Judges Need Latitude Deciding Bail or Jail

Not often do I care or comment on questions in a November election. Usually they seem like abstract ideas no one can understand about some bond that will raise zillions of dollars for something. This year it will be different. A question will appear on the ballot that could affect you and me, should we transgress, get arrested, and face the aspect (gulp!) of posting bail or languishing in jail.
The question before voters will ask for permission to amend the state Constitution. That is serious, and this is a matter that can mean life and death, in some cases. The amendment would allow judges the liberty to consider the person and the crime before offering the prospect of bail or remaining incarcerated until trial.
The only time I was in Cape May County Correctional Center was on media tours. Similarly, the only time I was ever in prison was a sheltered, guided tour of Southern State Correctional Facility. Honestly, I was glad to walk away both times. To hear that metal gate slam shut, and to be inside, where guards and inmates walk, was unpleasant at best.
That said, I can’t imagine being incarcerated for any amount of time, even awaiting posting of bail. To call jail or prison home for any length of time would simply be too much to stand. Readers who have never had those fleeting glimpses of inmates on the inside can only rehearse in their mind the atmosphere that permeates the souls who reside there.
Gov. Chris Christie, regardless of what one thinks of him, did what had to be done when he summoned the Legislature into special, joint session July 31. He wanted action on bills that would allow the question to be placed on the November ballot. In a pre-event press conference, Christie recounted some true horror stories of those who had been freed from jail after posting bail. One, he spoke about, was in Trenton.
Thugs, free on bail, entered a family’s home, held a gun to their 8-month-old while they made demands, and threatened, if those demands were not immediately met, they would place the child in the oven. We cannot imagine the horror of the moment or what those parents suffered in that awful incident.
Hardly rational individuals, those perpetrators were on the streets thanks to a broken system, Christie said. In jest he quipped, even the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) was “with me on this one.” So it truly must have been a ground breaker.
In short, the amendment would let judges weigh the crime and the person. If they committed an awful crime, even if they had tons of money to post bail, the judge could order them held in jail until trial. That, in itself, would bolster public confidence in the judicial system.
On the other hand, if a person of meager means committed a crime, something really stupid, and could not post, say $150 bail, the present system meant jail time without question. Judges had no latitude to free a person like that. So the new way would allow the person, who possibly had a job, a home, and bills to pay, to be free without posting bail, until the date of trial.
The present system could be likened to a debtor’s prison. One cannot pay so they are tossed behind bars until they can, but how? As a result, in some cases, the system causes as many problems as it cures. This is what needs remedy.
On a daily basis, I scan the commitment list at Cape May County Correctional Center. Some of the bails make my head swim. How would I ever come up with, say, $250,000 bail? Others are incarcerated on small bail, many under $500. That is because they cannot afford bail, so they sit behind bars.
This is the target of the new process, so long as those are not serious crimes, and the individual is highly unlikely to head for the hills, out of state or out of country.
It is time for us, as a society starting in New Jersey, to take a look at the criminal justice system. Law-abiding citizens ought to live without fear of criminals. In order to accomplish this, we have urged legislators to enact highly punitive laws, and for good cause. On the other hand, we must look at the cost of that incarceration.
An article by Brian Resnick in the Nov. 1, 2011 edition of The Atlantic focused on that question. The article stated a year at Princeton University cost $37,000 while a year in a New Jersey state prison cost $44,000. Undoubtedly the price has escalated since then on both, it becomes painfully evident that the urge to throw someone in prison and throw away the key, for justice sake, is costing a bundle.
In a time when we all are screaming for lower taxes, the only way to slice the increase (because taxes never go down), is with reduced services or less of something. In this case, that “something” would mean fewer wearing orange or khaki jumpsuits.
Daily population in this county’s jail hovers around the mid-200s. That means at least 200 Cape May County residents, multiplied by two or three (for family members) would be affected by the constitutional amendment.
The vote is secret, and costs nothing. I hope fellow voters will come to understand the importance of the change that is before them. Judges should have latitude to decide, because today, their hand is forced. Many believe judges act on their own, they do not. They must act according to laws set forth by the legislators. Many times, if judges were given wider latitude, they would impose even harsher sentences, but the law restricts them.
If the amendment passes, they will be given power to rightly keep behind bars those who did truly bad things, and let go those for lesser offenses who pose little or no threat to society. That just makes good sense.