Loading chat...
NJ A1393
Bill
Status
1/13/2026
Primary Sponsor
Ellen Park
Click for details
AI Summary
-
Appropriates $750,000 in supplemental funding for fiscal year 2024 to the Office of the Public Defender's Trial Services to Indigents program
-
Funds eight additional attorneys dedicated to juvenile post-dispositional work and caseload reduction in Essex and Atlantic counties
-
Responds to rising youth custodial sentences, which increased from 277 youth in custody in 2022 to 339 as of April 2024
-
Addresses a 359 percent increase in juvenile custodial sentence length in Atlantic County between 2022 and 2024, with projected 25-30 percent increase in youth defense caseloads
-
Supports expanded OPD mandate under P.L.2021, c.383, which requires representation of juvenile defendants approaching reentry into society as adults
Legislative Description
Makes FY2024 supplemental appropriation of $750,000 providing for additional attorneys dedicated to juvenile matters.
Judiciary
Last Action
Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee
1/13/2026