Public defender, N.J. county sparring over ability to hold on to 911 call evidence
Updated 11:00 AM;
The state public defender’s office is appealing a recent court ruling dismissing its lawsuit over how a South Jersey county retains data potentially relevant in criminal cases.
The Office of the Public Defender sued Gloucester County last year over issues involving a damaged server used to store 911 calls, police dispatch communications and other data, and a policy change that would reduce how long such data is preserved on a new county server.
The public defender argues that material relevant to criminal cases is being lost, while the county says the plaintiff has not identified any instances of harm caused by the county’s policies, which it says are in line with state rules.
Sadly, the steps are too small, and they’re doing it the wrong way.
Tuesday, the House Budget Committee considered a bill adding a little more than $1 million to the public defenders’ budget, allowing the office to hire up to 15 additional lawyers. The director of the Office of the Public Defender, Mary Fox, said the money would allow her to clear up the backlog of some cases in some offices.
That’s incredibly important. As The Star has reported, thousands of indigent defendants have waited months for a public defender to represent their interests before a judge. Some of those defendants have languished in jail, waiting for the lawyer they’re owed by the U.S. Constitution.
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