Brittan Holland v. Kelly Rosen
Opinion
New Jersey's system of pretrial release has long relied on monetary bail to ensure the presence of an accused person at trial.
State v. Robinson
,
Brittan Holland and Lexington National Insurance Corporation challenge this feature of the Reform Act as a violation of the Eighth Amendment, the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, and the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution. They seek a preliminary injunction enjoining Kelly Rosen, the Team Leader for Pretrial Services in the Criminal Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mary E. Colalillo, the Camden County Prosecutor, and Christopher S. Porrino, the Attorney General of New Jersey, and their agents (for convenience we refer to the named officials and their agents collectively as the "State"), "from taking any actions to enforce statutory provisions [of the Reform Act] ... that allow imposition of severe restrictions on the pre-trial liberty of presumptively innocent criminal defendants without offering the option of monetary bail." Proposed Order of Plaintiffs Granting Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and a Preliminary Injunction at 2,
Holland v. Rosen
,
After considering the standing of Holland and Lexington to bring suit, we conclude, as did the District Court (per Judge Simandle), that only the former may make the challenge here. On the merits, the question key to Holland's contentions is whether there is a federal constitutional right to deposit money or obtain a corporate surety bond to ensure a criminal defendant's future appearance in court as an equal alternative to non-monetary conditions of pretrial release. Our answer is no. Thus we affirm the District Court's comprehensive and well-reasoned ruling.
I. Background
A. New Jersey Pretrial Release and Detention Prior to the Criminal Justice Reform Act
Prior to the Reform Act, New Jersey's system of pretrial release relied heavily on the use of monetary bail, requiring defendants to post either cash or arrange with a third party a bond for their release.
Robinson
,
In 2012 two organizations-the Drug Policy Alliance and Luminosity-studied New Jersey's county jails and found that 73.3% of those held in custody were awaiting trial, and 38.5% of the total jail population had the option to post bail but were in custody due only to their inability to meet the terms of bail. Marie VanNostrand, New Jersey Jail Population Analysis 11, 13 (2013) ("VanNostrand Report"). One in eight inmates-12% of the total population-was in custody because he or she could not pay $2,500 or less. 1 Id. at 13. The median length of stay for pretrial detainees was 314 days. Id. at 12.
The State took steps to address these inequities. Governor Christie called in 2012 for a constitutional amendment to allow for pretrial detention in serious cases. See Office of the Courts, Criminal Justice Reform: Annual Report to the Governor & Legislature 1 (2016). And in 2013 Chief Justice Rabner established the Joint Committee on Criminal Justice, "comprised of judges, prosecutors, public defenders, private counsel, court administrators[,] and staff from the Legislature and [the] Governor's office." JCCJ Report at 1.
In a March 2014 report the Committee examined the consequences of the State's then-current bail system and recommended a major change to its approach. Id. In practice, the State's reliance on monetary bail resulted in the release of defendants who could afford to pay for their release, even if they posed a substantial risk of flight or danger to others, and the pretrial detention of poorer defendants who presented minimal risk and were accused of less serious crimes. Id. at 1-2. The report, supported by extensive research, found significant consequences to pretrial custody: defendants detained in jail while awaiting trial pled guilty more often, were convicted more often, were sentenced to prison more often, and received harsher prison sentences, than those released before trial. Id. The Committee sought to promote defendants' liberty interests by shifting from a "resource-based" to a "risk-based" system of bail that relies heavily on release (with non-monetary conditions to address defendants' particular risks) rather than pretrial detention. Id. at 2-3. The Committee did not recommend the abolition of monetary bail, though it did expect that relying on particular, and often nuanced, conditions would result in monetary bail being set with far less frequency. Id. at 61.
The Legislature ultimately adopted a proposal to amend the State Constitution as follows:
All persons shall, before conviction, be eligible for pretrial release. Pretrial release may be denied to a person if the court finds that no amount of monetary bail, non-monetary conditions of pretrial release, or combination of monetary bail and non-monetary conditions would reasonably assure the person's appearance in court when required, or protect the safety of any other person or the community, or prevent the person from obstructing or attempting to obstruct the criminal justice process. It shall be lawful for the Legislature to establish by law procedures, terms, and conditions applicable to pretrial release and the denial thereof authorized under this provision.
N.J. Const. art. I, ¶ 11 (2017). The Legislature also drafted the Criminal Justice Reform Act to implement changes to the State's bail system and provide for more timely trials. 2 The Act, described in greater detail below, stemmed from the passage of the proposed constitutional amendment, which voters approved by a margin of 61.8% to 38.2% in November 2014. See Div. of Elections, Dep't of State, Official List: Public Question Results for 11/04/2014 General Election Public Question No. 1, at 1 (Dec. 2, 2014). Both the amendment and the Act took effect on January 1, 2017.
B. The Reform Act
The Reform Act's three goals are "primarily [to] rely[ ] upon pretrial release by non-monetary means to reasonably assure an eligible defendant's appearance in court when required, the protection of the safety of any other person or the community, [and] that the eligible defendant will not obstruct or attempt to obstruct the criminal justice process." 3 N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:162-15 (2017). Importantly, the Act applies only to "eligible defendants"-those issued "a complaint-warrant ... for an initial charge involving an indictable offense or a disorderly persons offense." Id. A defendant charged by a complaint-summons will be released from custody and is not subject to the Act. Id. § 2A:162-16(d)(1).
The Reform Act establishes a multi-step process the court must follow when deciding to release or detain an eligible defendant. First, he or she is temporarily detained to allow the Pretrial Services Program ("Pretrial Services") to prepare a Public Safety Assessment and recommendation for release conditions and for the court to issue a pretrial release decision. Id. § 2A:162-16(a).
