Bill > A4740

Introduced Session

This bill establishes a new mitigating factor that the court may consider when sentencing certain defendants who are survivors of abuse. The bill incorporates the recommendation in Part B of the New Jersey Criminal Sentencing and Disposition Commission's third report, dated March 2023, to create a new mitigating factor for survivors of abuse. Under current law, N.J.S.2C:44-1 enumerates 14 mitigating factors that a court may consider in determining the appropriate sentence to impose on a criminal defendant. These mitigating factors do not include consideration of whether the defendant suffered from physical, sexual, or psychological abuse. The bill amends the current law to establish an additional mitigating factor that a court may consider in determining the appropriate sentence to impose on a defendant who has been convicted of a crime. Specifically, under the bill, the court may also consider whether the defendant suffered physical, sexual, or emotional abuse and that such abuse was a contributing factor to the defendant's criminal behavior.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Aura Dunn (R)*,  Cody Miller (D)*,  Jessica Ramirez (D)*,  Garnet Hall (D),  Verlina Reynolds-Jackson (D), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee (on 09/12/2024)

Official Document