By Brent Johnson | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
on January 12, 2017 at 7:15 AM, updated January 12, 2017 at 8:56 AM
TRENTON — In what legal experts are calling an important decision, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday to overhaul the way New Jersey judges sentence juveniles convicted in violent crimes that could keep them in prison until they are elderly or dead.
The state’s highest court ruled 7-0 that judges must consider a number of factors — including age, family environment, and peer pressure — before issuing lengthy sentences to youths in serious cases.
Peter Verniero, a former state Supreme Court justice and state attorney general, said this is “one of the most significant sentencing decisions” the court has made in “many years.”
Interesting how all of the news articles are modifying the actual conditions to be considered as stated in the ruling:
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“In a unanimous decision written by Chief Justice Stuart Rabner, the court ruled that:
‘Judges must take into account a series of special factors when sentencing juvenile offenders, including immaturity, family and home environment, peer pressure, the inability to deal with police or lawyers, and the likelihood of rehabilitation.’ “
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Modifying it to:
“The state’s highest court ruled 7-0 that judges must consider a number of factors — including age, family environment, and peer pressure — before issuing lengthy sentences to youths in serious cases”
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Most notably excluding “the inability to deal with police or lawyers” – which will become the most common defense and is essentially a “Get out of Jail Free” card (used to reduce the sentence) and can be claimed by anyone without fear of perjury.
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