House Bill 204 was intended to decrease the use of monetary bail while releasing more defendants from jail pending trial. In addition, judges were compelled to use a pretrial risk assessment tool, which, as a matter of course, recommended the release of all defendants pending trial unless a prosecutor or judge made a “special showing” that they should be required to post bail prior to release, said Bonini.

By January 2019, there were numerous reports of individuals being freed pending trial who would probably never have been released without putting up bail. Democrat Senator Bryan Townsend of Newark, one of the co-sponsors of HB 204, acknowledged that unforeseen problems had developed as a result of the legislation, including a number of “acts of criminality” stemming from assailants being released on unsecured bail, said Bonini. Townsend also indicated that there were numerous questions about the new law coming from both law enforcement, as well as members of the community.

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