The Public Safety Assessment model, developed by the Laura and John Arnold Foundation, considers nine factors to measure the risk an eligible defendant will fail to appear in court and the risk he or she will engage in new criminal activity while on release. See American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey et al. , New Jersey Pretrial Justice Manual 7, 8 (2016) ("ACLU Pretrial Justice Manual"). The Assessment for each eligible defendant is based on relevant information gathered from his or her electronic court records. AG Dir. 2016-6, at 27. The eligible defendant's risks for failure to appear and for new criminal activity are graded on a scale of one to six, with six being the greatest risk. He or she may also be flagged for new violent criminal activity. Id. These scores map onto a Decision-Making Framework that recommends a pretrial monitoring level based on the intersection of failure to appear and new criminal activity scores, the new violent criminal activity flag (should there be one), and other factors. Id. ; see also Pretrial Release Recommendation Decision Making Framework (DMF) (March 2018).
Level 1 recommends eligible defendants report once a month by phone. Level 2 recommends monthly telephonic reporting, monthly in-person reporting, and some monitored conditions ( e.g. , a curfew). Level 3 recommends weekly telephonic or in-person monitoring and monitored conditions. Level 3+ recommends all the same conditions as level 3 plus electronic monitoring and/or home detention. If release is not recommended, the matrix suggests the eligible defendant be detained pretrial or, if released, ordered to comply with level 3+ conditions. ACLU Pretrial Justice Manual at 10.
The eligible defendant's first appearance must occur no later than 48 hours after his or her commitment to jail, subject to certain exceptions. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:162-16(b)(1). At the first appearance the court must make a pretrial release decision unless the prosecutor files a motion for detention, in which case it will hold a separate pretrial detention hearing. Id. §§ 2A:162-17, 2A:162-18(a)(1). In general, that hearing must occur no later than the eligible defendant's first appearance, or three working days from the date the motion for detention was filed, unless the eligible defendant or prosecutor seeks a continuance. Id. § 2A:162-19(d)(1).
Not all eligible defendants may be detained pretrial. Rather, a prosecutor may only move to detain an eligible defendant charged with certain crimes, and the court must find clear and convincing evidence that no condition, or combination of monetary and non-monetary conditions, of release can reasonably assure the Act's goals. Id. §§ 2A:162-15, 2A:162-18(a)(1), 2A:162-19(a), (e)(3).
At the pretrial detention hearing, the eligible defendant has the right to counsel and to have counsel appointed if he or she is financially unable to obtain representation. He or she is also afforded the opportunity to testify, present witnesses, cross-examine witnesses, and present information by proffer or otherwise. Id. § 2A:162-19(e)(1). The eligible defendant may also subpoena and call the State's witnesses. ACLU Pretrial Justice Manual at 42. Rules concerning admissibility of evidence in criminal trials do not apply to this hearing. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:162-19(e)(1). Further, the eligible defendant is entitled to significant discovery for the detention hearing, including that the prosecutor's office shall provide "any available preliminary law enforcement incident report concerning the offense and the affidavit of probable cause," along with all statements or reports relating to the affidavit, evidence the State relies on to establish probable cause at the hearing, and the risk factors that the State advances at the hearing. N.J. Ct. R. 3:4-2(c)(1) (2017). The prosecutor's office must also provide all exculpatory evidence. Id. If there is no indictment, the prosecutor must establish probable cause that the eligible defendant committed the predicate offense. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:162-19(e)(2).
The court may take into account numerous factors to determine whether to detain the eligible defendant. They include, for example, the nature of the offense charged, the history and characteristics of the eligible defendant, the nature and seriousness of his or her risk of danger, and the release recommendation of Pretrial Services. Id. § 2A:162-20. If the court orders detention, it must include written findings of fact (along with a statement of the reasons for detention) and direct that the eligible defendant be afforded a reasonable opportunity for private consultation with counsel. Id. § 2A:162-21(a). An eligible defendant ordered detained is entitled to appeal that decision in an expedited manner. Id. § 2A:162-18(c). Additionally, the hearing may be reopened at any time before trial if the court finds information that was not known to the prosecutor or the eligible defendant at the time of the hearing and that has a material bearing on whether there are conditions of release that will reasonably assure the Act's goals. Id. § 2A:162-19(f).
If the court does not order detention, it must determine what release conditions, if any, should be imposed on the eligible defendant. Id. § 2A:162-18(d). It needs to consider all the circumstances, the Public Safety Assessment and recommendation for release conditions, plus any information provided by a prosecutor or the eligible defendant. Id. §§ 2A:162-16(b)(2), 2A:162-17(a). Based on this information, the court shall order him or her to be released on personal recognizance or on execution of an unsecured appearance bond if either option would reasonably assure the Act's goals. Id. §§ 2A:162-16(b)(2)(a), 2A:162-17(a). If not, the court may order him or her released on a non-monetary condition or combination of conditions, "with the condition or conditions being the least restrictive ... that the court determines will reasonably assure" the Act's goals. Id. § 2A:162-16(b)(2)(b) ; see also id. § 2A:162-17(b). If none of the above will reasonably assure those goals, the court may order the eligible defendant released on monetary bail, other than unsecured appearance bond, to assure his or her appearance in court (but not to assure a person or the community's safety), or a combination of monetary bail and non-monetary conditions to assure the goals that apply. Id. §§ 2A:162-16(b)(2)(c), 2A:162-17(c)(1), (d)(1), 2A:162-18(a)(2).
