Title: New Jersey v. Lopez-Carrera

State: new-jersey

Issuer: New Jersey Supreme Court

Document:

SYLLABUS

This syllabus is not part of the Court’s opinion. It has been prepared by the Office of the
Clerk for the convenience of the reader. It has been neither reviewed nor approved by the
Court. In the interest of brevity, portions of an opinion may not have been summarized.

                   State v. Oscar Lopez-Carrera (A-8-20) (084750)
          State v. Juan C. Molchor; State v. Jose A. Rios (A-9-20) (084694)

Argued November 30, 2020 -- Decided March 30, 2021

RABNER, C.J., writing for the Court.

       In these consolidated appeals, the Court considers whether the Criminal Justice
Reform Act (CJRA or Act),  N.J.S.A. 2A:162-15 to -26, empowers judges to detain
defendants who are non-citizens to prevent immigration officials from removing them
from the country before trial.

       Defendants Juan Molchor and Jose Rios were arrested and charged with
aggravated assault and criminal mischief. They allegedly punched and struck an
acquaintance over the head with beer bottles at a party and damaged two cars as they left
the party. Pretrial Services prepared Public Safety Assessments (PSAs) for both
defendants. The PSAs rated both defendants 1 out of 6 for failure to appear, the lowest
level of risk, and 2 out of 6 for new criminal activity. Neither defendant had any pending
charges, prior convictions, prior failures to appear, or prior juvenile adjudications.
Pretrial Services recommended that both be released with monthly reporting.

        The State moved for pretrial detention, claiming defendants posed a flight risk
because they were undocumented immigrants. The State presented no evidence that U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was interested in either defendant. The
court ordered both defendants detained pretrial, noting that, but for their immigration
status, both would likely have been released. In both detention orders, the court included
a single finding to justify detention: “Particular circumstances, specifically, defendant is
an illegal alien.” The Appellate Division consolidated the cases and reversed. See  464 N.J. Super. 274 (App. Div. 2020). The Court granted leave to appeal.  244 N.J. 187 (2020).

        Defendant Oscar Lopez-Carrera was charged with attempted sexual assault and
criminal sexual contact in relation to an alleged attempted sexual assault of a minor. Like
Molchor and Rios, Lopez-Carrera had no prior convictions or other pending charges, and
no prior failures to appear. The PSA rated him at the lowest level of risk, 1 out of 6, for
both failure to appear and new criminal activity. Pretrial Services recommended that
Lopez-Carrera be released on his own recognizance. The State did not initially move for
pretrial detention, and Lopez-Carrera was released on conditions. Immediately upon his
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release, ICE officials took him into federal custody. He was indicted months later. Eight
months after that, ICE informed prosecutors of the following: Lopez-Carrera was the
subject of a final removal order; his immigration appeals had been denied; and he would
be removed from the country to Guatemala. In his immigration appeal, Lopez-Carrera
unsuccessfully sought a continuance to allow his criminal charges to be resolved.

       The State promptly moved to revoke Lopez-Carrera’s pretrial release based on the
change in circumstances. The trial court denied the motion, relying on the Appellate
Division’s recently published decision in Molchor. The Appellate Division affirmed.
The State contacted ICE and asked for permission to apply for deferred action or an
administrative stay of removal to delay Lopez-Carrera’s removal from the country.
Counsel for ICE responded that the removal could not be delayed. The Court granted
leave to appeal.  244 N.J. 189 (2020). One month later, Lopez-Carrera was removed
from the United States to Guatemala. The Court considers his appeal nonetheless
because it raises an issue of significant public importance that is likely to recur.

HELD: The CJRA favors pretrial release over detention; it authorizes judges to detain
defendants when the State has shown, by clear and convincing evidence, that no
conditions of release would reasonably assure the eligible defendant’s appearance in
court when required, would protect the public, or would prevent the defendant from
obstructing the criminal justice process. To make that determination, the Act directs
judges to conduct an individualized assessment of the level of risk each defendant
presents in light of their own conduct, history, and characteristics. The Act does not seek
to detain defendants whose behavior poses a minimal level of risk, which describes all
three defendants here. Nor does the CJRA cede control over pretrial release decisions to
outside agencies. The statute’s primary focus is on a defendant’s behavior and choices,
and the risk they present. The language, structure, purpose, and history of the CJRA
reveal the Act was designed to address a defendant’s own choice not to appear in court,
not independent actions by third parties like ICE. The Court agrees with the Appellate
Division that the CJRA does not authorize judges to detain defendants to thwart their
possible removal by ICE.

