Gov. Murphy Vetoes Ending Mandatory Jail Time For NJ Corruption

NEW JERSEY — Gov. Phil Murphy vetoed legislation on Monday that would have eliminated mandatory prison time for political corruption offenses committed by elected New Jersey officials, as well as crimes committed by "bad actors in law enforcement that violate the public trust."

Murphy said his conditional veto of Senate Bill 3456 removes a series of provisions that would have weakened penalties associated with public corruption offenses, including official misconduct.

The veto comes as Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal issued a directive effectively ending mandatory minimums in New Jersey for nonviolent drug offenses. Read more: NJ To Waive Mandatory Minimum Prison For Non-Violent Drug Crimes

Murphy said his administration has undergone a year-and-a-half-long push to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug and property crimes. But the legislation was amended in a way that would have eliminated mandatory prison sentences for a number of public corruption offenses, including official misconduct.

After much deliberation, Murphy said, he determined that "I cannot sign this bill, which goes far beyond the recommendations of the Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission. The legislation also falls short because it does not offer relief for currently incarcerated individuals serving mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses.”

“I am particularly troubled by the notion that this bill would eliminate mandatory prison time for elected officials who abuse their office for their own benefit, such as those who take bribes,” Murphy said. “I am also mindful of the fact that I am taking action on this bill in the middle of the trial for George Floyd’s murder, and days after the deaths of Daunte Wright and Adam Toledo."

New Jersey’s robust penalties against public corruption offenses, such as official misconduct, are often the most powerful tools that prosecutors have to "hold bad actors in law enforcement accountable," he said.

"At a time when our nation is finally reckoning with accountability for abusive policing practices, weakening the penalties used to address police misconduct would send exactly the wrong message," he said.

Jiles Ship, former president of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, applauded Murphy for rejecting provisions in this legislation that "would have weakened penalties for bad actors in law enforcement, and I am thankful to Attorney General Grewal for issuing a directive that will effectively eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenses. Together, these two actions faithfully implement the recommendations of the Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission, on which I am proud to serve."

In August 2020, after the legislation had passed the Assembly, an amendment was made to the Senate version that would eliminate the mandatory minimum sentence for the crime of official misconduct, Murphy said.

When the amended version made it through the full Senate, different versions of the bill had passed both houses, Murphy said. In February of this year, a new version of the bill was introduced in both houses that eliminates mandatory minimums for crimes determined by the Legislature to be of a nonviolent nature.

In addition to official misconduct, the bill encompasses a number of offenses not specified in the commission’s recommendations, including other offenses dealing with misconduct committed by public employees and law enforcement.

The legislation passed the full Assembly in March by a vote of 46-20-4.

As a result of the veto, Sens. Sandra Cunningham and Nick Scutari introduced new legislation on Monday to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences for all nonviolent offenses. The new bill, S-3658, is identical to the measure rejected by Murphy, the lawmakers said.

“We don’t want to give up on our long-fought effort to bring real reforms to the criminal justice system by eliminating mandatory minimum sentences,” said Cunningham, who served on the New Jersey Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission. The panel, formed by the governor and the Legislature, issued a series of reform proposals including the recommended abolition of mandatory minimums.

“These mandated sentences played a significant role in New Jersey having the worst disparity in the country for rates of incarceration between Black and white offenders.”

“I want the governor to fully understand that by removing mandatory minimums on nonviolent offenses we can return the discretionary power to our judges and allow them to issue sentences that are in the best interest of justice,” said Scutari, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a municipal prosecutor. “Mandatory minimums are a sad legacy of an era that created laws that were discriminatory and ineffective. If we are going to end racial disparities in our criminal justice system, we have to bring an end to mandatory minimums. Other states that enacted similar legislation have experienced a decline in crime rates and a significant reduction in costs.”