As reported by nj.com, Governor Chris Christie is seeking to halt the early release of state prison inmates with the conditional veto of a separate bill today. The early release program has drawn a firestorm of controversy after two inmates who were allowed out of prison months early were accused of murder.

“Whatever original policy or principle motivated passage of this law, it failed to adequately consider the safety of the public,” Christie said in a statement. “In recent months we have seen the horrific consequences of the early release law, which is why we must not wait any longer to take action and change it.”

The program, which started in January, was sponsored by Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman and signed into law by then-Governor Jon Corzine on his last day in office. Watson Coleman has it is wrong to blame the program for the actions of individual inmates.

A conditional veto is a powerful tool that allows the governor to modify legislation instead of rejecting it outright. Afterward, the bill returns to the Senate, which can accept the changes or seeks to overturn the governor’s recommendations with a two-thirds vote.

Christie conditionally vetoed a bill that would make some inmates wait 10 years, rather than three, for their mandatory parole review. He said that does not go far enough, saying the Parole Board should have more discretion to decide whether to grant a review. Christie went a step further in his conditional veto by seeking the repeal of the early release program, which became law more than a year ago.  

Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver said the early release program needs to be changed. “The legislative intent was a worthy one, but I do believe it warrants reexamination,” she said. “No one wants to see violent offenders, or those that have been convicted of egregious offenses, released early from those sentences.” 

Republican lawmakers, who had launched their own push to stop early releases through new legislation, hailed the governor’s conditional veto. “The governor’s action provides an additional path to repeal New Jersey’s early release law, and I am pleased that he has put his full support behind this effort,” Senator Diane Allen said in a statement. “With two homicides already committed by inmates released under the program, repealing this misguided policy should priority number one for the Legislature.”

Tags: Articles, Christie, conditional veto, Early Release Program, NJ DOC, NJ prison
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Photo of Donald C. Barbati Donald C. Barbati

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues…

Donald C. Barbati is a shareholder of Crivelli, Barbati & DeRose, L.L.C. His primary practice revolves around the representation of numerous public employee labor unions in various capacities to include contract negotiation, unfair labor practice litigation, contract grievance arbitration, and other diverse issues litigated before the courts and administrative tribunals throughout the State of New Jersey. In addition, Mr. Barbati also routinely represents individuals in various types of public pension appeals, real estate transactions, and general litigation matters. He is a frequent contributor to the New Jersey Public Safety Officers Law Blog, a free legal publication designed to keep New Jersey public safety officers up-to-date and informed about legal issues pertinent to their profession. During his years of practice, Mr. Barbati has established a reputation for achieving favorable results for his clients in a cost-efficient manner.

Mr. Barbati has also handled numerous novel legal issues while representing New Jersey Public Safety Officers. Most notably, he served as lead counsel for the Appellants in the published case In re Rodriguez, 423 N.J. Super. 440 (App. Div. 2011). In that case, Mr. Barbati successfully argued on behalf of the Appellants, thereby overturning the Attorney General’s denial of counsel to two prison guards in a civil rights suit arising from an inmate assault. In the process, the Court clarified the standard to be utilized by the Attorney General in assessing whether a public employee is entitled to legal representation and mandated that reliance must be placed on up-to-date information.

Prior to becoming a practicing attorney, Mr. Barbati served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Linda R. Feinberg, Assignment Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Mercer Vicinage. During his clerkship Mr. Barbati handled numerous complex and novel substantive and procedural issues arising from complaints in lieu of prerogative writs, orders to show cause, and motion practice. These include appeals from decisions by planning and zoning boards and local government bodies, bidding challenges under the Local Public Contract Law, Open Public Records Act requests, the taking of private property under the eminent domain statute, and election law disputes. In addition, Mr. Barbati, as a certified mediator, mediated many small claims disputes in the Special Civil Part.

Mr. Barbati received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history, magna cum laude, from Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. Upon graduating, Mr. Barbati attended Widener University School of Law in Wilmington, Delaware. In 2007, he received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, graduating in the top five percent of his class. During law school, Mr. Barbati interned for the Honorable Joseph E. Irenas, Senior United States District Court Judge for the District of New Jersey in Camden, New Jersey, assisting on various constitutional, employment, and Third Circuit Court of Appeals litigation, including numerous civil rights, social security, and immigration cases.

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