The release conditions imposed may require, at the minimum, that the eligible defendant refrain from committing any offense during release, avoid all communication with an alleged victim of the crime, avoid communication with specified witnesses who may testify concerning the charged offense, and comply with "any one or more non-monetary conditions" in the statute. Id. § 2A:162-17(b)(1). These non-monetary conditions include that the eligible defendant:
(a) remain in the custody of a designated person ... ;
(b) maintain employment, or, if unemployed, actively seek employment;
(c) maintain or commence an educational program;
(d) abide by specified restrictions on personal associations, place of abode, or travel;
(e) report on a regular basis to a designated law enforcement agency, or other agency, or pretrial services program;
(f) comply with a specified curfew;
(g) refrain from possessing a firearm, destructive device, or other dangerous weapon;
(h) refrain from excessive use of alcohol, or any use of a narcotic drug or other controlled substance without a prescription ...;
(i) undergo available medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment, including treatment for drug or alcohol dependency, and remain in a specified institution if required for that purpose;
(j) return to custody for specified hours following release for employment, schooling, or other limited purposes;
(k) be placed in a pretrial home supervision capacity with or without the use of an approved electronic monitoring device ...; or
(l) satisfy any other condition that is necessary to reasonably assure [the Act's goals].
Id. § 2A:162-17(b)(2). If the court orders conditions contrary to the Public Safety Assessment's recommendation, it must provide an explanation for its decision in the document that authorizes the eligible defendant's release. Id. § 2A:162-23(a)(2). Additionally, the State Superior Court may later review conditions of release on its own motion, or a motion by the prosecutor or the eligible defendant, alleging there has been a "material change in circumstance that justifies a change in conditions." N.J. Ct. R. 3:26-2(c)(2). Any review of conditions under this rule must be decided within 30 days of the date the motion was filed and the judge may set new conditions of release on a finding that there has been a material change in circumstances. Id.
The State has released statistics on pretrial release and detention for the year following the Reform Act's implementation. In 2017 142,663 defendants were charged by either a complaint-warrant or a complaint-summons. Of those, 44,319 defendants were issued a complaint-warrant. Prosecutors filed 19,366 motions for pretrial detention, and courts ordered 8,043 eligible defendants detained. The pretrial detention rate for all eligible defendants was 18.1%, and the overall pretrial detention rate (considering complaint-warrants and complaint-summonses) was 5.6%. See Office of the Courts, Criminal Justice Reform: Annual Report to the Governor & Legislature 4 (2017) ("CJR Report 2017"). Pretrial monitoring level 3+ was ordered for 8.3% of eligible defendants. See Initial Release Decisions for Criminal Justice Reform Eligible Defendants (January 1-December 31, 2017) ("Initial Release Decisions 2017"). Additionally, judges ordered only 44 eligible defendants to post monetary bail in 2017. Overall, the State's pretrial jail population was reduced by 20%. CJR Report 2017, at 4.
C. The Parties
Holland was arrested in April 2017 for his alleged involvement in a bar fight, and he was charged with second-degree aggravated assault. The Affidavit of Probable Cause in support of the criminal complaint noted Holland struck the victim in the face in the parking lot outside a bar, then continued to strike the victim in the head and face after he fell to the ground, causing serious bodily harm. Holland then fled the scene and was apprehended at his home with his clothing covered in fresh blood.
The Camden County Prosecutor's Office filed a motion for pretrial detention due to the severity of Holland's alleged offense and his prior conviction for simple assault. The Decision-Making Framework recommended pretrial detention in part because the Public Safety Assessment flagged Holland for a risk of new violent criminal activity. Represented by a Public Defender, Holland negotiated for level 3+ non-monetary pretrial release conditions in exchange for the prosecutor's withdrawal of the motion. He appeared in court and accepted the negotiated agreement, which included home detention and electronic monitoring, and he declined to proceed with a pretrial detention hearing. Holland is currently on pretrial release with conditions including home detention (except for employment) and electronic monitoring. He has not sought a judicial determination of his conditions of release or any modification of the agreed conditions.
Lexington is a Florida corporation based in Maryland. It operates through independent bail bondsmen who are licensed by the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance and registered with the Superior Court clerk. It primarily underwrites bail bonds and acts as a corporate surety of bail bonds.
D. Procedural History
Holland and Lexington filed a class action Complaint and a Motion for a Preliminary Injunction on June 14, 2017. The State then filed an opposition to the injunction motion, to which Holland and Lexington replied. The American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion for leave to appear as amicus curiae on behalf of itself and the ACLU of New Jersey, Drug Policy Alliance, Latino Action Network, and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People-New Jersey Conference. The District Court granted the request of the national ACLU, which then submitted a brief and participated in oral argument in support of the State. The Court convened a preliminary injunction hearing; after hearing oral argument, it denied the motion.
First, the Court considered Holland and Lexington's standing to raise their claims. It held Holland has standing on his own (called first-party standing) because his alleged injury would be redressed by a favorable judicial decision. However, it held that Lexington lacks first-party and third-party standing, the latter allowing a litigant to assert in certain circumstances claims of other parties. The Court reached its conclusion about third-party standing after finding Lexington had sufficiently alleged injury, but even assuming it has a close relationship with criminal defendants, it did not sufficiently allege criminal defendants face obstacles to pursuing their own claims that only Lexington can address adequately. The Court did not opine on whether Lexington's alleged injury fell outside the "zone-of-interests" of the Eighth, Fourteenth, and Fourth Amendments.
Second, in response to the State's argument that the Court must abstain from interfering with Holland's ongoing state criminal prosecution per
Younger v. Harris
,
Third, the Court addressed the merits of Holland's motion for a preliminary injunction. It examined the history of the Eighth Amendment's Excessive Bail Clause and held the argument for the right to monetary bail was unlikely to succeed on the merits. The Court then reviewed the procedures provided by the Reform Act and concluded the statute did not violate procedural due process and, in any event, Holland waived the process available to him by agreeing to level 3+ conditions. It also held the statute's subordination of monetary bail did not violate substantive due process because Holland did not present any grounds for finding an option to obtain monetary bail is a fundamental right or is implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. Finally, it held the conditions imposed on Holland were not an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment because the prosecutor had to show there was probable cause for his charged offense, and Holland waived the opportunity to have a full pretrial detention hearing.
