How does bail work in New Jersey?
State has switched to risk-assessment system
By: Kaitlyn Kanzier
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
..... Those who find themselves at the mercy of New Jersey's courts may learn for the first time that they will not have a monetary bail set.
.....
In January 2017, under governor Chris Christie, New Jersey transitioned form a monetary bail system to a risk-assessment-based system to determine whether a defendant should be released.
..... A defendant appears before a judge, and if the prosecution is requesting detention, the judge will decide whether the individual will remain in jail based on specific criteria.
..... they include the likelihood of committing another crime and other relevant factors, including any previous criminal history.
..... Each defendant receives a Public Safety Assessment, which provides a numerals score based on various criteria and the severity of the crime.
..... The pretrial services staff then makes a recommendation base on the assessment and other relevant factors.
.....
"Those and other reforms were intended to confront inequities in the prior system and help protect public safety," chief Justice Steward Rabner of the New Jersey Supreme Court said in an information pamphlet about the process.
..... A judge may still set monetary bail, but not to keep someone in jail.
..... Should a defendant violate the conditions of their release by failing to appear or committing another crime, the release is revoked and they remain in jail until the conclusion of their case.
.....
However, teh Trump administration is seeking to require cash bail.
..... On august 25, [2025] President Donald Trump signed an executive order aimed at requiring cash bail.
..... The mandate threatened to revoke federal funding for jurisdictions that allow suspects to be released without posing a bond, USA Today reported. That same day, as reported by USA Today, Trump signed another order, instructing police in Washington, DC, to charge suspects with federal crimes and hold them in federal custody to avoid releasing them without posting a bond.