This bill (S 1439) would require a drunk driver convicted of causing a fatal accident to pay financial restitution directly to a minor child if the victim was the child’s parent or guardian. Specifically, it adds a new provision to New Jersey’s vehicular homicide law, mandating that drivers violating DUI laws (N.J.S. 39:4-50) must cover the child’s losses through court-ordered restitution - on top of existing criminal penalties and other restitution. The bill applies only to cases where the driver was intoxicated at the time of the fatal crash and the deceased was the child’s legal guardian. It is currently pending in the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee.
S 1020 creates a new third-degree crime in New Jersey for "gang assault," defined as causing bodily injury to another person when aided by two or more other people actually present and with intent to cause harm. It directly affects individuals who commit violent assaults in groups of three or more, including those targeting third parties. The bill specifies that "bodily injury" includes physical pain, illness, or physical impairment, and sets penalties of 3-5 years in prison, a $15,000 fine, or both. This law is modeled after a similar provision in New York state law.
SJR 29 makes permanent the "Commission to Protect New Jersey Inmates from Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct," which was previously established for a limited term. The bill creates a 17-member commission with legislative, state agency, and public representatives - including a former inmate, victims' advocate, and PREA expert - to examine safety issues in correctional facilities. Key duties include assessing compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), reviewing how sexual assault allegations are reported and investigated, studying staffing ratios at Edna Mahan Correctional Facility for Women, and preventing retaliation against inmates who report misconduct. The commission must submit annual reports to the Governor and Legislature with findings and recommendations. This directly affects inmates in New Jersey's correctional facilities, particularly regarding their safety and access to fair investigations of misconduct by staff.
This bill (S 366) updates New Jersey's murder and assault laws to include death or serious injury occurring during car theft. It specifically adds "theft of a motor vehicle" to the list of crimes that can trigger felony murder charges under N.J.S.2C:11-3, meaning someone who causes death while stealing a car could now face murder charges instead of a lesser offense. The key change expands existing felony murder provisions - previously covering crimes like robbery or burglary - to explicitly include auto theft. This directly affects individuals committing car theft who cause death or serious injury during the act. The bill does not change sentencing but clarifies that such incidents will be prosecuted under the more severe murder statute.
This bill (S 1931) increases penalties for reckless vehicular homicide when the driver was intoxicated. It elevates the offense to a first-degree crime if the driver was under the influence of alcohol or drugs while operating a vehicle near schools or school zones, including: within 1,000 feet of school property, through designated school crossings, near school crossings with juveniles present (even if unmarked), or in highway construction zones. Convictions under these circumstances require a minimum prison term of one-third to one-half of the sentence or three years (whichever is greater), with no parole eligibility during that period, plus a license suspension of 5 years to life. The law applies directly to drivers convicted of causing death while driving intoxicated in these specific locations.
This bill revises New Jersey's laws on self-defense by clarifying when force or deadly force is legally justified. It states that people may use non-deadly force to stop imminent unlawful force without needing to retreat. For deadly force, it allows its use to prevent imminent death, serious injury, or specific violent crimes (like murder or robbery), and explicitly removes the duty to retreat if the person is not committing a crime and is in a lawful location. The bill repeals outdated sections of the current statute (N.J.S.2C:3-4 through N.J.S.2C:3-7) governing these situations.
This bill establishes a rebuttable presumption that defendants charged with certain child sexual abuse or endangerment crimes must be held in pretrial detention, unless they can prove otherwise. It directly affects individuals accused of specific offenses including endangering the welfare of a child (N.J.S.2C:24-4), sexual assault with minor victims, or criminal sexual contact with minor victims. Under the bill, courts must assume no bail or release conditions would ensure court appearance or community safety for these cases, shifting the burden to the defendant to rebut the presumption. Defendants must actively challenge the detention order at a hearing, and appeals are handled urgently while detention continues pending resolution. This changes the default from presuming release (as in most cases) to presuming detention for these specific child-related offenses.
This bill creates a new criminal offense for committing domestic violence in the presence of a child under 16 years old, specifically when the perpetrator knows the child is present. It applies to individuals committing acts of domestic violence (like assault or harassment) where the child is a parent, guardian, or resource family parent. The law requires a separate conviction and sentence for this new offense alongside the underlying domestic violence charge, rather than merging the two. This change ensures offenders face distinct legal consequences for exposing children to violence, regardless of whether they're convicted of the original domestic violence act. The severity of the new charge depends on the underlying offense (e.g., fourth degree if the original was a minor offense).
This bill creates a new criminal offense for targeting senior citizens (60+ years old) or people with disabilities (defined as those with long-term medical conditions limiting their ability to resist). It automatically upgrades the penalty for any crime committed against these groups by one degree (e.g., a fourth-degree offense becomes a third-degree crime), and makes the perpetrator strictly liable - meaning ignorance of the victim’s status is never a defense. The bill also requires separate sentencing for both the original crime and the new "victimization" offense, rather than merging the charges. It specifically includes protections for crimes listed in New Jersey’s criminal code, such as assault, burglary, and harassment.
This bill (S 3059) amends New Jersey law to explicitly define a law enforcement officer’s use of a chokehold - applying pressure to a person’s throat, windpipe, or neck area to hinder breathing or blood flow - as "deadly force." It directly affects New Jersey law enforcement officers, clarifying that such actions are now classified as deadly force under state law. The key provision specifies that officers cannot justify chokeholds unless they are necessary to protect themselves or others from death or serious injury, arrest a violent criminal, or prevent a violent crime. This change updates the legal definition to ensure chokeholds are treated with the same seriousness as other deadly force scenarios.