The Court turned to the likelihood Holland will suffer irreparable harm. It held there was scant likelihood of that occurring if an injunction were denied because Holland's suggested harm was the deprivation of his constitutional right to the option, alongside non-monetary bail, of monetary bail, which would have required the Court to hold there was such a right. Moreover, it noted Holland still has the ability to seek a modification of his conditions of release in the New Jersey court.
The balance of harms weighed against granting the requested injunction. The Court noted that such an injunction mandating consideration of monetary bail risked reinstalling the system of financial requirements that previously relegated to pretrial detention those unable to meet modest monetary bail requirements. It found the harm to Holland of denying the injunction was minimal because, even if monetary bail were set for him, he would likely have to pay a non-refundable bail bond premium.
Finally, the Court determined the public interest disfavors an injunction. It found the reforms implemented by the State support the public interest, particularly in light of the well-documented shortcomings of the prior monetary bail system.
II. Jurisdiction and Standard of Review
The District Court had federal question jurisdiction,
A preliminary injunction "is an extraordinary remedy ... which should be granted only in limited circumstances."
Am. Tel. & Tel. Co. v. Winback & Conserve Program, Inc.
,
The first two factors are prerequisites for a movant to prevail.
Cf.
In re Revel AC, Inc.
,
As Holland has not made the threshold showing on both of the prerequisite factors, we do not consider and balance the third and fourth factors-"the possibility of harm to other interested persons from the grant or denial of the injunction[ ] and ... the public interest."
Reilly
,
III. Standing
Before we reach the constitutional questions raised in this appeal, we address the parties' standing. The State argues the District Court erred in holding Holland has first-party standing because he did not suffer an injury-in-fact and because his alleged injury is not redressable by a court. Lexington asserts the Court also erred in holding it lacks third-party standing because it has a common interest with criminal defendants and they face obstacles to appealing their pretrial release decisions.
For Holland to have standing, he must "have (1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision."
Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins
, --- U.S. ----,
Each of the State's arguments fails. First, the State reads Holland's Complaint too narrowly. His prayer for relief-a preliminary injunction against imposing "severe restrictions on ... pre-trial liberty ... without offering the option of non-excessive monetary bail"-could fairly be read to mean the State court must offer (or have the option to offer) monetary bail when setting release conditions. Second, even assuming the Act's process is unconstitutional, the District Court correctly determined that if monetary bail were required to be considered on equal footing with non-monetary release conditions, Holland's injury-the "unconstitutional process"-would be redressed regardless what release conditions would be imposed.
Cf.
Stehney v. Perry
,
Lexington does not challenge the District Court's holding that it lacks first-party standing, and instead argues on appeal that the Court erred in holding it lacks third-party standing. We have recognized the prudential doctrine of third-party standing, which, to repeat, allows in limited circumstances litigants to assert claims based on the rights of third parties.
See
Pa. Psychiatric Soc'y v. Green Spring Health Servs., Inc.
,
The State does not challenge that Lexington has sufficiently alleged injury due to its loss of business by the Act's shift away from monetary bail. Even assuming this factor is met, Lexington fails to satisfy the second and third conditions required for third-party standing-it has no relationship, let alone a close relationship, with potential criminal defendant-customers. In
Kowalski v. Tesmer
, the Supreme Court considered whether a "future attorney-client relationship with as yet unascertained Michigan criminal defendants who will request, but be denied, the appointment of appellate counsel" based on the operation of a state statute met the "close relationship" factor.
We also follow
Kowalski
to hold Lexington has not demonstrated that potential criminal defendant-customers face obstacles to pursuing their own claims. The attorneys in
Kowalski
argued indigent defendants are hindered in advancing their own constitutional rights because "unsophisticated,
pro se
criminal defendants could not satisfy the necessary procedural requirements, and, if they did, they would be unable to coherently advance the substance of their constitutional claim."
In this context, Holland has standing to bring his constitutional claims. Lexington does not.
IV. Likelihood of Success on the Merits
Holland challenges the Reform Act on the ground there is a constitutional right to have the option of posting monetary bail to secure pretrial release. 4 We address the likelihood of success for each constitutional argument in turn.
A. Eighth Amendment
The Eighth Amendment to our Constitution provides in part that "[e]xcessive bail shall not be required." U.S. Const. amend. VIII. It applies to the State of New Jersey through the Fourteenth Amendment.
See
Baker v. McCollan
,
At time of the Constitution, "bail" in criminal cases relied on personal sureties-a criminal defendant was delivered into the custody of his surety,
5
who provided a pledge to guarantee the defendant's appearance at trial and, in the event of nonappearance, a sum of money.
6
Anthony
Highmore,
A Digest of the Doctrine of Bail; In Civil and Criminal Cases
, v-vi, 197 (1783). In the English tradition of bail that influenced early American practice, the pledge did not require any upfront payment to secure the conditional promise to pay, and producing the defendant for trial voided any later-arising obligation to pay. June Carbone,
Seeing Through the Emperor's New Clothes: Rediscovery of Basic Principles in the Administration of Bail
,
The early adoption of a personal surety system is reflected in a number of American colonies' laws. New Jersey's colonial predecessor, for example, provided "[t]hat all persons arrested shall be bailable by sufficient sureties, unless for capital offences, where the proof is evident or presumption great." Aaron Leaming & Jacob Spicer,
The Grants, Concessions, and Original Constitutions of the Province of New Jersey
235 (2d ed. 1881);
see also
Sistrunk
,
Prior to the ratification of the United States Constitution, the Northwest Ordinance created a federal statutory right to bail that replicated that of New Jersey.
