NCJ Number
92535
Journal
Criminal Justice Quarterly Volume: 8 Issue: 3 Dated: (Spring 1983) Pages: 112-135
Date Published
1983
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This discussion of New Jersey's pretrial intervention programs (PTI) to divert criminal defendants focuses on court decisions which have produced the current format and concludes that PTI is a well-established option for prosecutors whose future modifications are likely to involve structure rather than policy.
Abstract
The original theoretical purpose of PTI was to provide rehabilitative treatment to a select group of offenders without subjecting them to the stigma of a criminal conviction. Additional benefits included a reduced criminal docket and more efficient use of resources. The first program was the Newark Defendants' Employment Project initiated in October l97O, and it, like other early efforts, was limited by narrow rehabilitation objectives. In l973, the New Jersey Supreme Court amended its rules to spur the development of more expansive programs and reflect PTI's original broad purposes. Subsequent court decisions articulated this ambition, but after State v. Leonardis I in l976, the Court implemented guidelines to promote expansion with uniformity. In l979, the legislature codified a statewide program of PTI as part of the Code of Criminal Justice which was based largely on prior court guidelines, but did include several significant changes. For example, the Code extends the period of treatment from 6 months to l year and enumerates l7 factors which a program director and prosecutor must consider when evaluating a PTI applicant. It also provides explicit procedures and requirements for denial of applications, termination of treatment, and dismissal upon completion of the program. Conflicts still exist between the old guidelines and the new law, and the courts have been called upon to reduce these differences. The 1980 Judicial Conference Task Force on Postindictment Delay recommended that certain offenders be made ineligible for participation in PTI. A New Jersey Supreme Court committee examined delay and suggested amendments to the guidelines and eligibility for PTI, but did not endorse the narrow criteria proposed by the Task Force. The paper includes 280 footnotes.