Walter Somick Archives - New Jersey Globe

Unclear how Senate will act if mandatory minimums bill conditionally vetoed

April 15, 2021 2:46 pmApril 17, 2021 2:32 pm

Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford) declined to say how the legislature would act if Gov. Phil Murphy conditionally vetoes a bill eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for a series of drug, property and crimes as well as crimes against the...

Murphy still mum on mandatory minimums bill as measure brushes against procedural deadline

April 14, 2021 3:29 pm

Gov. Phil Murphy is running out of time to act on a bill eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for a series of drug, property and public trust crimes. The legislation, sent to his desk on March 1 after votes that largely...

Mandatory minimums bill heads to Murphy’s desk, where it’ll likely be vetoed

March 1, 2021 3:17 pmMarch 1, 2021 5:56 pm

The Assembly cleared a bill eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for a series of drug and property crimes, but the bill appears headed for a veto over its inclusion of official misconduct and related corruption offenses. They passed the bill by...

New Jersey Together urges Assembly to pass mandatory minimums bill

February 25, 2021 4:04 pm

A multifaith coalition urged the Assembly to pass a bill revoking mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for a series of drug and property crimes that replaced a previous bill whose path through the legislature was upended by the inclusion of official...

Assembly panel advances mandatory minimums bill, setting up floor vote

February 24, 2021 3:20 pmFebruary 24, 2021 10:29 pm

The Assembly Appropriations Committee on Wednesday advanced a bill removing mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for official misconduct and a slew of non-violent drug and property crimes over objections from two of its Republican members. The panel cleared the bill 7-2....

Murphy signals opposition to new mandatory minimums bill

February 17, 2021 3:48 pm

Gov. Phil Murphy suggested he may not back a bill eliminating mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for some non-violent drug and property crimes as well as for a series of minor corruption charges. “I still want to pursue the legislation based...

Senate Judiciary advances bill eliminating mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes

February 16, 2021 4:45 pmFebruary 17, 2021 1:35 pm

A Senate panel on Tuesday advanced a bill that would remove mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines for a bevy of non-violent drug and property crimes, but despite a new bill number, the measure still includes changes to sentencing guidelines for official...