See
Northwest Ordinance, 1 Stat. at Large 52, art. 2 (1787) ("All persons shall be bailable, unless for capital offences where the proof shall be evident or the presumption great."). After its ratification, the Judiciary Act of 1789 did largely the same.
See
Judiciary Act of 1789, ch. 20, § 33,
By contrast, the Constitution's Bill of Rights, through the Eighth Amendment, prohibited excessive bail. The Amendment was taken, with minimal alteration, from the English Bill of Rights of 1689. In England that clause was not thought to afford a right to bail in all cases, "but merely to provide that bail shall not be excessive in those cases where it is proper to grant bail."
United States v. Perry
,
In the context of the early personal surety bail system, the Eighth Amendment prohibited the demand that a surety pledge an excessive sum of money to secure the defendant's release.
See
United States v. Burr
,
Contemporary definitions of "bail" reflect its early form and a broader meaning that has taken hold over time. "Bail," in the criminal justice context, is defined variously as: (1) "the custody of a prisoner or one under arrest by one who procures the release of the prisoner or arrested individual by giving surety for his due appearance;" (2) "the security or obligation given for the due appearance of a prisoner in order to obtain his release from imprisonment;" (3) "the temporary delivery or release of a prisoner upon security for his due appearance;" (4) "one that agrees to assume legal liability for a money forfeit or damages if a prisoner released on bail fails to make his due appearance in court;" and (5) "the process by which a person is released from custody." Bail , Webster's Third New Int'l Dictionary 163 (1971). The last iteration is how we often think of bail colloquially: a means of achieving pretrial release from custody conditioned on adequate assurances.
The Supreme Court's use of "bail" since the middle of the Twentieth Century points to this broader definition. In
Stack v. Boyle
, the Court described a statutory "right to bail" as the "traditional right to freedom before conviction," and "[t]he right to release before trial ... conditioned upon the accused's giving adequate assurance that he will stand trial and submit to sentence if found guilty."
In
United States v. Salerno
, the Supreme Court addressed a constitutional challenge to the Bail Reform Act of 1984,
With this understanding, we consider Holland's argument that the Reform Act violates the Eighth Amendment because it bars a New Jersey court from considering or offering criminal defendants monetary bail alongside restrictive conditions such as home detention and electronic monitoring. Under an original meaning, even assuming there is a "right to bail," we have already noted it did not contemplate monetary bail as Holland describes it, i.e. , cash bail or corporate surety bond. Neither does a contemporary definition of bail mean exclusively monetary bail; non-monetary conditions of release are also "bail."
Holland further argues that, under a broad definition of "bail," the Reform Act would violate the Eighth Amendment by subjecting defendants to home detention and electronic monitoring "when monetary bail would suffice." Appellants' Br. at 39 n.1. In effect, he asserts the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of excessive bail is violated when there is a less restrictive alternative to the conditions of release ordered by a court. But that is not the test articulated by
Salerno
; for those conditions, however restrictive, to violate the Eighth Amendment, they must be "excessive in light of the perceived evil."
Salerno
,
Holland also claims the Reform Act violates the Excessive Bail Clause because it imposes severe restrictions on "all defendants[']" pretrial liberty except those who can be released on their own recognizance. 8 Appellants' Br. at 36. This statement and Holland's claim that the Reform Act "authoriz[es] severe liberty restrictions of non-dangerous defendants" misconstrue the Act's statutory requirements. Id. at 38 (emphasis in original). The conditions of release imposed on Holland may only be applied if they are the "least restrictive ... conditions that the court determines will reasonably assure [his] appearance in court when required [and] the protection of the safety of any other person or the community ...." N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:162-16(b)(2)(b). In practice this has resulted in pretrial monitoring level 3+ home detention and electronic monitoring being ordered for 8.3% of eligible defendants, far from "all defendants." And if a court sought to impose home detention and electronic monitoring on a non-dangerous defendant who presents little risk of flight, it would have to contend with the Act's command that only the least restrictive conditions reasonably assuring the Act's goals may be imposed. If those conditions were excessive in light of the State's legitimate interests, it would also come up against the Eighth Amendment's proscription of excessive bail. This hypothetical scenario, we point out, does not concern Holland, who has not challenged his classification as a potentially dangerous defendant.
Finally, though he waived his statutory right to a pretrial detention hearing, Holland still has an opportunity to argue for a change in his release conditions and potentially request that monetary bail be set. This requires a material change in circumstances justifying a modification. N.J. Ct. R. 3:26-2(c)(2).
In this context, Holland has not demonstrated a likelihood of success on the merits of his argument that the Excessive Bail Clause guarantees a right to monetary bail. Regardless whether the Clause incorporates a right to bail, the latter is not limited to cash bail or corporate surety bonds; it is, to repeat, "release before trial ... conditioned upon the accused's giving adequate assurance[s]."
Stack
, 342 U.S. at 4,
B. Fourteenth Amendment
The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution forbids states from depriving "any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law ...." U.S. Const. amend. XIV. This provision contains both substantive and procedural components.
Steele v. Cicchi
,
1. Substantive Due Process
Substantive due process "limits what [the] government may do regardless of the fairness of [the] procedures that it employs,"
For a putative right to be "fundamental" under the Due Process Clause, it must be "deeply rooted in this Nation's history and tradition,"
Lutz v. City of York, Pa.
,
If the right is fundamental, its infringement must be "narrowly tailored to serve a compelling state interest."
Chavez
,
We have previously held substantive due process protects freedom "from government custody, detention, or other forms of physical restraint prior to any determination of guilt."
