Bill > S473

Introduced Session

In order to encourage witnesses to cooperate with law enforcement and testify against the alleged perpetrator at the criminal proceeding, this bill establishes the "Victim-Witness Scholarship Fund." This fund provides a full tuition scholarship to a State college to any witness of a violent crime who voluntarily testifies at a criminal proceeding against the defendant and such testimony leads to defendants conviction if he meets certain qualifications. These violent crimes include, but are not limited to, murder, aggravated manslaughter, aggravated assault, and aggravated sexual assault. The scholarship shall be administered by the Office of the Attorney General, Division of Criminal Justice, and shall be awarded through an application process wherein the applicant must demonstrate that he: (1) Witnessed the commission of a violent crime; (2) Cooperated with law enforcement during the investigation of the violent crime; (3) Voluntarily testified against the defendant at the criminal proceeding and provided essential testimony for the prosecution; (4) Possesses a certification from the prosecutor who tried the criminal case at which he testified that such testimony played a significant role in convicting the defendant; and (5) Is or has been a resident of this State for at least 12 months prior to receiving the scholarship. A witness who is deemed to be a qualified applicant by the Attorney General but who is not able to use the scholarship may designate a member of his immediate family to receive the scholarship. The scholarship shall be funded through the States criminally-derived asset forfeiture account. N.J.S.A.2C:64-6 has been amended to allot 20% of the criminally-derived forfeiture funds obtained by the Attorney General to be deposited into the fund. Any balance left over in the fund at the end of the fiscal year shall be deposited in the "Witness Protection Fund". This bill creates the "Witness Protection Fund," which is also financed through the States criminally-derived asset forfeiture account and any left over monies from the "Victim-Witness Scholarship Fund" at the end of each fiscal year. N.J.S.A.2C:64-6 has also been amended to allot $ ,000 of the criminally-derived forfeiture funds obtained by the Attorney General to be deposited into the fund. The sponsor believes that witness intimidation is one of the most critical problems in the investigation and prosecution of violent crimes in this State. Witnesses to violent crimes have been threatened and intimidated and, therefore, are too afraid to cooperate with law enforcement or provide testimony in open court for the prosecution. Such intimidation has become a major stumbling block to criminal prosecutions in this State. The sponsor believes it is time that the Legislature acted to combat these intimidation tactics.

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Raymond Lesniak (D)*, 

Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Law and Public Safety Committee (on 01/12/2010)