Report on the New Jersey Justice System December 3, 2020 Authors Miguel Ribau | Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee & Livingston Senator ​ Malachi Sutton | Vice Chair of the Legislative Affairs Committee ​ Tom Gilbert | Public Member ​ Andrea Jimenez | Douglass Caucus Chair & Douglass at-Large Representative ​ Iselle Ventura | Public Member ​ Pooja Loka | Public Member ​ Justin Augustin | Multicultural Greek Council Representative ​ Priya Shah | Livingston Class of 2023 Representative ​ Maria Guyre | Public Member ​ Ryan Hammock | Public Member ​ For more information, email [email protected] ​ Black Lives Matter. To My Committee Members; When mass demonstrations had emerged during the beginning of this past summer, I had recently begun my tenure as chair of this Committee. During this time, I witnessed an incredible movement blossom in the wake of injustice — a movement which is fighting for true justice before the law and in society — and a movement that I hoped to assist in whichever way I could. When the Legislative Affairs Committee began the writing of this report, I was heartened to see interest and passion from people within and outside of the Assembly — people who truly care about working together to build a better world. I am so grateful to have worked alongside my amazing Vice Chair Malachi Sutton on much of the logistics in regards to writing this report, and I am so appreciative to have had the opportunity to work with the amazing members of my committee. Your passion and drive to do good in this world amazes me, and the amount of time that you all had put into completing this report despite a really rough semester, and despite the fact that you weren’t paid to do any of this, is something that I will forever be thankful for. I very much look forward to what we will accomplish as a committee; I truly believe that together, we will be able to truly fight for a better world for all of us. In Solidarity, Miguel Ribau Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 4 Preface 4 Historical Overview 5 White Supremacy and Structures of Law Enforcement 10 Overview 10 Policy Analysis 11 Pending Legislation 14 Committee Recommendations 15 The Practices, Policies, and Biases of Policing 17 Overview 17 Policy Analysis 20 Pending Legislation 22 Failed Legislation 22 Committee Recommendations 22 The War on Drugs 24 Overview 24 Policy Analysis 26 Pending Legislation 29 Committee Recommendations 30 The Prison-Industrial Complex 33 Overview 33 Policy Analysis 35 Pending Legislation 37 Failed Legislation 39 Committee Recommendations 40 Conclusion 43 I. Executive Summary Upon analysis of the historical and political context behind the various topics explored in this report, along with understanding proposed and implemented policies in the state of New Jersey, the Legislative Affairs Committee has determined a set of policy recommendations to be pursued in the state government with the goal of tearing down oppressive systems and building a more equitable, humane, and empathetic system of justice. This Committee recommends: 1. Pursuing legislation which would implement a public state registry of police officers who have committed serious disciplinary violations. The registry: a. would identify officers who commit serious disciplinary violations, similar to the program implemented by New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. b. would highlight officers who have committed violations that have been determined to be disqualifying from re-entrance into law enforcement. c. should be mandated as a resource for police departments to utilize when considering the employment of a former police officer. 2. Endorsing A4272, which mandates the creation of civilian oversight boards in every municipality. 3. Pursuing legislation that would grant civilian oversight boards expanded investigatory and disciplinary powers, including: a. oversight abilities, b. subpoena powers, c. access to internal files from law enforcement agencies that they preside over, d. the authority to recommend disciplinary measures in the event that it is determined that the officer had committed an alleged offense. 4. Endorsing A4578, which places restrictions on the qualified immunity doctrine. 5. Pursuing the introduction and passage of legislation that would direct that the following disqualifies someone from employment as a police officer in New Jersey: a. affiliation with known white supremacist groups and/or far-right militant organizations (i.e. the Proud Boys, the boogaloo movement, Neo-Nazis, Identitarians, the NJEHA) b. and/or publicly expressing and sharing white supremacist viewpoints (i.e. anti-blackness, islamophobia, scientific racism, eugenics, antisemetic conspiracy theories) 6. Pursuing legislation in the New Jersey State Government to ban the consideration of arrest and citation rates in relation to an officer’s employment except for circumstances wherein: a. arrests and citations are excessive, and/or can be shown to have a significant bias on the basis of race, ethnicity, religious belief, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, or other characteristics. 