Hudson Reporter
‘For this targeted group … speech is no longer free’
ACLU-NJ seeks dismissal of lawsuit against ICE protesters ×
According to the ACLU-NJ, protesters of the renewal of the county s contract with ICE to house detainees have had their First Amendment rights violated.
Freedom of speech and the right to peacefully assemble are at the center of a new brief filed by the ACLU-NJ on behalf of protesters who were issued temporary restraining orders and arrested after protesting outside Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise’s home last year.
According to the ACLU-NJ court filing, Hudson County officials violated the First Amendment rights of protesters when it used “draconian measures,” including arrests to silence opponents of the county’s renewal of its contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to house detainees at the Hudson County Correctional Center.
Jersey City police unions sue City Council over resolution supporting creation of police oversight board
Updated 1:32 PM;
Jersey City’s police unions have filed a lawsuit against the City Council over the wording of a resolution that supports the creation of a civilian complaint review board in the city.
The city council on April 15 passed that resolution, promising to adopt a CCRB if and when the state passes a bill sponsored by Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, D-Jersey City, giving municipalities the power to create one with subpoena and investigatory powers.
The Jersey City Police Superior Officer’s Association and the Jersey City Police Officer Benevolent Association in its complaint filed in Hudson County Superior Court said the resolution does more than support passing a CCRB, but directs the creation of a CCRB.
Hudson County View
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
On Thursday, April 22nd, Zia Berisha, 46, of Linden, pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree aggravated manslaughter in relation to the fatal shooting of Michael Marro, Jr., of Jersey City, that occurred on November 6, 2007, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said in a statement.
Hudson County Superior Court Judge Patrick Arre presided over the plea hearing.
The state is recommending a sentence of 20 years in New Jersey state prison subject to the No Early Release Act for the aggravated manslaughter which would run consecutive to a 15-year federal sentence against Berisha related to a 2009 plea for a charge of conspiracy to distribute ecstasy.
Man whose Jersey City murder conviction was overturned accepts plea deal for shorter sentence
Updated 11:53 AM;
Today 11:53 AM
Zia Barisha appears in this photo from 2008 from his first court appearance on charges of murdering Michael Marro Jr. in Jersey City. (Journal file photo)
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A Union County man whose decade-old murder conviction was overturned two years ago has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in exchange for a shorter sentence.
Zia Berisha pleaded guilty Thursday to first-degree aggravated manslaughter in the Nov. 6, 2007 fatal shooting of Michael Marro Jr. in a Downtown Jersey City high-rise, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez announced Monday.
Hudson County View
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“The members of plaintiffs’ police organizations have been denied both substantive as well as procedural Due Process where the adoption procedures utilized by the governing body neither provide notice nor identify any defined process for police department personnel investigations undertaken by private persons appointed through the new resolution to the new civilian board,” the suit, filed in Hudson County Superior Court on Thursday, says.
“The Jersey City resolution suffers from multiple infirmities and should be summarily enjoined and declared void as a matter of law.”
At the end of last month, officials revealed that the city council had been delayed in introducing an ordinance to lay the framework to adopt a CCRB due to legal concerns put forth by the Jersey City Police Superior Officers Association (PSOA) and Police Officers Benevolent Association (POBA), as only HCV reported.