STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. ANTOINE WILLIAMS AND DANIQUE SIMPSON (18-02-0353, 18-02-0354, 18-06-0923, 18-02-0346, 18-02-0352, 19-04-0700, MIDDLESEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) - Published

The Criminal Justice Reform Act (CJRA), N.J.S.A. 2A:162-15 to -26, strikes a balance: it authorizes the pretrial detention of persons charged with serious crimes who pose a risk of flight, danger, or obstruction that cannot be offset by conditions, but guarantees such detained persons the right to a speedy trial. A defendant cannot be detained for more than 180 days after indictment and the start of trial, unless the court finds (1) defendant's release would pose a "substantial and unjustifiable risk" to the safety of a person or the community;and (2) the failure to commence trial was not due to unreasonable delays by the prosecutor. N.J.S.A. 2A:162-22(a)(2)(a).

In this appeal the court holds that the trial court properly exercised its discretion in balancing the risk to the community and defendants' right to a speedy trial when it ordered the release of two defendants three years after they had been detained and found that the failure to commence the trial was due to unreasonable delays caused by the State.