Steele
,
Holland, however, claims substantive due process protects his right to have the option to deposit money or obtain a corporate surety bond to secure his future appearance before he may be subjected to "severe deprivations of pretrial liberty." So "[w]e begin, as we do in all due process cases, by examining our Nation's history, legal traditions, and practices."
Glucksberg
,
Holland has not pointed us to any evidence of cash bail or corporate surety bonds in early bail practice in the United States, nor did our search reveal any. Rather, both modern forms of bail appear to have emerged in the mid-to-late Nineteenth Century, largely as a product of the expansive frontier and urban areas in America diluting the personal relationships necessary for a personal surety system. Comment,
Bail: An Ancient Practice Reexamined
,
Rather than a product of statute, by contrast it appears commercial bail bonding was a product of economic opportunity presented by the eroding personal surety system. The first bail bond business in the United States is widely thought to have formed in 1898 in San Francisco.
The Old Lady Moves On
, Time Mag., Aug. 18, 1941. By 1912 the Supreme Court recognized the permissibility of commercial contracts for bail bonds.
Leary v. United States
,
Historical practice informs whether the option to post cash or obtain a corporate surety bond for bail is fundamental.
Cf.
Medina v. California
,
As we discern no historical basis for concluding substantive due process requires criminal defendants to have the option to post cash or obtain a corporate surety bond to ensure their future appearance in court,
Reliance on monetary bail, including cash bail and corporate surety bond, through the middle of the Twentieth Century came at a cost: criminal defendants who were unable to post or pay even modest sums to secure their release were kept in jail.
The practice of admission to bail, as it has evolved in Anglo-American law, is not a device for keeping persons in jail upon mere accusation until it is found convenient to give them a trial. On the contrary, the spirit of the procedure is to enable them to stay out of jail until a trial has found them guilty.
Stack
, 342 U.S. at 7-8,
As a result, we hold cash bail and corporate surety bond are not protected by substantive due process because they are neither sufficiently rooted historically nor implicit in the concept of ordered liberty. Hence the Reform Act's subordination of monetary bail to non-monetary conditions of release need only be rationally related to a legitimate State interest. And it is-New Jersey's interests in ensuring defendants appear in court, do not endanger the safety of any person or the community, or obstruct their criminal process, are no doubt legitimate.
See
Salerno
,
2. Procedural Due Process
Pretrial release and detention decisions implicate a liberty interest-conditional pretrial liberty-that is entitled to procedural due process protections.
See
United States v. Delker
,
Procedural due process requires us to balance three factors:
First, the private interest that will be affected by the official action; second, the risk of an erroneous deprivation of such interest through the procedures used, and the probable value, if any, of additional or substitute procedural safeguards; and finally, the Government's interest, including the function involved and the fiscal and administrative burdens that the additional or substitute procedural requirement would entail.
Mathews v. Eldridge
,
The State asserts Holland waived any procedural due process argument because he opted out of the pretrial detention hearing that was available to him. To be sure, "[i]n order to state a claim for failure to provide due process, a plaintiff must have taken advantage of the processes that are available to him or her, unless those processes are unavailable or patently inadequate."
Alvin v. Suzuki
,
Holland argues the Reform Act violates procedural due process because it enables the State court to impose on criminal defendants home detention and electronic monitoring without having the option to impose monetary bail together with or in place of these non-monetary conditions. We do not decide whether non-monetary conditions such as home detention and/or electronic monitoring restrict criminal defendants' pretrial liberty. Even assuming these conditions would satisfy the first balancing factor, the other two factors do not point to a violation of Holland's right to procedural due process.
We evaluate the deprivation risk to Holland's pretrial liberty interest by considering "the fairness and reliability of the existing ... procedures[ ] and the probable value, if any, of additional procedural safeguards."
Mathews
,
We briefly restate the Reform Act's existing procedures that applied to Holland
had he taken advantage of them. Before the prosecutor brought a pretrial detention motion, Pretrial Services prepared a Public Safety Assessment and recommendation for release conditions that flagged him as a risk to commit new violent criminal activity. It recommended that he be detained pretrial. Following Pretrial Services' recommendation, the prosecutor moved for pretrial detention; hence Holland was entitled under the Reform Act to a pretrial detention hearing. At the hearing he had the right to counsel or to have counsel appointed, the opportunity to testify, present witnesses, cross-examine witnesses, and present information. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:162-19(e)(1). He was also able to subpoena and call the State's witnesses. ACLU Pretrial Justice Manual at 42. Further, rules concerning the admissibility of evidence in criminal trials did not apply to this hearing, N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:162-19(e)(1), and Holland was entitled to receive significant discovery, including all exculpatory evidence, a copy of the charging documents, all statements and reports that relate to the affidavit of probable cause, plus any additional evidence the prosecutor relied on at the detention hearing to establish probable cause and to support any Public Safety Assessment. N.J. Ct. R. 3:4-2(c)(1) ;
see also
Robinson
,
The court could then take into account various factors to determine whether any monetary or non-monetary release conditions, or combination of conditions, would reasonably assure not only Holland's presence at trial but also the other goals of the Act. These factors include: the nature and circumstances of the offense charged; the weight of the evidence against Holland and the admissibility of any evidence sought to be excluded; his history and characteristics; the nature and seriousness of his dangerousness on pretrial release; and Pretrial Services' recommendation of release or detention. N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:162-20. If the court then decided against pretrial detention, it could have imposed only the least restrictive non-monetary condition or combination of conditions that would reasonably assure Holland's presence at trial and the safety of the community and other persons, provided release on personal recognizance or an unsecured appearance bond would not reasonably assure those goals.