1. The CJRA favors release with conditions, with detention reserved for defendants who
pose a significant risk of non-appearance, danger, or obstruction.  N.J.S.A. 2A:162-15,
-17, -18. To enable judges to decide whether to release an individual, the CJRA provides
for a careful, objective evaluation of the level of risk each defendant presents, taking into
account information that relates largely to a defendant’s conduct, history, and
characteristics. See id. at -20. Pretrial Services officers are required to conduct an
individualized risk assessment for each eligible defendant to make a recommendation to
the court. State v. Robinson,  229 N.J. 44, 56 (2017) (citing  N.J.S.A. 2A:162-25(b)). To
that end, the Act directed that an objective risk assessment instrument be developed
“based on analysis of empirical data and risk factors relevant to the risk of failure to
appear in court when required and the danger to the community while on pretrial
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release.”  N.J.S.A. 2A:162-26(c)(1). The risk assessment instrument considers nine
factors that also relate to a defendant’s behavior, history, and characteristics. See
Robinson,  229 N.J. at 62. With those objective details and other relevant information,
Pretrial Services prepares a PSA that assesses a defendant’s level of risk for failure to
appear and for new criminal activity. The PSA also recommends whether to release a
defendant, and if so, what conditions of release to impose. Ibid. (pp. 18-22)

2. To determine whether the CJRA authorizes judges to detain defendants who face
possible removal, the Court begins with the Act’s plain language, which provides for
detention when no combination of conditions “would reasonably assure the eligible
defendant’s appearance in court when required.”  N.J.S.A. 2A:162-18(a)(1) (emphasis
added). The CJRA does not specifically address whether or how judges may consider the
intervention of immigration officials, but its text is revealing in other ways. (pp. 23-24)

3. “Appearance” commonly involves action. A defendant’s “appearance in court” thus
commonly refers to the voluntary act of showing up. Reading the term in the context of
the Act reinforces that “appearance” implies a voluntary act by the defendant. First, the
other two grounds for detention set forth in  N.J.S.A. 2A:162-18(a)(1) -- the risk the
defendant might harm someone or obstruct justice -- plainly refer to a defendant’s
voluntary behavior, permitting the inference that “appearance” likewise refers to a
defendant’s voluntary act. Second, the risk assessment tool and the statutory factors in
 N.J.S.A. 2A:162-20 focus on the behavior, characteristics, and history of each defendant.
Third,  N.J.S.A. 2A:162-20(c)(1) invites judges deciding whether to detain a defendant
pretrial to consider a defendant’s “record concerning appearance at court proceedings.”
That relates directly to a defendant’s prior voluntary conduct and sheds light on the
meaning of the words in section 18, as well as the Legislature’s intent. (pp. 24-26)

4. To discern the intent of the Legislature, the Court also considers the meaning of the
phrase “appearance in court when required,”  N.J.S.A. 2A:162-18(a)(1), in light of the
statute’s overall scheme and purpose. At the outset of the CJRA, the Legislature declared
the law “shall be liberally construed to effectuate the purpose of primarily relying upon
pretrial release by non-monetary means.”  N.J.S.A. 2A:162-15. The Act reserves
detention for defendants who pose a serious risk of non-appearance, danger, or
obstruction. See ibid. Moreover, the Act empowers judges to implement its framework
and decide the question of pretrial release. (pp. 26-27)

5. The State argues that pretrial detention is justified when a defendant’s risk of removal
is certain and imminent. If that were the case, defendants could be detained no matter the
nature and circumstances of their eligible offense, the strength of the evidence against
them, their record of appearing in court in the past, their ties to and length of residence in
the community, their past conduct, or other considerations the Legislature outlined. See
 N.J.S.A. 2A:162-20. To be clear, here the Court considers individuals who would not
otherwise be subject to pretrial detention. Under the State’s argument, which assumes
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that one can be certain when removal is imminent, the single determining factor would be
whether immigration officials appeared likely to succeed in their efforts to remove an
individual. Such an approach would effectively cede decisions on pretrial release to an
outside agency and remove that authority from judges. Trial judges in those cases would
in essence be compelled to enter an order of detention. The CJRA, as written, does not
provide for that. In the language, structure, and purpose of the CJRA, the Court finds
evidence that the Legislature intended to authorize pretrial detention when there is clear
and convincing evidence that individual defendants pose a serious risk of non-appearance
based on their own conduct, not the acts of third parties like ICE. (pp. 27-29)

6. The Legislature did not debate whether decisions by immigration officials could form
the basis for pretrial detention. Three strands in the historical record, however, do shed
light on the issue, and two of them imply that an order of detention should be based on a
defendant’s own behavior. The Court reviews all three strands in detail. (pp. 29-36)

7. The Court does not rely on case law that interprets the federal Bail Reform Act. The
federal act differs from the CJRA in this area in two ways, including by expressly
providing for consideration of immigration status. See 18 U.S.C. § 3142(d). The New
Jersey Legislature declined to address immigration status in the CJRA despite looking to
the federal act as a model. In the end, the issue here is about the interpretation of a state
statute. The question is not whether the sovereign had the power to act; it is what the law
-- as written -- actually authorizes. (pp. 36-37)

8. Another important concern influences the Court’s analysis. A bedrock principle of
our system of justice is that individuals charged with a crime are presumed innocent. For
like reasons, “[i]n our society liberty is the norm, and detention prior to trial or without
trial is the carefully limited exception.” United States v. Salerno,