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N.J. judges protest new gun law
Josey1
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N.J. judges protest new gun law
Probation officers can be armed. In court papers, jurists say this violates separation of powers.
By John P. McAlpin
Associated Press
TRENTON - New Jersey's top judges are in court themselves in a dispute over a new law that gives guns to probation officers.
Court administrators have filed papers seeking to overturn the law, contending that it is unconstitutional because it violates the separation of powers between branches of government.
Under the statute, probation officers have the power to "enforce the criminal laws."
But the power to enforce laws - the job of police officers - is held only by the executive branch, not the courts, Judge Richard J. Williams, administrative director for the state court system, said yesterday. Unlike police officers, probation caseworkers report to the Supreme Court.
A decision on the case, filed in state Superior Court in Mercer County, is not expected for some time.
For more than 30 years, Supreme Court justices denied requests for probation officers to carry firearms, but the officers lobbied lawmakers to change the rules. Union leaders cited the fact that probation officers are frequently assigned to visit potentially violent felons in dangerous neighborhoods.
A bill allowing them to carry guns was signed into law by acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco on his final day in office in January.
It requires that probation officers take weapons-training courses before any of them can carry a firearm. Later they must attend a two-day refresher course.
Officers also carry pepper spray and get six hours of training to be certified to use it. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/3172744.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Probation officers can be armed. In court papers, jurists say this violates separation of powers.
By John P. McAlpin
Associated Press
TRENTON - New Jersey's top judges are in court themselves in a dispute over a new law that gives guns to probation officers.
Court administrators have filed papers seeking to overturn the law, contending that it is unconstitutional because it violates the separation of powers between branches of government.
Under the statute, probation officers have the power to "enforce the criminal laws."
But the power to enforce laws - the job of police officers - is held only by the executive branch, not the courts, Judge Richard J. Williams, administrative director for the state court system, said yesterday. Unlike police officers, probation caseworkers report to the Supreme Court.
A decision on the case, filed in state Superior Court in Mercer County, is not expected for some time.
For more than 30 years, Supreme Court justices denied requests for probation officers to carry firearms, but the officers lobbied lawmakers to change the rules. Union leaders cited the fact that probation officers are frequently assigned to visit potentially violent felons in dangerous neighborhoods.
A bill allowing them to carry guns was signed into law by acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco on his final day in office in January.
It requires that probation officers take weapons-training courses before any of them can carry a firearm. Later they must attend a two-day refresher course.
Officers also carry pepper spray and get six hours of training to be certified to use it. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/local/3172744.htm
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
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