The Reform Act's applicable procedures mirror those in the federal Bail Reform Act of 1984. In response to a facial challenge that the federal Bail Act failed to satisfy procedural due process before criminal defendants may be detained pretrial, the Supreme Court reviewed the Act's procedures and held the "extensive safeguards suffice to repel a facial challenge."
Salerno
,
Salerno informs our view that the risk of erroneously depriving Holland's pretrial liberty is low under the New Jersey Reform Act's procedures given its subordination of monetary bail. All of the procedures the Court held were "extensive safeguards" under the federal Act are included in the New Jersey Act's pretrial detention hearing. And the New Jersey Act adds the additional protection of extensive discovery.
16 Beyond these extensive safeguards, the Reform Act allows only the least restrictive non-monetary condition, or combination of conditions, reasonably assuring the Act's goals. Considering all the protections available to Holland under the Reform Act, the risk of erroneous deprivation of his pretrial liberty-ostensibly through the imposition of home detention and electronic monitoring-is low even if the court were unable to consider monetary bail.
The probable value of requiring the court to consider monetary bail in line with home detention and electronic monitoring is also low. Holland contends that monetary bail preserves liberty, whereas home detention and electronic monitoring encumber it. Thus, the argument goes, giving the court the option to release criminal defendants on monetary bail in lieu of home detention and electronic monitoring would necessarily reduce the risk of an erroneous deprivation. His counsel also suggested during oral argument that the court should set monetary bail to account for any flight risk but still have the option to set restrictive non-monetary conditions to account for potential danger. Or. Arg. Tr. at 27.
The first argument is refuted by the actual effect of the Reform Act; the second is hypothetical. New Jersey decided to shift from its prior monetary bail system because it resulted in more criminal defendants being detained in jail pretrial, and "civil detention ... results in the deprivation of the most fundamental of all personal liberties."
Perry
,
The final
Mathews
factor, the State's interest, also indicates the Reform Act's procedures, which subordinate monetary bail to non-monetary conditions of release, do not violate procedural due process. This factor includes the public interest, "the administrative burden and other societal costs that would be associated with [the additional] requir[ement]" along with financial costs to the State.
Mathews
,
Though we reach no holding on whether home detention and electronic monitoring impinge Holland's pretrial liberty, we assume they do. Even so, we hold the lower priority of monetary bail to non-monetary bail conditions does not make constitutionally inadequate the extensive safeguards available to Holland under the Reform Act. Those procedures-together with the low probable value of requiring the court to consider monetary bail alongside home detention and electronic monitoring, and the State's interest-indicate the subordination of monetary bail does not violate procedural due process, especially when Holland retains the option of seeking a modification of his bail conditions should circumstances change.
* * * * *
In sum, we hold the Reform Act's subordination of monetary bail to non-monetary bail conditions does not violate either component of the Due Process Clause. Substantive due process does not provide a right to monetary bail. It is neither historically rooted to the time of our Bill of Rights nor implicit in the concept of ordered liberty, and the Reform Act's subordination of it to non-monetary release conditions is rationally related to the State's legitimate interests in assuring defendants appear at trial, the safety of the community and other persons, and the integrity of the criminal justice process. As for procedural due process, the extensive safeguards provided by the Reform Act are not made inadequate by its subordination of monetary bail. Moreover, Holland still may move the State court to modify his bail based on a change of circumstances, wherein he may be able to argue he no longer presents a danger and thus the conditions of release imposed on him should be less restrictive. See N.J. Ct. R. 3:26-2(c)(2).
C. Fourth Amendment
Unlike his Eighth Amendment and Due Process arguments, Holland does not argue the Fourth Amendment provides a right to monetary bail. Rather, he asserts the Reform Act violates the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of "unreasonable searches and seizures" because the conditions to which he agreed, i.e. , home detention and electronic monitoring, are "unreasonable" inasmuch as they involve significant intrusions on his privacy and are not needed to promote the State's legitimate interest when monetary bail would serve the same interest less intrusively.
The Fourth Amendment provides, in relevant part, that "[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated ...." U.S. Const. amend. IV. It is binding on the states by the Fourteenth Amendment.
Maryland v. King
,
We do not accept as given that placing an electronic monitor on an individual and then tracking his whereabouts always constitute a search and seizure, and that home detention is a seizure. In
Grady v. North Carolina
, --- U.S. ----,
Even assuming they are, we cannot estimate the extent to which they intrude on Holland's privacy. Holland alleges the ankle bracelet he wears for monitoring purposes requires him to stay near a power outlet for several hours a day while the device charges, precludes him from traveling on a commercial airplane, and discloses "a massive amount of private information about [his] life to the state." Appellants' Br. at 50. But the District Court did not find any facts that support an intrusion on privacy; rather, it assumed these practices are intrusive. We too assume without deciding they are at least somewhat intrusive.
That intrusiveness, however, is lessened by Holland's reduced expectation of privacy. "Once an individual has been arrested on probable cause for a dangerous offense that may require detention before trial, ... his or her expectations of privacy and freedom from police scrutiny
are reduced."
King
,
Against Holland's reduced privacy interest we balance the State's interest. The Supreme Court has held "the Government has a substantial interest in ensuring that persons accused of crimes are available for trials" and a "legitimate and compelling" interest in preventing crime by arrestees.
In any event, Holland's argument fails as a matter of law because the Supreme Court "has repeatedly stated that reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment does not require employing the least intrusive means ...."
