pretrial detention.

The state has all but eliminated the use of cash bail, which is now relegated to a last resort used only when other conditions will not suffice. However, depending on the risk you’re deemed to pose, you could be detained until your trial or be subject to conditions such as travel restrictions, house arrest, and monitoring with a GPS ankle bracelet.

To advocate for the least restrictive conditions, you need a dedicated attorney guiding you and presenting arguments in your favor at detention hearings and other court appearances.

Understanding NJ’s Pretrial Risk Assessment Process

Under New Jersey bail reform law, court employees will conduct a comprehensive assessment to determine whether a defendant facing criminal charges is considered low-risk, moderate-risk, or high-risk to public safety or failure to appear in court. Criteria considered in the Public Safety Assessment used by New Jersey courts include:

Age, a factor considered because offenders under 23 are statistically more likely to reoffend
Whether the offense is considered a violent crime, which includes offenses like assault involving physical injury, carjacking, kidnapping, rape, and sexual assault
Whether the defendant has any pending charges arising out of prior offenses that have not yet been resolved
Whether the defendant has any prior convictions for less serious disorderly persons offenses, more severe indictable offenses, or violent offenses
Whether the defendant has a history of prior failures to appear in court and, if so, how long ago (less than two years or more than two years)
Whether the defendant has previously been sentenced to incarceration for at least 14 days

The results of the Public Safety Assessment can inform a judge’s decision pertaining to whether or not to grant pretrial release or what conditions to impose. However, this assessment doesn’t determine whether or not release is granted, and it isn’t the only factor that matters in the judge’s decision. At a hearing, the judge will consider the arguments of both the prosecutor and the defendant’s attorney and decide whether to release the defendant and under what conditions.

Conditions for Release From Pretrial Detention Under New Jersey Bail Reform

If the judge decides that a defendant is dangerous or too high-risk, the judge may order detention until the trial takes place. Otherwise, the judge will order your release but may require you to meet certain conditions.

Although cash bail is no longer used except in very limited circumstances in New Jersey, if the judge decides to release the defendant from pretrial detention, they may do so with a range of different conditions, such as:

Release on own recognizance, in which the only condition is the defendant’s promise to appear in court
Reporting requirements in which the defendant must maintain regular check-ins with officers
Travel restrictions, potentially including the requirement that the defendant surrender their passport
No-contact orders that prevent the defendant from approaching or contacting, through any means, the alleged victims, witnesses, or any fellow defendants charged in connection with the offense
Requirements to undergo drug or alcohol testing or to seek or maintain employment or educational enrollment
House arrest, with or without permission to leave for limited purposes such as work, school, or medical appointments
Curfews that limit the hours during which the defendant may leave the house
Electronic monitoring using a GPS ankle bracelet

Under the New Jersey bail reform system, a judge should order the least restrictive non-monetary conditions necessary to protect the public and ensure the defendant’s appearance in court. Monetary bail may be imposed only to assure appearance, and it may not be used to detain a defendant for safety reasons. It’s important to put forward effective arguments for imposing minimal restrictions, particularly if the prosecutor is arguing for more restrictive conditions.

The Benefits of the Bail Reform Law NJ

The state’s new risk-based system of determining conditions for release from pretrial detention, as the New Jersey Courts themselves reported, has numerous advantages:

The new system is fairer because it doesn’t keep defendants detained before a trial based primarily on their ability to pay monetary bail.
This system continues to promote public safety by keeping defendants who have been deemed to pose a safety risk detained.
The risk-based assessment system has been found to be “more objective” than the previous system, under which the different perspectives that individual prosecutors and judges bring to each matter could significantly impact the amount of monetary bail a defendant could be required to pay as a condition of release.

Researchers have concluded that the changes New Jersey’s bond reform efforts have initiated have proven successful. In May 2024, researchers at Drexel University and Boston University published findings in the journal JAMA Network Open stating that the number of people detained while awaiting trial declined from 8,899 people in 2015 to 4,976 people in 2019. Importantly, this change did not increase rates of gun violence, the researchers noted.

How an Experienced Defense Attorney Can Help With Your Detention Hearing

If you’re facing a detention hearing, you need the guidance of an attorney dedicated to your best interests. Despite the progress made by New Jersey bail reform efforts, when you have been charged with a criminal offense and have a possible detention hearing coming up, you could be facing:

Ongoing pretrial detention, potentially for months or even up to two years, if the assessment flags you as high risk or if the prosecutor argues against your release
Restrictive conditions for release, including curfews, house arrest, and monitoring with a GPS ankle bracelet
A daunting legal process filled with procedural requirements and other demands
The need to present a compelling defense strategy to avoid a conviction or minimize harsh penalties

When clients contact my firm for help with a detention hearing, I act quickly to begin building arguments in their favor. I’m prepared to challenge the prosecutor’s efforts to keep you detained, argue the reasons that a moderate- or high-risk assessment result fails to accurately reflect the situation, and present arguments that speak to your reliability to appear in court and to avoid posing risks to the public.

Why Choose John W. Tumelty for Help Securing Pretrial Release Under the Updated Bail Reform Law NJ?

For criminal defense services guided by deep knowledge of bail reform laws in NJ, the experience of a former prosecutor, and the credentials that recognition as a New Jersey Supreme Court-Certified Criminal Trial Attorney speaks to, choose John W. Tumelty.

