The NACC signed-on to an amicus curiae brief to the New Jersey Supreme Court drafted jointly by the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, the Juvenile Law Center of Philadelphia, Rutgers School of Law-Newark Urban Legal Clinic, and the New Jersey Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. This case considers whether the Juvenile Court retains review authority over prosecutorial decisions to seek waiver of children from the juvenile to the criminal court, and, if so, the appropriate standard of review.
The appeal challenges the appellate division's interpretation of New Jersey statute permitting transfer of 16 and 17-year-old youth to the adult system upon motion of the prosecutor and a showing of probable cause. The amicus curiae brief presents research on the use of waiver in New Jersey demonstrating that there is great disparity among the state's counties and along racial, ethnic, and socio-economic lines. The brief argues that the appellate division erred in applying the patent and gross abuse of discretion standard; that the state's "mandatory" waiver statute violates separation of powers and does not afford youth due process; and that waiver has disastrous consequences for youth.
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