CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM TRAMPLES DEFENDANT’S CIVIL RIGHTS

New York, NY: Michelle Esquenazi, President of the New York State Bail Bondsman Association says that criminal justice reform as is being adopted in states and counties across America actually tramples upon a defendant’s rights under the constitution.

Says Esquenazi, “Slapping a monitoring bracelet on a defendant’s ankle before that defendant has received a fair trial is tantamount to a conviction because that defendant must pay for the ankle bracelet plus bear the shame of co-workers and family knowing that s/he is suspected of a crime. Similar to the branding that was done to suspects in Puritan America, these bracelets eliminate the presumption of innocence under our laws.”

According to Esquenazi, that is not the extent of how the reform eliminates a defendants rights. She points to New Jersey’s recent change in its criminal justice system which allows judges to remand defendants directly to jail without a trial based on the charges being leveled against him/her as an another action that tramples upon a defendant’s civil rights.

“No matter how heinous the crime a defendant is accused of, the act of remanding that defendant directly to jail without a trial deletes the presumption of innocence,” says Esquenazi. “If a state is going to adopt such a practice, it must be prepared to provide that defendant with a speedy and thorough trial. Otherwise we are opening ourselves up to the possibility of having to set these defendants free if they can be prove that their civil rights have been violated.”

Esquenazi points to cases that are currently being heard in New Jersey State Supreme Court which question the constitutionality of the new criminal justice practices being implemented as part of the state’s recent reform.

Lastly, Esquenazi says she is fearful that criminal justice reform which has been adopted in states and counties across the nation will result in civil rights violations cases brought before the Supreme Court which could ultimately allow convicted criminals to walk free.

28 U.S. Code § 453 - Oaths of justices and judges reads, ‘I, ___ ___, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice without respect to persons, and do equal right to the poor and to the rich, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as ___ under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God.’ Esquenazi asserts that if our criminal justice system considers a defendant’s economic condition as part of their processing, the presiding judge is going against his/her Judicial Oath of Office.

Said Esquenazi, “The oath, which was last updated on December 1, 1990, clearly states that a judge will administer ‘equal right to the poor and to the rich,’. That means that our criminal justice system cannot and should not consider a person’s economic condition when dispensing justice. As proponents of criminal justice reform are peddling the idea that the system favors the rich and condemns the poor and elected officials scramble to appease them to avoid looking bad, they are literally opening the door to begin our slide down a slippery slope of allowing our criminal justice system to give preference to defendants based on their economic standing. That is in total contradiction to the principles upon which our country was founded and could result in the Supreme Court overturning convictions of hundreds of criminals because the reformed criminal process was floored.”

Esquenazi has openly criticized the criminal justice reform movement stating, “People aren’t in jail because they are poor, they are in jail because they are suspected of committing a crime. If government wants to stop jail overcrowding, it should remove arcane laws that put people in jail for victimless crimes such as loitering, accumulating traffic tickets, prostitution etc. These defendants are not likely to harm anyone. If these laws are repealed we would see an instantaneous drop in our jail population and our law enforcement officers will be able to focus on protecting law abiding citizens from predators who mean us harm.”