Statement by New Jersey Public Defender Yvonne Smith Segars on the Department of Corrections review on inmate release records

The following is a statement from New Jersey Public Defender Yvonne Smith Segars regarding the review by the Department of Corrections of inmate records to determine the validity of their release dates. It will serve as the only official statement on this issue from the NJOPD at this time.

"The rights of NJOPD clients are this agency's paramount concern, and that concern does not stop when the verdict in a case is rendered and a sentence imposed. The clarity and accuracy of Judgments of Conviction are matters of constant concern to this office. We have worked with the other stakeholders in the criminal justice system to enhance the process in which information on sentencing is conveyed from the courtroom to those persons in charge of the classification and ultimate release or prisoners.
"When issues of the correctness of a sentence are brought to our attention, the client's attorney should and does take action to correct the problem. As one might expect, the release date of a prisoner is not going to be altered simply because a criminal defense attorney says that it ought to be. It typically requires reconstructing the record to show that there is, indeed, an error in the Judgment of Conviction. For this reason, there is always delay in the process and we have been striving to shorten the time frame in correcting Judgments of Conviction. Part of that continuing effort will be to, again, remind our attorneys to be vigilant and respond promptly to Judgment of Conviction issues."