PARSIPPANY — Morris County Deputy Freeholder Director John Cesaro, a Republican candidate for Assembly, says it’s time for real bail reform. He intends to use his experience as a freeholder, municipal prosecutor and municipal public defender to bring common sense to the issue.
“Unfortunately, Trenton sold the voters a bill of goods to get them to vote for bail reform in 2014 when they lead folks to believe the new law would be tough on crime,” John Cesaro said. “My own personal experience proves this to be untrue. Earlier this year, my parents were in a hit and run accident. The police caught the driver who was charged with two counts of assault with a vehicle resulting in bodily injury, driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident.”
“In the past this man would have been taken to the county jail and held on bail,” Cesaro explained. “Not any more, instead he never saw the inside of a jail cell, paid no bail and sat in a police station until his father picked him up, took him home and tucked him into bed while my father laid in a hospital bed for ten days.”
“More recently, in Clifton the police arrested one man four times in 30 hours.” Cesaro described, “According to published news accounts the charges included possession of marijuana in the first arrest, the second arrest was for possession of synthetic marijuana, the third was possession of synthetic cannabinoid and the final arrest in 30 hours was driving while under the influence. Every time this individual was released with a summons.”
“In that Clifton situation, common sense dictated he should have been held after the second arrest, but not under the new bail reform laws,” Cesaro said. “This man was obviously a menace to society and would not have been allowed to leave with a summons in the past. Well intentioned ‘reforms’ should never be allowed to supersede commonsense.”
“Not only does the new bail reform law endanger the public but it is an unnecessary burden to the law-abiding taxpayers,” Cesaro said. “Here in Morris County bail reform has added $750,000 to the county budget, essentially making this law an unfunded mandate that endangers the general public. I will go to Trenton and fight to bring common sense improvements to this ill-conceived bail reform law.”