Bd. of Educ. of Indep. Sch. Dist. No. 92 of Pottawatomie Cty. v. Earls
,
We hold Holland is unlikely to succeed on the merits of his argument that the Reform Act violates the Fourth Amendment because monetary bail could serve the same legitimate government interest in a less intrusive manner than the conditions to which he agreed. The Supreme Court has repeatedly disavowed a "less intrusive means" standard for determinations of reasonableness under the Fourth Amendment,
see
Lafayette
,
V. Conclusion
Holland has standing to bring his claims that the Reform Act violates the Eighth, Fourteenth, and Fourth Amendments of the United States Constitution, but Lexington does not. He has not, however, made a threshold showing of the first two factors required to prevail on a motion for a preliminary injunction. He has not demonstrated a sufficient likelihood of success on the merits of his argument that the Reform Act violates a constitutional right to cash bail or corporate surety bonds. We find no right to these forms of monetary bail in the Eighth Amendment's proscription of excessive bail nor in the Fourteenth Amendment's substantive and procedural due process components. We also reject Holland's "less intrusive means" theory of a Fourth Amendment violation, and so we hold he has not made a sufficient showing of a violation of that constitutional amendment. Without a constitutional right violated, and with reconsideration of current release conditions an option if circumstances suggest and a request made, irreparable harm does not exist. Thus we affirm the District Court's denial of Holland's motion for a preliminary injunction.
This statistic represents those defendants for whom bail was set at $250,000 or less, with the assumption they had a ten-percent cash bail option. See VanNostrand Report at 13.
The speedy trial reforms are not implicated by this appeal. They can be found at N.J. Stat. Ann. § 2A:162-22 (2017).
The Act presumes there is a reasonable assurance the eligible defendant will not obstruct or attempt to obstruct the criminal justice process unless the prosecutor provides the court with contrary information relevant to that risk.
We understand "monetary bail," as Holland uses the term, to refer to only cash bail and corporate surety bonds, Appellants' Br. at 1, 2, 6, 15-16, because he does not mention or allude to property bonds and because the Reform Act retains unsecured appearance bonds (also a form of monetary bail) for those eligible defendants who pose little risk of flight and danger.
See
N.J. Stat. Ann. §§ 2A:162-16(b)(2)(a), 2A:162-17(a) ;
see also
Rice
,
A defendant in a surety's custody is not physically confined by him; rather, the surety is legally responsible for producing the defendant at trial.
See
Jonathan Drimmer,
When Man Hunts Man: The Rights and Duties of Bounty Hunters in the American Criminal Justice System
,
In his Commentaries, William Blackstone mentions defendants sometimes giving a pledge on their own behalf in criminal cases (akin to what is now known as an unsecured appearance bond), but it appears this practice was less common as compared to personal suretyship. F.E. Devine, Commercial Bail Bonding 4 (1991) (citing William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 297 (Chitty Ed. 1857) ).
As in England, courts sometimes allowed defendants to make a pledge on their own behalf (alone or with third parties as co-signors).
See
Respublica v. Burns
,
Holland further argues on appeal that the Reform Act imposes severe restrictions on all defendants without any heightened showing of dangerousness, thus violating the Excessive Bail Clause. Whether a heightened showing ought to be required is not properly before us because it was not raised in the District Court.
Hormel v. Helvering
,
The State argues we should not engage in a substantive due process analysis because Holland's claim is covered by the Eighth Amendment and/or the Fourth Amendment. For the reasons contained in this opinion, those constitutional provisions do not protect Holland's claim, and thus we proceed to our analysis of substantive due process.
See
Lewis
,
Butler v. Foster
,
Alaska Crim. Proc. Code ch. 23, § 229 (1900) (adopting law of Oregon); Ariz. Rev. Stat. tit. 12, ch. 5, § 1981 (1887); Ark. Code Prac. Civ. & Crim. Cases tit. 5, ch. 3, § 84 (1869); Cal. Crim. Proc. Code ch. 119, pt. 4, tit. 3, ch. 7, § 151 (1850); Ind. Rev. Stat. ch. 4, art. 9, § 1706 (1881); Iowa Code pt. 4, tit. 25, ch. 196, § 3232 (1851); Kan. Stat. ch. 82, art. 9, § 145 (1868); Ky. Crim. Code tit. 5, ch. 3, § 84 (1867); Mass. Gen. Laws pt. 4, tit. 2, ch. 212, § 68 (1882); Mont. Rev. Stat. div. 3, ch. 11, § 249 (1879); Nev. Rev. Stat. ch. 53, tit. 4, pt. 10, § 2141 (1873);
D.C. Code ch. 20, § 938 (1906); Idaho Penal Code tit. 23, ch. 235, § 5647 (1901); 37 Ill. Comp. Stat. ¶ 3363 (1920); La. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 97 (1929);
Paton v. Teeter
,
Lowrie v. Harvey
,
Though we do not apply strict scrutiny, it would appear that New Jersey's reliance on non-monetary release conditions is more narrowly tailored than the system in place before the Reform Act. Holland's argument to the contrary-that monetary bail is less restrictive of liberty than non-monetary bail-is belied by the early statistics on the Act. In its first year, New Jersey's pretrial jail population was reduced by 20%, whereas the non-monetary conditions to which Holland agreed were ordered for only 8.3% of eligible defendants.
Though Holland argues on appeal that procedural due process requires a heightened showing before a State court may order home detention and electronic monitoring, as required for pretrial detention, he did not raise this argument in the District Court, and thus it is not properly before us.
See
Hormel
,
Holland cursorily contends his release conditions were not based on reasonable suspicion or probable cause that he will commit a crime, but makes no argument to support this claim. Thus we do not address it on appeal.
See
Free Speech Coalition, Inc. v. Att'y Gen.
,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Brittan HOLLAND, Individually and on Behalf of All Others Similarly Situated; Lexington National Insurance Corporation, Appellants v. Kelly ROSEN, Pretrial Services Team Leader; Mary Colalillo, Camden County Prosecutor ; Christopher S. Porrino, Attorney General of New Jersey
- Cited By
- 137 cases
- Status
- Published