Facing a criminal charge in New Jersey

Bond and pretrial release in New Jersey

Article I Paragraph 11 of the New Jersey Constitution, as amended in 2014, authorized the legislature to abolish monetary bail in favor of a risk-based pretrial release system. The Criminal Justice Reform Act, P.L. 2014 c.31 (effective January 1, 2017), substantially eliminated monetary bail for indictable offenses and replaced it with risk-assessment-driven release decisions under N.J.S.A. 2A:162-15 et seq. Defendants are screened by Pretrial Services using the Public Safety Assessment, and the court issues a decision within 48 hours of first appearance. Release options include release on recognizance, conditional release with supervision, or pretrial detention if no condition will reasonably assure appearance, community safety, or non-obstruction of the process.

Bond amounts, conditions, and timelines vary by county and judge. Confirm with counsel or the court.

Criminal defense attorneys serving New Jersey

Our directory is still building in New Jersey. Public-defender intake is available now.

Record clearing in New Jersey

New Jersey expungement is governed by N.J.S.A. 2C:52-1 through 2C:52-32. The Clean Slate Act (effective 2020) added a petition-based pathway to expunge an entire criminal record after a 10-year waiting period, supplementing the existing offense-specific expungement provisions. The statute provides petition-based expungement after waiting periods of five years for one indictable conviction or multiple disorderly persons offenses, six months for non-conviction dismissals, and ten years for Clean Slate full-record expungement. Homicide, kidnapping, aggravated sexual assault, robbery, and other crimes enumerated in 2C:52-2(b) are excluded. The petition is filed in the Superior Court of the county where the conviction was entered.

Eligibility, waiting periods, and the petition vs. automatic pathway depend on the conviction class and the date of the offense. Confirm with counsel or the court record.

Public defender intake in New Jersey

New Jersey Office of the Public Defender serves STATEWIDE County. Public defenders are appointed by the court based on financial eligibility. We do not refer you to a specific public defender and we do not represent you.

Public defenders are appointed by the court based on financial eligibility. LawSensai does not refer you to a public defender and does not represent you. This packet is a courtesy summary you can share with your public defender or their intake staff. You remain responsible for applying to the court for appointed counsel.