7. Pursuing legislation in the New Jersey State Government with the goal of providing greater 1 oversight over the operation of the 1033 program within the state. 8. Endorsing A4286, which would entirely prohibit the issuance of no-knock warrants. 9. Pursuing legislation in the New Jersey State Government to ban the use of facial recognition technology in policing. 10. Pursuing legislative action towards the decriminalization of all drugs. 11. Pursuing legislation to expand rehabilitative programs in regards to drug use along with advocating for the transferral of funds that would otherwise have been used for enforcement of drug laws towards: a. psychiatrists, b. social workers, c. programs focused on rehabilitation. 12. Encouraging the swift implementation of S2535, a bill that seeks to decriminalize the possession of up to six ounces of marijuana or 170 grams of hashish, along with expunging records of past offenders. 13. Pursuing legislative action towards uplifting individuals and communities that have been most harmed by the criminalization of marijuana, through one of these methods: a. amendments to S21, which sets out general regulations regarding the sale and use of recreational marijuana and establishes the Cannabis Regulatory Commission. b. legislation with the goal of uplifting individuals and communities that have been most harmed by the criminalization of marijuana. 14. Endorsing A5084, a bill which is intended to redirect the potential reduction of sentences for possession of psilocybin mushrooms. 15. Pursuing the implementation of SCR138, a proposed constitutional amendment that would “dedicate the majority cannabis tax revenue — using all of the funds collected from the Social Equity Excise Fee as well as 70% of those garnered from the state sales tax — to affected minority communities.”1 ​ 16. Endorsing A816, which disallows public entities from entering into contracts with for-profit, private correctional facilities. 17. Pursuing the complete abolition of private prisons in New Jersey. 18. Endorsing SCR96, a resolution that would add a public question about amending the New Jersey Constitution to prohibit slavery and involuntary services in all cases, including as punishment for a crime. 19. Pursuing the passage of a resolution similar to that of SR79, which seeked to urge congress “to propose an amendment to the United States Constitution to prohibit the use of slavery or indentured servitude for individuals convicted of crime.”2 ​ 20. Advocating for the decriminalization of victimless crimes. 1 Hoover, Amanda. “N.J. Voters Could Be Asked to Rule on Weed Again next Year - This Time on How Taxes Are Spent.” Nj.com, NJ Advance Media, 2 Dec. 2020, ​ ​ www.nj.com/marijuana/2020/12/nj-voters-could-be-asked-to-rule-on-weed-again-next-year-this-time-on-how-taxes- are-spent.html. 2 SR79 (2018) 2 a. Decriminalization of the usage of all drugs b. Decriminalization of all forms of consentual sex work. 21. Endorsing of A4369 and A4370, bills which concern lessening or eliminating mandatory minimums for nonviolent property and drug-related crimes. 22. Supporting legislation and executive action that would seek to free inmates who are determined not to be an immediate danger to society. 23. Seeking legislation which provides the necessary resources for former inmates to transition into the larger society. 24. Endorsing A1254, which would establish the possibility of geriatric parole for those who are 65 years of age and older and have served at least one third of their sentence, or those who are 60 years of age and older who have served as least half of their sentence. 25. Endorsing A4372, that would allow for those who had been tried for crimes as juveniles to petition to be resentenced. 26. Pursuing legislation and executive action with the intent of improving conditions for those within and/or formerly within the justice system. 27. Endorsing S415, which would offer post-release services that are offered for defendants on parole to defendants who had served the maximum term of incarceration. 28. Pursuing legislation similar to that of A4389, which would have worked towards making video and in-person visitation more accessible for prisoners. a. Ultimate goal should be towards making such services as video visitation free and more accessible for inmates. 29. Pursuing legislative action towards allowing inmates to vote by mail in the municipality in which they reside outside of prison. a. The Committee views the most likely path towards achieving this as being through the implementation of a public question on the matter, and wishes to pursue such action upon approval by the Assembly. 30. Working towards the creation of a Department of Prisoner Civil Rights and Civil Liberties on the statewide level, a department which would be tasked with ensuring that inmates within New Jersey receive a basic standard of living within the prison system, and that their civil rights are defended. 3 II. Introduction Preface 3 4 5 6 7 George Floyd. ​ Breonna Taylor. ​ Atatiana Jefferson. ​ Philando Castille. ​ Tamir Rice.