Thorough Understanding of NJ’s Criminal Justice Reforms

The legal system is dynamic, and reforms like NJ’s shift from cash bail to risk-based assessments can significantly affect you. With full knowledge of the nuances of this area of law, I’m ready to guide you through today’s criminal justice process.

Insider Experience as a Former Prosecutor

Ultimately, the detention hearing is only one stage of the larger process of defending against criminal charges. I draw on my experience as a former prosecutor at both the state and Atlantic County levels to build effective defenses against many different types of criminal charges.

Recognition as a Certified Criminal Trial Attorney

As a New Jersey Supreme Court-Certified Civil Trial Attorney, I have a long history of fighting for my clients in court and securing not-guilty verdicts at trials for a variety of different types of criminal charges.

Contact a Criminal Defense Attorney at John W. Tumelty Today for a Free Case Review

Begin preparing your defense strategy and detention hearing arguments now, and take advantage of every opportunity to fight back against the charges you’re facing. The initial consultation is free and confidential to protect your legal rights and ensure you have access to trusted advice.

For help from a detention hearing and criminal defense attorney in New Jersey, contact John W. Tumelty online or call 609-390-4600 today.

Frequently Asked Questions About New Jersey Bond Reform

Does New Jersey have a cash bail system?

No, under current law (which went into effect in January 2017), cash bail has been virtually eliminated in New Jersey’s state-level criminal courts. If you are facing federal charges in NJ, your pretrial release may be subject to financial conditions, although you could also be released on personal recognizance, with only your promise to appear in U.S. District Court.

Instead of being required to pay to be released from jail while awaiting trial or out-of-court resolution of your case, defendants in New Jersey now undergo a risk assessment. The judge bases the decision of whether or not to release the defendant on the risk of the defendant either committing further crimes or failing to appear at court dates. In this decision, the judge considers not only this risk assessment but also arguments by the prosecutor and the defendant’s attorney.

How long can I be held in jail before being released under the bail reform law?

Generally, the decision to release you from jail until your trial or hold you in pretrial detention will be made within 48 hours of your arrest in New Jersey. This means you have little time to retain an attorney and prepare arguments that establish you as being low-risk.

At the centralized first appearance (within 48 hours of jail commitment), the court makes a release decision unless the prosecutor has filed a motion for pretrial detention. If a motion is filed, a detention hearing is held no later than the first appearance (or within three working days if filed afterward), subject to limited continuances (up to three working days on the State’s request; up to five on the defense’s), absent good cause.

Prosecutors file a motion for detention for specified offenses and risks. There is a rebuttable presumption of detention only for murder or life-term offenses once probable cause is found.

Even if you have to wait for a detention hearing and the court decides against allowing your release, you can’t be held indefinitely before a conviction occurs. The same law that abolished New Jersey’s cash bail system also established rules regarding speedy trials, with the following limits, as outlined by the New Jersey Courts:

A maximum of 90 days from arrest to indictment
A maximum of 180 days from indictment to the start of the trial
A maximum of two years from a detention order to the start of the trial

If two years pass after the detention order and the State isn’t ready for voir dire/openings (excluding defendant-caused delay), the defendant must be released pending trial. It should be noted, though, that extensions can be granted under this law for certain legal procedures and stages, including pretrial motions, hearings, and plea negotiations.

For the most reliable answers as to how long you are likely to remain in detention before a trial, you should discuss the specific facts of your unique situation with a knowledgeable criminal defense attorney.

What factors are considered in the risk-based assessment for release from pretrial detention under New Jersey’s bail reform law?

The Public Safety Assessment that the State of New Jersey now uses in decisions about releasing defendants from pretrial detention is an objective measure of your risk to public safety or of failing to appear in court.

Many of the factors considered as part of this assessment pertain to the nature of the offense with which you’ve been charged, any history of criminal charges or convictions, and any prior failures to appear in court. Whether any prior conviction has led to a jail or prison sentence is another factor taken into consideration. One factor that may surprise you is the consideration of the age of the defendant at the time of arrest. Statistically, younger defendants, particularly those under 23 years of age, more commonly reoffend compared to older defendants.

Under the Public Safety Assessment, defendants who were charged with non-violent crimes and have no prior criminal history are generally categorized as low-risk. Those with a record of offenses, especially when they involve violent or other serious indictable crimes or failures to appear in court, are considered to pose a higher risk.

Keep in mind that judges do consider the arguments of both prosecutors and defense attorneys in their decisions. This means that a prosecutor may push for detention or for more intensive conditions of release. It also means that your attorney can advocate for less intensive conditions or argue that the conclusion established through this assessment is overstated and not a realistic reflection of your risk.

Do I still need a lawyer if New Jersey no longer uses a cash bail system?

Yes, it’s still in your best interests to hire an attorney to represent you, especially if the prosecutor in your case has filed a motion for detention. Your attorney’s arguments in your favor during a detention hearing can have a significant impact on the outcome of this proceeding and the decisions of whether to release you and what conditions will apply to your pretrial release.

As important as maintaining your freedom while awaiting trial is, don’t lose sight of the big picture. Depending on the offense you’re charged with, you could be facing years in prison if you are convicted. You need a lawyer to not only assist you with preparing for the detention hearing but, more importantly, to begin developing an effective defense strategy.