Pretrial Intervention in New Jersey

摘要

The author concludes that the Pretrial Intervention Program in New Jersey is an extremely expensive piece of judicial legislation. In its enthusiasm to implement this innovative reform, the Supreme Court has transgressed the boundaries outlined under the separation of powers doctrine. It has attempted to usurp the power of the legislature to define classes of offenders by taking it upon itself to decriminalize certain offenses it considers to be victimless, and by giving offenders the opportunity to avoid prosecution when, in the courts opinion, the conviction will harm the individual. By doing this the Courts have, in effect, overridden the legislature's declarations that individuals who violate certain norms should be convicted and punished. By mandating the establishment of programs and by dictating the scope of services to be provided by these programs, the court has effectively made appropriations decisions that are not rightfully theirs to make.