Governor Phil Murphy is expected to sign sweeping legislation that paves the way for adult-use cannabis and decriminalization. A-21(Quijano)/S-21(Scutari), otherwise known as the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory, Enforcement Assistance, and Marketplace Modernization Act, or NJ CREAMA, passed out of both houses last week and is awaiting the governor’s signature. The NJSBA did not take an official position on the bill, but is monitoring the next step of promulgating rules and regulations and any follow up to the legislation.
“We’re moving closer to the long-overdue need to end cannabis prohibition,” said the bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Annette Quijano. “Once the legislation is enacted, it will be the beginning of a new era of economic opportunity, social justice for marijuana possession, and hope for a better future for thousands of New Jersey residents.”
Senator Nicholas Scutari, the Senate sponsor, who has been an outspoken advocate for legalization for almost 10 years, lauded the bill’s passage. “The legalization of adult-use cannabis will also launch a new industry that will create jobs and economic activity that will generate funds to aid the communities hurt the most by the ‘War on Drugs.’ New Jersey will now be a leader in legalizing a once stigmatized drug.”
The decriminalization bill promises criminal and civil justice reforms, particularly with respect to legal consequences associated with marijuana and hashish offenses. S-2535(Ruiz)/A-1897 (Wimberly) will also raise awareness for expungement relief. NJSBA President Kimberly A. Yonta participated in a roundtable discussion hosted by Senate President Steve Sweeney, expressing the need for a streamlined and accessible expungement program. Yonta promised to work with the sponsors moving forward.
NJSBA encourages transparency in civil jury trials
In response to a proposal by the Judiciary to implement virtual civil jury trials, the NJSBA pointed to its recommendations in an earlier report on the issue and urged “[t]ransparency, clear communication, and flexibility” to ensure fair and just trials with credible results.
“The NJSBA recognizes the challenges to the justice system imposed by the pandemic and appreciates the Judiciary’s efforts to keep the judicial system operational to ensure continued access to justice by New Jersey’s residents,” said Yonta.
The NJSBA’s Pandemic Task Force Committee on Resumption of Jury Trials previously drafted a report, titled “A Path to Virtual Civil Jury Trials,” for consideration by the Court’s COVID-19 Jury Operations Working Group. The NJSBA comments on the current proposal are based largely on those original recommendations.
Among the Judiciary’s proposals and the NJSBA responses are:
- All civil case types on all dockets and tracks should be eligible for virtual civil jury trials. The decision to select or exclude cases should be made with the civil presiding judge, trial judges and attorneys weighing in. Trials should begin with cases that involve a single plaintiff and single defendant and a “modest number of live witnesses,” with more complex cases to be considered only after “straightforward trials have been conducted.” Operational concerns should also be a factor, such as cases involving evidence that will be difficult to present in a virtual format and the requirement of multiple interpreters.
The NJSBA generally agrees with this recommendation, urging “clear public communication that the Judiciary will not move forward with any trial wherein a credible COVID-19-based disadvantage will be created by trying the case remotely.”
- Jury selection should be conducted in an entirely virtual format with the need for attorney consent.
The NJSBA urged that any jury selection process retain all of the pre-pandemic procedural safeguards to ensure that impartial and representative juries are empaneled. In particular, the NJSBA pointed out that, pre-pandemic, most of the “hardship” evaluations by a judge were done as part of the individual trial jury selection process with attorney involvement, but that did not happen in the recent hybrid jury selection process used in some trials. All deferral requests should be heard by a judge with counsel participating to provide attorneys the opportunity to evaluate the jury array, preserve the “open court” jury selection process and provide transparency.
- Judges should be more permissive in allowing attorneys to participate during virtual voir dire.
The NJSBA highlighted this as a critical component of ensuring impartial and representative panels. It urged the Court to consider counsel to be permitted and encourage the initiation of any necessary appropriate follow-up inquiry. The NJSBA urged the use of “virtual breakout rooms” outside the presence of the entire panel in order to increase attorney participation. Additionally, the NJSBA urged the Court to maintain the number of peremptory challenges available to each litigant as an “important and necessary component of jury selection. They should not be reduced or eliminated through any virtual trial plan,” said the NJSBA in its comments.
- Additional jurors should be selected as alternates, up to two, to account for the possibility that a juror may experience technical difficulties that prevent them from continuing with the trial or other intervening circumstances. The additional alternates should not affect any substantive aspect of jury deliberations, including the number of jurors to return a verdict.
The NJSBA suggested consideration be given to increasing the number of alternative jurors or leaving that decision to the trial judge, in consultation with the attorneys, to increase the number of alternates in consideration of the number of parties, the anticipated length of a trial and the complexity of the case.
- Technological recommendations include providing standard technology to all empaneled jurors, including tablets and smartphones with cameras. Training and instructions on the use of technology and the virtual jury process should be provided.
The NJSBA agrees with these propositions, urging consideration to permit jurors to use their own computers if they are more comfortable with them rather than the court-supplied technology. The NJSBA also suggested that a SIM card could be provided to jurors to ensure independent access to the internet and that a technical assistant be designated to virtually check in jurors while the judge handles pre-trial issues. Mobile phone access should also be provided and a sheriff’s officer/court personnel should be provided a computer to monitor the virtual jury room while proceedings are paused.
Additional recommendations and comments were made to proposals, including starting virtual civil trials in select pilot counties, features to permit jurors to virtually communicate with judicial staff or sheriff’s officers and notices to those whose cases are to be considered for virtual jury trials. A copy of the full report may be found at njcourts.gov. A full copy of the NJSBA letter may be found at njsba.com.